2nd CIP by-election candidate withdraws Thu 16 Jan A “stand-in” candidate nominated by the Cook Islands Party to run in the Murienua by-election has withdrawn from the upcoming vote. Tare Mareiti, chairman for the Cook Islands Party (CIP) Murienua constituency, was being fielded by the Cook Islands Party in the upcoming by-election as part of a contingency plan in case the party’s prime candidate is unable to run due to a standing police complaint. Mareiti was added to the ballot should the party’s priority nominee – Kaota Tuariki – be barred from running, due to the complaint which has been filed by the rival Democratic Party. “It’s a team strategy due to the outstanding complaint against our candidate,” said Prime Minister Henry Puna – the leader of the CIP – before Mareiti’s withdrawal. Earlier this week, CIP party president Rau Nga confirmed the party intended to field only one candidate – Tuariki – for the February 19 vote. The Democratic Party has nominated local businessman James Beer to run in the by-election. Led by opposition leader Wilkie Rasmussen, the party lodged the complaint late last year in relation to allegations of bribery and treating stemming from September’s Murienua by-election. In laying the complaint, Rasmussen said “... there are over 20 affidavits, signed and sworn, that support the allegations of treating and bribery”. In early December, the CIP’s Tuariki – winner of September’s by-election – resigned his seat days before a scheduled court hearing concerning a petition filed by by-election runner-up Beer, prompting the party to take action with police. “We believe that a person cannot just opt out of a process governed by law, leave everyone hanging in the air, and then decide to re-run again,” said Rasmussen at the time of filing the complaint. A request for information on the police complaint filed by the demos has been sent to Cook Islands Police. “We’re hopeful the police can give us an indication as to where the investigation is heading,” added Puna.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 17:36:14 +0000