General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 9 July 2014, determining the membership of the 14th Cook Islands Parliament. The Cook Islands Party (CIP) initially appeared to have retained its majority, winning 13 seats, while the Democratic Party won eight and the new One Cook Islands Movement won two, with one seat tied. However, the result in one constituency the CIP had won was overturned in court, with the Democratic Party awarded the seat, while the tied seat was also awarded to the Democratic Party after one ballot was invalidated, resulting in a hung parliament. Background The previous elections were held on 17 November 2010. The term of the Parliament was due to expire four years after that date, on 17 November 2014. Elections had to be held no later than three months after that date, with 17 February 2015 being the latest date. However, on 17 April 2014 the Queen's Representative, Tom Marsters, dissolved Parliament, setting an election date of 9 July. Marsters stated that the Prime Minister, Henry Puna, had informed him that the early election was required in order to have a new government in office prior to the 50th anniversary of the Cook Islands attaining self-government, which will occur in 2015. Masters also said that it would allow the new government to pass a budget in time for the anniversary. Puna blamed minister Teina Bishop for destabilising the government and necessitating the election. Bishop resigned as education and tourism minister the day after the election was announced and subsequently left the Cook Islands Party to form a new party. The Opposition claimed that the Prime Minister had called the election to avoid a no-confidence vote in Parliament, which Puna denied. Leader of the Opposition Wilkie Rasmussen criticised Puna for calling an election with bills yet to complete their passage in Parliament. A list of candidates was publicly notified on 6 May. 52 candidates contested the election, a decrease from 70 in 2010. Six candidates were women, with Alexis Wolfgramm of the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association blaming the snap election for the lack of more female candidates. 10,394 people were enrolled to vote. Electoral system The 24 members of Parliament are elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. Campaign The Cook Islands Party campaigned on its record in government, including increasing pensions, other welfare payments and the minimum wage. It also