Kiribati

Kiribati is preparing for a presidential election next month, but all four candidates chosen by parliament, are from the dominant party in the new parliament, the Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TKP).

Willie Tokataake, who was the minister for Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy in the last parliament, but who lost his seat in last month's poll, was elected Speaker on Friday.

The 45 MPs are required to make nominations of up to three people who will then campaign for the presidency.

Kiribati's education minister has fired back at claims that parliament's decision to remove High Court Judge David Lambourne was politically motivated.

First-time MP Ruth Cross Kwansing says "it was my calling to strengthen the collective vision for our beloved country" to join the incumbent president's Tobwaan Kiribati Party.

The 44 MPs chosen in the elections on 14 and 19 August include five women for the first time, four of them among a total of 17 newcomers to the Maneaba ni Maungatabu. Audio

Kiribati's head of delegation at Tonga leaders' summit says "our constitutional task" is to prioritise the elections process and diplomatic visits will resume once new government is formed.

Ruth Cross Kwansing said Beijing's rising influence in the Pacific region is no longer as big a concern domestically as it is internationally. Audio

Fourteen 14 sitting MPs lose seats, incumbent president Taneti Maamau as well as opposition leader back, 17 new and 27 returning MPs.

A local resident in Tarawa says although geopolitics has dominated regional politics, domestic issues, such as government subsidies for copra, were the most talked about in these polls. Audio

Polls opened at 7am for almost 53,000 eligible voters to elect 19 candidates, after 25 MPs confirmed their seats in the 45-seat Maneaba ni Maungatabu following the first round on 14 August. Audio

Six MPs from the last parliament, including one cabinet minister, are reported to have lost their seats, according to election results from the Ministry of Culutre and Internal Affairs.

Ruth Cross Kwansing is one of 18 female candidates out of 114 vying for a parliamentary seat in Kiribati's national election.

Incumbent President Taneti Maamau has retained his seat in Onotoa, according to unofficial results after the first round of the polls on Wednesday.

Campaigning, which has been going on for months, has "become more intense" and "the incumbent candidates seeking re-election [are] really going out", a Kiribati journalist says.