Prime Minister

Marurai was re-elected at the 2004 election. When Prime Minister Robert Woonton was expelled from the Democratic party for forming a coalition with the Cook Islands Party, Marurai joined him in the newly formed Demo Party Tumu (later known as Cook Islands First).^[13] When an electoral petition found Woonton's seat was a dead tie, Woonton resigned, and Marurai was elected Prime Minister.^[14] Initially he governed in coalition with the Cook Islands Party as part of a power-sharing deal which would see CIP leader Geoffrey Henry become Prime Minister after two years,^[14] but in August 2005 the agreement broke down and Marurai formed a new coalition with the Democrats.^[15] Terepai Maoate became Deputy Prime Minister again, and a month later the remaining CIP Cabinet Ministers were sacked and replaced by Democrats.^[16][17]

In October 2005 Marurai suspended Police Minister Peri Vaevae Pare from Cabinet over an allegation of wrongful use of public funds;^[18] Pare was subsequently asked to resign after he was convicted in January 2006.^[19] In March 2006 two government MP's crossed the floor and sided with the opposition in an unsuccessful plot to bring down the government.^[20] The High Commissioner to New Zealand, former Prime Minister Rober Woonton, was sacked for his involvement in the plot.^[21] The resulting deadlock in Parliament was broken when Environment Minister Teina Bishop resigned and joined the opposition^[22] and the Cook Islands Party won the 2006 Matavera by-election.^[23] To avoid a confidence vote, Marurai dissolved Parliament and called a snap election.^[24]

The Democratic Party won the resulting 2006 election^[25] and agreed to back Marurai as Prime Minister again.^[26] Shortly after the election his government pushed a controversial Media Standards Bill to regulate the media.^[27] In May 2007 Marurai attended the 8th Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders in Washington, D.C., and expressed disappointment with the lack of commitments by the United States.^[28] In August 2007 he hosted New Zealand Governor-General Anand Satyanand,^[29] and in October he made a state visit to China.^[30]

Marurai's coalition came under strain in early 2008, with an outbreak of bickering and calls for Ministers to be sacked.^[31][32] In late 2008 Foreign Minister Wilkie Rasmussen publicly called for both Marurai and his deputy Maoate to step down.^[33] In July 2009 Rasmussen was sacked for plotting with the opposition.^[34][35] In December, a million dollar legal settlement from a failed bid to buy the Toa fuel tank farm led to the sacking of Maoate and a walkout of Democrats from Cabinet.^[36][37][38] Marurai was subsequently expelled from the Democratic Party.^[39] In January 2010, with both the Democrats and the Cook Islands Party opposed to his premiership,^[40] Marurai announced that he would not be "calling parliament for at least several months" as no sitting was required until it was necessary to pass a budget.^[41] He later announced that he had no intention of calling Parliament until September.^[42]

Marurai was readmitted to the Democratic party at a party conference in June 2010.^[43] He subsequently announced that he would not continue as Prime Minister if the Democratic Party won the 2010 election.^[44] Marurai was re-elected to his Ivirua seat in the 2010 elections, but his party was ousted.^[45] He resigned as Prime Minister on 29 November 2010,^[46] but continued to serve as a backbench MP.

Despite saying that the 2010 term would be his last, Marurai stood again for Ivirua in the 2014 election and was elected unopposed.^[47] He resigned for health reasons in 2017.^[48] The subsequent 2017 Ivirua by-election was won by Tony Armstrong.^[49]