The presidential election in Kiribati is scheduled for October 25.
Notices announcing the election were published by electoral districts throughout the nation on Friday.
Three candidates will compete, all from the ruling Tobwaan Kiribati Party (TKP), following the removal of one candidate, Riteta Iorome, with no explanation provided for his exclusion from the ballot.
The remaining candidates include the incumbent president, Taneti Maamau, who has served for the past eight years, along with Bauntaake Beia and Kaotitaake Kokoria.
The TKP utilized its majority to prevent any opposition candidates from participating, leading opposition leader Tessie Lambourne to assert that citizens are being denied their right to choose a president. She raised concerns about Kiribati becoming a one-party state and indicated that the provision of basic services is close to failure.
A new law mandates that candidates submit a copy of their manifesto to the Electoral Commission, which is set to publish those manifestos in the Government Gazette by Monday. According to the constitutional amendment, the winning candidate will be held accountable for the manifesto commitments by the Electoral Commission for the entire four-year term.
Due to the inability of opposition candidates to enter the race, the opposition is considering a boycott of the upcoming election.