Woman’s mayoral hopes dashed

The hopes of a Mitiaro woman to stand for Mayor have been shattered with OMIA (Office of the Minister for Island Administration) not accepting her nomination.
Rouru (Ngatokorua) Teuira is furious.
According to OMIA chief executive officer Othaniel Tangianau, Ms Teuira’s nomination form was not filled out completely.
Teuira said she blames Mitiaro Island Secretary Tai Topa for not ensuring that the two people who lodged her nomination had filled the form out correctly. She claimed her supporters did not read English very well and for that reason, Topa should have assisted them.
FORM
Tangianau confirmed that the Island Secretary is responsible for ensuring nomination forms are correctly filled out and sent in by the due date.
He said he spoke to Topa who said Teuira’s two supporters came in and left taking the nomination form with them. Then they came back a second time.
Tangianau said Island Secretaries are responsible to the Public Service Commissioner not OMIA. He confirmed that several other nominations had also been declined.
Teuira, who quit her job on Rarotonga to return to Mitiaro to stand for mayor, believes personalities have injected themselves into her campaign to run for Mayor.
Her outspokenness and complaint in July 2006 to then Mayor Van Dongen about public servants drinking on the job may have made her unpopular with some people.
Nominations for mayor closed on Friday 23 March. A copy of the candidate nomination paper shows Teuira consented to the nomination on 19 March and the date of nomination is shown as 20 March.
ERRORS
On the 23 March the Island Secretary announced that the due to errors on the southern roll nominations were to now close on 9 April.
On the morning of 27 March Teuira said she was contacted by the two people who nominated her that they had been told by the Island Secretary that the nomination form OMIA received only had her signature on it. This was the form she signed and returned to her two supporters when they asked her to stand for Mayor.
On the afternoon of 27 March she faxed a complaint to OMIA about the mix up.
On 29 March Teiura received a letter from Tangianau at OMIA dated 28 March explaining the position as he understood it following his enquiry into her complaint.
FAXED
Teuira was advised that her nomination form was incomplete. It had been faxed through to OMIA on Monday 26 March due to telecommunication problems.
Tangianau told her that on 27 March a second nomination form was received from Mitiaro Island Administration and that this form also was found to be incomplete.
Tangianau’s letter informs Teuira her nomination as Mayoral candidate is considered void. This means she cannot stand as Mayoral candidate in the upcoming government elections.
Two matters arising out of this matter were clarified by Tangianau with the Times on Friday.
Firstly, two nomination forms were sent to OMIA. The first only had her signature on it. The second nomination form received was also incomplete in that such details as nominees’ residence and occupation had not been entered and also not entered were the two nominees’ page and line numbers on the roll.
Secondly, the closing date for nominations was not extended to 9 April as Teuira was advised by Topa. Tangianau said it was considered but not followed through.

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