Power of the people exercised through Parliament

Nauru is a parliamentary democracy, which means that Nauru has a system of government in which power is vested in the people, who exercise their power through elected representatives in Parliament.

Nauru also has a system of responsible government, which means that the government (President and Cabinet), which is made up of elected members of Parliament, is answerable to the Parliament for its actions, and must maintain the confidence of a majority of Parliament in order to remain in government.

 

Public access and involvement

You can watch the proceedings of Parliament by sitting in the public gallery of Parliament House, which is open to the public during all Parliament sittings. The public gallery is attached to the Parliamentary Chamber and has a glass wall through which you can see into the Chamber. You can also watch Parliament sittings live on NTV, or listen to Parliament on Radio Nauru.

There are other ways to get involved in the work of Parliament. You can make submissions to Parliamentary Committees or make submissions on Bills. Read more about how to do this on the Committees page and the Bills/Acts page.

You can write to your Member of Parliament about issues that you think ought to be addressed by government or by Parliament, or you can visit your Member of Parliament. All private Members now have office space in the Parliament building in order to do parliamentary work and meet with constituents.

If you wish to access parliamentary documents that you cannot find on this website, or if you have any questions about Parliament that are not answered on this site, please contact us.

 

Your representatives

Members of Parliament are elected to represent the common interest of their constituents, to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of Nauru, and to ensure accountable government for the people of Nauru.

Members of Parliament are chosen by the people voting in general elections. All Nauruans aged 20 years and over are eligible to vote, and voting is compulsory. General elections take place at least every three years, or more often if Parliament is dissolved before the completion of its full three year term.

You can find information about your elected representatives on the Members page of this website.