General elections were held in the Cook Islands

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...

 on 20 April 1965 to elect 22 MPs to the Cook Islands Legislative Assembly

Parliament of the Cook Islands

The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand colonial rule, it became the national legislature on independence in 1965....

. The elections were won by the Cook Islands Party

Cook Islands Party

The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the Islands' politics since 1965....

 and saw Albert Henry

Albert Henry

Albert Royle Henry was the first Premier of the Cook Islands. He was forced to resign from that post in a 1978 voting scandal for which he was later convicted of fraud...

 become the Cook Islands' first Prime Minister

Prime Minister of the Cook Islands

The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands is the official rsponsible for heading Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's government in the Cook Islands, a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. The office was established in 1965, when self-government was first granted to the islands...

.

Because the election had the potential to result in removing the Cook Islands from the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, the election was observed by representatives of the UN. The holding of an election was necessary prior to the Constitution of the Cook Islands coming into force and the constitution, if approved by the elected Legislature, would institute self-government for the Cook Islands. After the election, the Legislative Assembly approved the constitution and the Cook Islands became self-governing on 4 August 1965. As a result, the UN removed the Cook Islands from its list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Summary of the 20 April 1965 Cook Islands Parliament of the Cook Islands

Parliament of the Cook Islands

The Parliament of the Cook Islands is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand colonial rule, it became the national legislature on independence in 1965....

 election results

Elections in the Cook Islands

Elections in the Cook Islands gives information on election and election results in the Cook Islands.The Cook Islands elects on national level a legislature. The Parliament of the Cook Islands has 24 members, elected for a four year term in single-seat constuencies...

|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top width=420|Parties
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
|-bgcolor=
|align=left|Cook Islands Party

Cook Islands Party

The Cook Islands Party is a nationalist political party in the Cook Islands. It was the first political party founded in the Cook Islands, and one of the two major parties of the Islands' politics since 1965....

|align="right" |9511
|align="right" |52.25
|align="right" |14
|-
|align=left|Independents
|align="right" |8693
|align="right" |47.75
|align="right" |8
|-
|align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 18204
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"| 93.9
|width="30" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|22
|-
|colspan=4|Source:
|}