The elections were held following a motion of no confidence that dissolved the government of incumbent president Teatao Teannaki while an investigation was opened in the possible misuse of travel expense claims by its ministers.

Members of the government brought multiple defamation lawsuits against the opposition in response to the claims of misconduct, some of which were not resolved until years after the elections.

[1] Opposition leader Teburoro Tito led an investigation in 1993 to evaluate the travel expenses of Teannaki and his ministers.

On the parliament floor on 16 December, he accused Teannaki's government of making inappropriate travel expense claims.

[8] At the same time, Teannaki pursued a case in front of the High Court of Kiribati on 22 August, but proceedings were still underway on the date of the presidential election.

[11] Tito's campaign implemented another novel strategy by using video tapes to spread his message, including one that made accusations against Teannaki's government and prompted defamation lawsuits.

[12] One theory is that Tito's victory can be attributed to his performance in parliamentary debates prior to the motion of no confidence.

[23] Teannaki challenged the election results on 31 October and asked that they be voided, alleging that Tito had engaged in corrupt practices during the campaign.

He determined that the only allegation with merit was that Tito had offered tobacco to potential voters, but that this was a social custom that did not amount to corruption.

Chief Justice Robin Millhouse felt that he had a conflict of interest in a ruling involving the president, so Australian judge John Toohey was selected as a neutral party to hear the case.