A New Zealand academic says accusations of foul play in the Cook Islands election could affect future decisions in parliament.
The final results of the election showed the Cook Islands Party had won a majority with 13 seats but a week later the rival Democratic Party is still claiming bribery, and a miscount cost it the election and it will petition the results.
The Pasifika Director at New Zealand's Massey University, Malakai Koloamatangi, says Cook Islands politics is a personal game that has long lasting effects.
"People know each other or they are related to each other. The recount, if it comes to that, will have an impact on the relationships between politicians and I'm not sure how they might resolve that, they've done it in the past and there has been some animosity obviously resulting from these kinds of issues."
Malakai Koloamatangi says politics is a numbers game and MPs will have trouble passing legislation if they're unpopular in parliament.
