Editing Politics of Kiribati (section)

==Political conditions==

[[List of political parties in Kiribati|Political parties]] have existed since 1965 but are more similar to informal coalitions in behaviour. They do not have official platforms or party structures. Most candidates formally present themselves as independents, then they joined one party at the first meeting of the House. The website of the House of Assembly explains that in this way:<ref>[http://www.parliament.gov.ki/parliament/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=32 "Political parties"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612174849/http://www.parliament.gov.ki/parliament/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=32 |date=2010-06-12 }}, House of Assembly of Kiribati</ref>
:''"There [were] four political parties in Kiribati, [[Boutokaan Te Koaua]] (BTK), [[Maurin Kiribati Party]] (MKP), [[Maneaban Te Mauri Party]] (MMP) and [[Kiribati Tabomoa Party]]. The parties are loose groupings rather than disciplined blocks, with little or no structure. Members may change allegiance on a number of occasions during their tenure. It is also common for members to vote according to the special interests of their electorate on certain issues."''

[[Kiribati Tabomoa Party]] ("National Progressive Party") and [[Christian Democratic Party (Kiribati)|Christian Democratic Party]] merged into [[Maneaban Te Mauri]] (MMP, "[[Protect the Maneaba]]") in 2003, which later merged with [[Kiribati Independent Party]] into [[Karikirakean Te I-Kiribati]] (KTK, "[[United Coalition Party]]") in 2010, which later merged with [[Maurin Kiribati Party]] (MKP) to form [[Tobwaan Kiribati Party]] (TKP), the only one facing ''[[Boutokaan Te Koaua]]'' (BTK, "[[Pillars of Truth]]").

A major source of conflict has been the protracted bid by the residents of [[Banaba Island]] to secede and have their island placed under the protection of Fiji. The government's attempts to placate the [[Banabans]] include several special provisions in the constitution, such as the designation of a Banaban seat in the legislature and the return of land previously acquired by the government for phosphate mining.