Cook Islands, Feb. 7 -- A by-election in the Cook Islands' Areora-Tengatangi-Ngatiarua electorate will be held on 18 March after Te-Hani Brown confirmed she has left the Democratic Party.
Brown won the seat in last year's election, but last month decided to defect to the Cook Islands Party-led coalition government to give it a majority.
She now plans to stand as an independent candidate in the by-election.
In a statement Brown said she advised the Speaker of the Parliament, Niki Rattle, as well as the president of the Democratic Party Sean Willis, about her resignation as the MP for the seat "effective immediately".
Rattle confirmed she had received Brown's resignation.
Brown said she intend to contest the upcoming by-election as an in...