Politics

Nauru is a republic with a parliamentary system of government. The president is both the head of state and of government. An 18-member unicameral parliament is elected every three years. The parliament elects a president from its members, who appoints a cabinet of five to six members. Nauru does not have a formal structure for political parties; candidates typically stand as independents. 15 of the 18 members of the current parliament are independents, and alliances within the government are often formed on the basis of extended family ties. Three parties that have been active in Nauruan politics are the Democratic Party, Nauru First and the Centre Party.

The fact that Nauru is a democracy makes Nauru a rare and atypical counterexample of the traditional theory of the rentier state, as the sale of Nauru’s natural resource has not led to authoritarianism.

~ by nauruguide on August 24, 2008.