The Akaoa by-election was a by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

 in the Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

 seat of Akaoa. It took place on 29 November 2006, and was precipitated by the seat being a dead tie in the 2006 general election

Cook Islands general election, 2006

General elections were held in the Cook Islands on September 27, 2006 in order to elect 24 MPs to the Cook Islands Parliament. The Democratic Party remained in power, winning 15 of 24 seats. A total of 8,497 voters turned out to vote....

. After a judicial recount, the High Court ordered a by-election.

Both general election candidates contested the by-election. The poll was won by the Cook Islands Party

Cook Islands Party

The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the Islands' politics since 1965....

's Teariki Heather

Teariki Heather

Teariki William Heather is a Cook Islands politician and Cabinet Minister. He represents the constituency of Akaoa for the Cook Islands Party....

. The by-election attracted a higher number of votes than the general election, in part because of a slight increase in enrolments.