Results from the Nauru Electoral Commission show the incumbent President of Nauru has lost his bid to return to power.

Baron Waqa has not been re-elected for a seat in his constituency of Boe during the national election that took place on Saturday.

Mr Waqa had held the presidential title since 2013.

More than 7,000 voters were registered to take part in the poll to determine who will govern for the next three years.

Voters elect two members from their constituencies which make up Nauru's Parliament of 19 members.

Those members will ultimately decide who should hold the presidency.

Mr Waqa's Government was accused of artificially boosting its support by granting citizenship to Chinese nationals who work in their offices.

More to come. </s> Nauru President Baron Waqa loses bid for re-election

Updated

Results from the Nauru Electoral Commission show the incumbent President of Nauru has lost his bid to return to power.

Key points: Nauru's incumbent President Baron Waqa lost his parliamentary seat in the national election

His government was accused of trying to artifically boost numbers by granting foreigners citizenship

There was speculation Finance Minister David Adeang was bidding to oust Mr Waqa by backing a rival candidate

Baron Waqa has not been re-elected for a seat in his constituency of Boe during the national election that took place on Saturday.

The 59-year-old had held the presidential title since 2013.

More than 7,000 voters were registered to take part in the poll to determine who will govern for the next three years.

Voters elect members from their constituencies which make up Nauru's Parliament of 19 members.

Those members will ultimately decide who should hold the presidency.

In the run-up to the election, there was speculation that the country's Finance Minister, David Adeang, was bidding to oust Mr Waqa by backing a rival candidate in his constituency.

Roland Kun, a former Nauruan minister who fled to New Zealand and now lives in Australia, told the ABC that new candidates had been installed in the Boe constituency before the election.

"In Baron's constituency there's another candidate who has been put up by David Adeang, the Minister for Finance, and he's putting his support behind that candidate instead of his colleague in the Government," he said.

"We know what that's about because from our standpoint, David is pursuing the presidency."

"I think [the election result] is a very clear message that people do want change," he said on Sunday afternoon.

Pacific expert Tess Newton Cain, who has worked for the United Nations and World Bank in the region, also highlighted the fact that two of the 19 members of parliament are women.

"This is a significant achievement for Nauru in a region where women are not really well represented in national parliament."

Mr Waqa was contesting his constituency against four other candidates, with two of them, Asterio Appi and Martin Hunt, elected to Parliament.

Another candidate in his constituency Mathew Batsiua, a former foreign minister and member of the Nauru 19, was not elected and came fourth.

Will the result impact Australia's offshore processing policy?

Nauru became the site of Australia's first offshore processing centre in 2001 under the so-called "Pacific Solution".

The country now draws a sizeable amount of its revenue from the visa fees it charges Australia per asylum seeker, payments and taxes associated with the regional processing centre, as well as aid.

Mr Waqa's government favoured keeping the controversial centre open in Nauru, and the change in government now has the potential to significantly impact Australian asylum policy.

"While the [offshore processing centre] makes significant contributions to the economy of Nauru, that is obviously declining as the centre gets smaller… I think whoever takes over government will be looking at what's next for Nauru in terms of replacing those revenue streams as they dwindle," Ms Newton Caine told the ABC.

Mr Kun believed there would be no immediate changes to the offshore processing centre because the government still had no "fallback plan".

Government accused of 'number-boosting'

Mr Waqa's Government was accused of artificially boosting its support by granting citizenship to around 118 foreigners.

One Nauru-born campaign worker told the ABC that these new citizens are mainly Chinese people employed by the Government.

"It's been posted on Facebook, new names of these Chinese people," said a former Treasury worker who was dismissed for criticising Mr Waqa's Government and who asked to remain anonymous.

"They've been approached with some sort of application with a police clearance and medical check-ups, and it's just like that, overnight you're a citizen."

Ms Newton Cain said it was "hard to see how [the number boosting] couldn't have had an impact on the election."

"There are only 7,000 voters in Nauru and as we can see from the results, a number of these seats are won by a very small number — in the hundreds in a number of cases.

"Any additions to the roll are likely to have an impact," she said.

Mr Kun said voters had been "very upset" by the new names on the electoral roll and had raised their concerns "all around the country" in the lead-up to the election.

Joseph Cain, Nauru's electoral commissioner, told the ABC the new citizens had to be included in the electoral roll.

"The gazette for these new citizens was published at 16.58 on 3 August, two minutes before the roll closed," he said.

"Because the gazette was published before the close of the roll, I am required to obey the law and place these new citizens on the electoral roll."

Topics: government-and-politics, elections, community-and-society, immigration, nauru

First posted </s> Results from the Nauru Electoral Commission show the incumbent President of Nauru has lost his bid to return to power.

Baron Waqa has not been re-elected for a seat in his constituency of Boe during the national election that took place on Saturday.

Mr Waqa had held the presidential title since 2013.

More than 7000 voters were registered to take part in the poll to determine who will govern for the next three years.

Voters elect members from their constituencies which make up Nauru’s Parliament of 19 members.

Those members will ultimately decide who should hold the presidency.

In the run up to the election there was speculation that the country’s Finance minister, David Adeang, was bidding to oust Baron Waqa by backing a rival candidate in his constituency.

Ronald Kun, a former Nauruan minister who fled to New Zealand, told the ABC that new candidates had been installed in the Boe constituency before the election.

“In Baron’s constituency there’s another candidate who has been put up by David Adeang, the Minister for Finance, and he’s putting his support behind that candidate instead of his colleague in the Government,” he said.

“We know what that’s about because from our standpoint, David is pursuing the presidency.”

Mr Waqa was contesting his constituency against four other candidates, with two of them, Asterio Appi and Martin Hunt, elected to Parliament.

Another candidate in his constituency Mathew Batsiua, a former foreign minister and member of the Nauru 19, was not elected and came fourth.

Mr Waqa’s Government was accused of artificially boosting its support by granting citizenship to foreigners.

One Nauru-born campaign worker told the ABC that these new citizens are mainly Chinese people employed by the Government.

“It’s been posted on Facebook, new names of these Chinese people,” said a former Treasury worker who was dismissed for criticising Mr Waqa’s Government and who asked to remain anonymous.

Joseph Cain, Nauru’s electoral commissioner, told the ABC the new citizens had to be included in the electoral roll.

“The gazette for these new citizens was published at 16.58 on 3 August, two minutes before the roll closed,” he said.

“Because the gazette was published before the close of the roll, I am required to obey the law and place these new citizens on the electoral roll.” </s> The president of Nauru has lost his bid to retain power in the tiny Pacific nation, losing his seat in a national election, Australian media reported Sunday.

Baron Waqa has been president since 2013 and his support was critical to hosting Australia’s asylum seeker detention facility on the island.

Waqa, 59, had failed to secure enough votes to hold on to his seat in Saturday’s election, according to preliminary returns to the Nauru Electoral Commission, Australia’s national broadcaster ABC reported.

A final announcement of the election result is expected on Monday.

Since 2001 Australia has placed asylum seekers, caught trying to reach Australia by boat, in the Nauru detention facility while their refugee status was processed.

Nauru made about a third of its national income from the arrangement.

Nauru is the world’s smallest republic, with just 7,000 people eligible to vote for the 19-member parliament that chooses the president.

It is the world’s third-smallest nation behind Vatican City and Monaco. </s> Nauru’s president, Baron Waqa, has reportedly lost his seat in parliament.

Preliminary election results from his electorate of Boe show that Waqa, who has been president since 2013, lost out to Asterio Appi and Martin Hunt.

He only narrowly beat the former cabinet minister and serving opposition member Mathew Batsiua for third place.

The Nauru parliamentary election was held on Saturday. Seven thousand people voted to make up the 19-member parliament. Results from six of the eight electorates had been published by Sunday morning.

Batsiua was suspended from parliament in 2014 after publicly criticising the Waqa government and is a member of the Nauru 19, a group of protestors facing prosecution over a protest against the removal of Batsiua and two others from parliament.

The former president Ludwig Scotty, re-elected in May in a byelection, also lost his seat in the Anabar electorate, along with a fellow sitting MP, Riddell Akua. Elected in their place were Maverick Eoe and Pyon Deiye.

According to the official Republic of Nauru Twitter account, the home affairs minister, Charmaine Scotty, was re-elected in Yaren alongside Isabella Dageago.

Khyde Menke, Tawaki Kam and Lionel Aingimea were elected in Menang while Milton Dube was re-elected in Aiwo, alongside Rennier Gadabu. The opposition MP Marcus Stephen was re-elected in Anetan, as was newcomer Timothy Ika.

The former justice minister Roland Kun is out in Buada, with the government MP Shadlog Bernicke retaining his seat alongside Bingham Agir.

More to come </s> Sydney: Nauru President Baron Waqa was voted out of office in the tiny South Pacific island nation after six years in power, media reports said on Sunday.

Waqa was beaten in his seat of Boe in a national election on Saturday. He contested the seat against four other candidates, two of whom won seats in Nauru's 19-member parliament, the ABC reported.

Sixty candidates contested the election, seeking the support of 7400 registered voters. Final results were expected later on Sunday.

Political instability has plagued Nauru in the past but the previous election in 2016 was deemed by Commonwealth observers to be transparent and fair. </s> Former human rights lawyer Lionel Aingimea has been elected Nauru's new President, two days after results showed Baron Waqa was not re-elected after six years in power.

Mr Aingimea won a parliamentary vote for the presidency 12-6 over rival David Adeang, the Nauru Government information office reported.

Mr Aingimea previously served as Nauru's secretary for justice under Finance Minister David Adeang.

More than 7,000 voters were registered to take part in the poll to determine who would govern for the next three years.

While the result came as a surprise to many, Pacific analyst Tess Newton Cain said it reflected the younger make-up of the new Parliament voted in on Saturday's election.

"One of the big changes that we've seen is not only a turnover in terms of established people losing their seats and new people coming in, but a lot of these new people are aged 40 and under," she told the ABC.

"This does very much seem a push from the younger generation for something new and maybe accounts for why Mr Aingimea was able to secure the presidency in competition with Mr Adeang.

"He has [been active in] promoting human rights and the rule of law, so it will certainly be interesting to see whether his leadership provides us with some comfort as to the protection of rule of law in Nauru going forward."

The change in leadership follows calls for humanitarian reform in the tiny Pacific nation.

Nauru became the site of Australia's first offshore processing centre in 2001 under the so-called "Pacific solution".

The country now draws a sizeable amount of its revenue from the visa fees it charges Australia per asylum seeker, payments and taxes associated with the regional processing centre, as well as aid.

Ronald Kun, a former Nauruan minister who fled to New Zealand and now lives in Australia, told the ABC that the electorate had sent a "very clear message at the ballot box".

"People want a change in approach [of leadership]… people were fed up with the poor governance," he said. </s> FILE PHOTO: Nauru President Divavesi Waqa addresses the General Assembly in New York

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Nauru President Baron Waqa was voted out of office in the tiny South Pacific island nation after six years in power, media reports said on Sunday.

Waqa was beaten in his seat of Boe in a national election on Saturday. He contested the seat against four other candidates, two of whom won seats in Nauru's 19-member parliament, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Sixty candidates contested the election, seeking the support of 7,400 registered voters. Final results were expected later on Sunday.

Political instability has plagued Nauru in the past but the previous election in 2016 was deemed by Commonwealth observers to be transparent and fair.

The Micronesian nation, with a population estimated at about 11,300 people, once made its money from phosphate mining.

The island also hosts a controversial detention center housing asylum seekers on behalf of Australia, its biggest foreign aid donor.

Under Australian law, would-be asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach its shores by boat are sent for processing to offshore camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. </s> WELLINGTON: Nauru´s president, a strong supporter of Australia´s hardline policy of detaining refugees on the tiny Pacific island nation, has lost his seat in a general election, official results showed Sunday. Voters went to the polls on Saturday and selected two rival candidates over Baron Waqa in his electorate of Boe, ending the 59-year-old´s six years in office. His successor will not be known until the 19-member parliament meets to choose a new president, with finance minister David Adeang considered a favourite after being re-elected. Waqa proved a controversial leader at times and Australia´s Lowy Institute think tank last year said the country of 11,000 “lurched towards authoritarianism” under his leadership. His government has made it difficult for international media visiting Nauru to report on conditions facing asylum seekers. It also introduced laws carrying heavy jail terms for political protesters and at times curbed access to sites such as Facebook, which critics said was aimed at curbing dissent. Australia´s policy of processing asylum seekers on Nauru — and the equally remote Manus island in Papua New Guinea — has proved an economic lifeline for a country which exhausted its previous source of wealth: phosphate deposits used as fertiliser. Nauru´s government revenues ballooned from Aus$20 million (US$13 million) in 2010-11 to Aus$115 million (US$77 million) in 2015-16 largely due to fees paid by Canberra linked to the asylum policy, official Australian data shows.
Voters in Nauru go to the polls to elect new members of parliament. President Baron Waqa loses his parliamentary seat so he is not able to be re-elected in the office he has been holding since 2013.