Temaru refuses to rule out Tahiti election boycott

1:24 pm on 21 February 2018

French Polynesia's opposition leader Oscar Temaru has refused to rule out his Tavini Huiraatira Party boycotting the territorial election in April.

Oscar Temaru

Oscar Temaru Photo: RNZI/Monica Miller

Asked about the upcoming polls on local television, Mr Temaru said the subject would be up for debate at a party Congress on 10 March.

He questioned whether it was normal that 1,000 votes were needed to win a seat in Tahiti, while 400 votes were enough to get one in the Marquesas.

Mr Temaru also pointed out that in the Cook Islands, New Zealanders are not allowed to vote.

Under the current electoral system, the party winning most votes automatically gets a third of all seats, with the rest being shared in proportion to the various parties' strength.

The system was adopted by Paris in 2011 in what at the time was the fourth change in eight years in a bid to increase political stability.

In the last election, the Tahoeraa Huiraatira won twice as many seats as the other two parties combined.

Get the RNZ app

for ad-free news and current affairs