Voters in Nauru are going to the polls on Saturday in an early election to choose a new 18-member parliament.
86 candidates are standing, eight of them women.
The election was called after repeated unsuccessful bids by the opposition to lodge motions of no confidence in the government of Marcus Stephen.
Observers from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat are monitoring the election.
The director of the government information office says an 80 to 90 percent turnout is expected.
