Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown expected to return to power following election

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, speaks at the opening of the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, Aug. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay, File) 2026-08-14T02:11:20Z Wellington, New Zealand (AP) — Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown is expected to lead the South Pacific nation’s government for a second term after his party won more seats than any other group in this week’s election. Voting continued for one of 24 Parliamentary seats in the country of 17,000 people, which is made up of 15 islands. Bad weather prevented electoral officers from reaching the island of Nassau earlier in the week and results there were expected late Friday New Zealand time. However, Brown’s Cook Islands Party, a nationalist group that has governed since 2010, was already celebrating victory after winning 12 seats which promised a fifth term in power. A 13-seat majority is required to form a government, but Brown’s party has joined with independent lawmakers to pass laws before. “Today my heart is full of gratitude,” Brown wrote on Facebook. “Thank you to everyone who came out and voted, for taking part and making your voice heard. This is what makes our country strong.” In the seat yet to be decided, the incumbent, a member of Brown’s party, is competing with an independent candidate. Voters worried about cost of living Ahead of the ballot held Wednesday in the islands, local news outlets reported that inflation and the cost of living were voters’ chief preoccupations. The war in Iran has prompted economic anxiety throughout the South Pacific, where tiny and remote nations are heavily dependent on imported products, including diesel for power generation. Brown’s opponents hoped dissatisfaction about the price of goods, water, electricity and transport would prompt a closer election. However, preliminary results released by a government agency showed the Cook Islands United Party, which split from Brown’s group in 2018, had won just four seats, up from three in 2022. The socially liberal Democratic Party, which held five seats and led the opposition before, fell out of Parliament altogether. In an upset, party leader Tina Pupuke-Browne lost her seat by three votes, ending eight years in office. (