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General elections were held in the Cook Islands on 7 September 2004. Initial results showed the Democratic Party winning by a wide margin, but close results led to 11 electoral petitions being filed, delaying the date Parliament could sit until mid-December. In the interim, Prime Minister Robert Woonton announced that he was forming a coalition government with the rival Cook Islands Party. This led to a split within the Democrats, with Woonton and four other MPs leaving to form the Demo Tumu Party. With 14 MPs, the coalition had a comfortable majority in Parliament.
The results of the electoral petitions saw the seat of Titikaveka change hands while Woonton's seat was a dead tie. Woonton subsequently resigned in order to fight a by-election, causing his government to be dissolved. He was succeeded by his deputy, Jim Marurai.