Daily Times

New Zealand congratulated Kiribati’s Taneti Maamau after the pro-China president was elected on Saturday to a third term in charge of the low-lying Pacific island nation. According to the New Zealand High Commission in Kiribati, Maamau received 20,676 votes, equating to about 55 percent support at the polls, to head off nearest challenger Kaotitaaake Kokoria, who received about 42 percent support. Chief Justice Tetiro Semilota publicly declared Maamau the winner of the presidential election and conveyed her congratulations, the High Commission said in a statement. Maamau, 64, had been tipped as a hot favourite to remain president — or Beretitenti — of the country of around 120,000 people, with his two rivals both hailing from his own ruling Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TKP). New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was among the first to offer congratulations. “Warm congratulations to President Maamau on the Kiribati election results,” Luxon said in a social media post. “We look forward to working with the Government of Kiribati to deliver on our shared priorities,” Maamau had retained his seat by a landslide in August parliamentary elections that were dominated by concerns about the cost of living, rising sea levels and relations with Beijing.