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Prime Minister Dr Robert Woonton’s Democratic faction has broken away from the party to form the new Demo Party Tumu.
The move follows the expulsion of Dr Woonton and Minister of Health Peri Vaevae Pare from the Democratic Party, led by Dr Terepai Maoate.
The new party includes Dr Woonton, Vaevae Pare, Minister of Education Jim Marurai, the MP for the Atiu constituency of Teenui/Mapumai, Poko Simpson and Piho Rua, whose election win in Rakahanga is subject to the result of a petition.
Dr Woonton is leader of the new party and Marurai the deputy leader.
Minister of Agriculture Robert Wigmore is on an official visit to China and Fiji and Dr Woonton said the question of his party membership would be sorted out when he returned.
“The Demo Party Tumu are the real Democrats,” the prime minister said.
“Last week the Woonton Democratic faction met and unanimously agreed that we should form the Demo Party Tumu following the expulsion of myself and Peri Vaevae Pare by the Democratic Party executive.
“Our Cook Islands Party partners have been fully appraised as to what we are doing and they are delighted that our faction now has an identity.”
“We have taken the action of forming our own party because we have been deprived of our right to choose a leader of our own. By amending the party constitution the Democratic Party has removed our right to choose who leads us in Parliament.
“This is a normal right given to Members of Parliament in democratic countries, especially New Zealand and Australia, where elected members choose who will be their leader.”
The five MPs and their supporters had met to elect an executive and had chosen Office of the Minister of Island Administrations chief executive officer, Nandi Glassie as president, the prime minister said.
“The incorporation papers have not yet arrived yet, but we decided that it was important to go ahead and form the party.”
A party conference would be called early next year, Dr Woonton added.
Marurai said the main idea behind forming the new party was to provide members with a separate identity to the other faction.
It also placed their coalition partners, the CIPs in a situation where the government was in a more “relaxed” situation, he said. |
