Kiribati, formerly the Gilbert Islands, is a republic located at the intersection of the equator and the International Date Line in the central Pacific Ocean. Kiribati has a population of 71,800 and an annual growth rate of approximately 2.3, one of the highest in the Pacific. It consists of 33 islands, all coral atolls except Banaba (a raised coral island), spread over some two million square miles of ocean. It achieved independence from Great Britain on July 12, 1979, but remains within the Commonwealth.

The constitution establishes a form of government that is a mixture of parliamentary and presidential systems. The president, or Beretitenti, is both head of state and head of government. He is chosen by a national election in which there is a maximum of four candidates. The candidates are nominated by the House of Assembly from among its members. The president selects a cabinet from among the members of the House of Assembly. The cabinet consists of a vice president, not more than eight other ministers, and an attorney general. The normal term of office for president is four years, and an individual can serve for a maximum of three terms. He can be removed from office by a vote of no confidence by the House of Assembly. In such cases, a Council of State is empowered to carry out the executive functions until a new president is elected.

The single-chamber House of Assembly, or Maneaba-ni-Maungatabu, consists of thirty-six elected members, a nominated representative of the Banaban community, and the attorney general, who is an ex officio member. The speaker is chosen by members of the Maneaba from among persons who are not members of the assembly. Elections for the Maneaba are held every four years in twenty-three single-member or multi-members constituencies. Each member must be elected by an overall majority of votes cast, and runoff elections are often necessary. All representatives, except ministers, can be recalled by a petition of a majority of registered voters in their electorates.

Kiribati has a Court of Appeal and a High Court, and each inhabited island has a Magistrates' Court. The High Court can hear civil or criminal cases and those involving constitutional matters. The ultimate right of appeal is to the British Privy Council. The jurisdiction of magistrates' courts is unlimited in land matters, but limited in civil and criminal cases.

Local government takes the form of statutory island councils with elected members and limited administrative and financial powers. However, groups of traditional leaders, or Unimane, are often the more effective local political force.

The constitution makes special provision for the Banaban community, whose home island of Banaba (Ocean Island) had been, until 1979, the site of extensive phosphate works since 1900. Most Banabans now live on Rabi island in the Fiji group, bought for them from their own reserve funds by the British at the end of World War II. Their vigorous attempts to declare Banaba independent of Kiribati have proved unsuccessful, but the constitution reserves two seats for their representatives in Parliament (one from Banaba and one from the Rabi Council), provides for an island council, and safeguards land rights. Following a lengthy battle in British courts and a 1985 commission of inquiry into the Banaban issue, little was accomplished except recommendation for the payment for un-replanted trees by the former British Phosphate Commission and token payment by the British government against any further claim -- both of which were rejected by the Banabans who argued for larger payments under claims of "breach of trust," an accusation denied by the British.

Kiribati's new political institutions have demonstrated their viability in the post-independence period. National elections have been held successfully in 1978, 1982, early 1983 (after a vote of no confidence), and in 1991 when Kiribati's first president, Ieremia Tabai, was replaced by Teateo Teannaki. Voter turnout has been very high in all cases. Fairly stable factions have emerged in the Maneaba -- mostly between groups of islands -- and until the recent election, no formal, mass-based political parties existed. The present opposition consists largely of Catholics from the northern islands with their loyalties divided among several political parties which caucused under the Christian Democratic Party to complain about perceived Protestant southern island domination in government. The largest opposition party is the Te Maneaba party lead by Roniti Teiwaki. In 1992, four backbenchers defected to form a new political party, Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabomoa ("Good Health, Peace, and Prosperity"), and nearly caused a loss of majority for President Teannaki. Their departure was compensated for by the addition of the twin seats of Banaba and Rabi to the government side. After years of neglect by the Kiribati government, the Banabans are hopeful that there will be a more sympathetic approach to their problems if they join the ruling party.

Thirty-five year old Ieremia Tabai led the government from 1978 until the end of his third term in 1991. His government dealt with several challenging issues, the most serious of which was the disruptive strike of urban wage workers in 1980, and a 1985 agreement which allowed boats from the Soviet Union to fish within Kiribati's 200-mile zone -- a move that occasioned strong reactions from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and resulted in a vote of no confidence in his government which Tabai narrowly survived. Internal opposition, especially from the churches, has also been strong and the Christian Democratic Party has pursued the issue, now with the assistance of the newly formed Te Mauri, Te Raoi ao Te Tabomoa party.

The present government of Teateo Teannaki currently presides over a Maneaba in political deadlock with the seats almost evenly divided. The drastic drop in copra prices, the mainstay of low-income earners in the outer islands, and the ever-increasing cost of living has not helped alleviate President Teannaki's political predicament.

Since phosphate resources were exhausted in 1979, Kiribati has faced severe economic problems. Future prospects are closely tied to the development of marine resources because few other exploitable resources exist. With the drop in world market prices forcing the Copra Society to reduce the price it pays for copra, there has been a general feeling that Kiribati's Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund (built with the royalties from phosphate mining and currently estimated to be in excess of Aust.$200 million) should be used to prop up copra prices and help increase the dwindling per capita income of I-Kiribati, which has plummeted from Aust.$600 per year to less than Aust.$400 since independence. From this, it seems likely that the Kiribati economy is likely to remain dependent on external aid funds for the foreseeable future.