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Parliamentary elections were held in Kiribati on 21 and 28 October 2011. In the first round, exactly half of the 44 MPs were elected, with the remainder chosen in the run-off. 29 candidates were reelected, and four government ministers lost their seats. One seat had to go to a third round of elections, because the two candidates were tied in the second round. In the third round, Jacob Teem defended his seat against Rutio Bangao with just 27 votes difference.
The incumbent president's Pillars of Truth reportedly took 15 seats, the United Coalition Party of Tetaua Taitai 10 seats and the Maurin Kiribati Pati of Rimeta Beniamina won three seats, with the remainder going to independents.
Following the election, lobbying for the presidential election was expected to begin, with one of the main issues expected to be People's Republic of China – Kiribati relations.