Kiribati Poll Results Show Pro-China Leader Retains Parliamentary Seat

Kiribati's President Taneti Maamau listens during a signing ceremony for a Millennium Challenge Corporation Challenge investment at the U.S. Department of State on September 25, 2023 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski / AFP

Kiribati’s pro-China president retained his parliamentary seat in a landslide, according to the first results on Thursday of an election that hinged on worries about the cost of living, rising sea levels, and closer ties with Beijing.

Results posted by the Pacific nation’s Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs showed Taneti Maamau won his Onotoa seat with almost 83 percent of the vote.

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by Agence France-Presse

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