general elections

Preliminary results are expected to be all in by 10 o'clock tonight local time.

When Prime Minister Henry Puna announced the June 14 date for the general elections less than two months ago, there was a general feeling of relief that there would be only a short lead-up time to polling day.

Long campaign periods have been known to place the small communities in the Cook Islands under considerable pressure as party politics plays a major role in the lives of many.

The Commission had earlier said it did not feel comfortable going onto the gang's premises.

A gang advocate, Denis O'Reilly, said getting gang members to vote was a way of helping them become more law abiding.

RNZI reports O’Reilly praised the Commission for getting Black Power members registered at a meeting on a marae in Hawera recently.

"It's a symbol by the Crown that says, 'We care. Yes we will thrash you if you break the law, but we also want to engage with you'.

"So it's as symbolic as anything," Mr O'Reilly said.

Of the 171 candidates in the general election, 24 are women.

In the previous 2011 election, there were just 9 women candidates.

In 2013 the constitution was changed to reserve five seats, or l0 percent, of the 49 seats in Parliament for women.