1978 Cook Islands general election
General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 30 March 1978 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly. The result was a victory for the Cook Islands Party (CIP) of Premier Albert Henry, which won 15 of the 22 seats. The Democratic Party won the remaining seven seats.
| |||||||||||||||||
22 seats in the Legislative Assembly 13 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
| |||||||||||||||||
Politics of the Cook Islands |
|---|
|
|
Following the elections, the Democratic Party challenged the results, claiming Henry had used public funds to subsidise flights that brought expatriate CIP supporters back to the Cook Islands to vote, which cost around $300,000. The election of nine CIP MPs was subsequently overturned by an electoral court, allowing Democratic Party leader Tom Davis – who had lost his seat before being reinstated as a result of the ruling – to become Premier. Henry was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and misuse of public money, and later stripped of his knighthood.