WELLINGTON, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Voters in the Cook Islands, a South Pacific nation comprising 15 islands, began casting their ballots on Wednesday in a parliamentary election.
A latest poll by Cook Islands News showed a tight race between incumbent Prime Minister Mark Brown's Cook Islands Party (CIP) and the opposition Cook Islands United Party (CIUP), led by Teariki Heather.
The poll put support for the CIP at 30.5 percent, narrowly ahead of the CIUP at 26.7 percent, while 25.7 percent of voters remained undecided.
As one independent candidate was elected in mid-July, 62 candidates are vying for the remaining 23 seats in the unicameral parliament. A party or coalition needs to win at least 13 seats to secure a majority and form a government.
More than 100 officials were deployed for the election, and 11,000 voters were registered, according to Cook Islands News. ■