At stake in this election:

• 24 seats in the Parliament

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jim MARURAI
• Assembly: Cook Islands has a unicameral Parliament with 24 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Frederick GOODWIN.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is hereditary.
• The Prime Minister is designated by the monarch.**
• In the Parliament 24 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.***

** The leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes prime minister.

*** Ten MPs are from the main island of Rarotonga and the rest are from the outer islands.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Democratic Party (DEMO)
  • Leader: Terepai Tuamure MAOATE
  • Seats won in this election: 14
  • Seats won in last election: 14
• Party: Cook Islands Party (CIS)
  • Leader: Geoffrey Arama HENRY
  • Seats won in this election: 7
  • Seats won in last election: 9
• Party: Independent Candidate
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 2
  • Seats won in last election: 1

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 21,388 (July 2006 est.)
• Registered Voters: 9,772 (September 2006 )