Kiribati is a multiparty democracy that holds regular elections and has experienced peaceful transfers of power between competing groups. Civil liberties are generally upheld, though outstanding problems include a ban on same-sex sexual activity, some forms of gender discrimination, and recent pressure on judicial independence.

• Free and fair legislative elections were held in August, with President Taneti Maamau’s Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TKP) capturing 33 of the 44 elected seats. The opposition Boutokaan Kiribati Moa (BKM) took 8 seats, and independents accounted for the remainder. Five women were among those elected, a record high.
• In October, Maamau was reelected for a third term as president after an unusual process in which all of the four candidates initially nominated by the legislature belonged to the TKP, meaning there was no representative of the opposition. One of the four dropped out, and another, Kaotitaake Kokoria, broke away from the TKP to mount an independent challenge late in the race. Maamau ultimately took 55 percent of the vote, and Kokoria attracted 42 percent.
• A long-running judicial crisis continued during the year, with High Court judge David Lambourne—the Australian-born husband of a leading opposition politician—forced to leave the country in May. The legislature had voted in April to remove him from office, after a special tribunal established by the government alleged that he had failed to deliver decisions in a timely fashion. A United Nations special rapporteur stated that the process had violated international standards and failed to provide Lambourne with a fair hearing. His appeal was argued before a panel of judges in December, and a decision was pending at year’s end. The government’s repeated attempts to oust Lambourne, beginning in 2020, had led to a series of other judicial suspensions, vacancies, and growing case backlogs.

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For additional background information, see last year’s full report.