1978 Gilbertese Chief Minister election

1978 Gilbertese Chief Minister election

17 March 1978 (1978-03-17) 1982 →
Turnout	73.5%
Candidate Ieremia Tabai Roniti Teiwaki Popular vote 8,782 3,897 Percentage 55.61% 24.68% Home island Nonouti Betio   Candidate Babera Kirata Taomati Iuta Popular vote 1,844 1,270 Percentage 11.68% 8.04% Home island Onotoa Beru
Map of margin of victory by constituency
Chief Minister before election Naboua Ratieta Elected Chief Minister Ieremia Tabai

Politics of Kiribati
Constitution Human rights LGBT rights
Executive President Taneti Maamau Vice-President Teuea Toatu Cabinet
Legislative House of Assembly Speaker: Willie Tokataake Members
Judiciary Court of Appeal President: Sir Peter Blanchard High Court Chief Justice: Bill Hastings (suspended)
Elections Recent elections Presidential: 2016 2020 Parliamentary: 2015–16 2020 Political parties
Subdivisions
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister: Taneti Maamau Diplomatic missions of / in Kiribati Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Other countries
v t e

The Gilbert Islands held its first national election to choose a chief minister on 17 March 1978. Opposition leader Ieremia Tabai won with 55.6% of the vote, following a voter turnout of 73.5%. The election for chief minister came after the parliamentary election of the same year and the new parliament's unanimous vote to replace the appointed chief minister with one that was popularly elected.

Parliament voted to determine which four candidates would be on the ballot, choosing Taomati Iuta, Babera Kirata, Ieremia Tabai, and Roniti Teiwaki. The previous chief minister, Naboua Ratieta, was unpopular in the new parliament, so its members coordinated to assure that he was not selected for the ballot. The four candidates on the ballot were allies, so they agreed that the two lesser-known candidates would campaign to introduce themselves to voters while the other two would not.

Following Tabai's victory, he led the country's independence process and the position of chief minister was renamed President of Kiribati. Tabai was re-elected in the 1982, 1983, and 1987 elections. The 1987 election was disputed because it was unclear whether the 1978 election counted toward Tabai's term limit.