Culture of the Cook Islands Culture of the Cook Islands The culture of the Cook Islands reflects the traditions of its fifteen islands as a Polynesian island country, spread over in the South Pacific Ocean. It is in free association with New Zealand. Its traditions are based on the influences of those who settled the islands over several centuries. Polynesian people from Tahiti settled in the Cook Islands in the 6th century. The Portuguese captain, Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, made the first recorded European landing in the islands in the early 17th century, and well over a hundred years later, in the 18th century, the
Elections in the Cook Islands Elections in the Cook Islands Elections in the Cook Islands gives information on election and election results in the Cook Islands. The Cook Islands elects on national level a legislature. The Parliament of the Cook Islands has 24 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat constuencies. The Cook Islands have a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party. An election was held on 26 September 2006, after the opposition Cook Islands Party won a byelection in Matevera, leaving the