Two more opposition MPs have been suspended from the Nauru parliament amid claims the government is trying to avoid scrutiny of a budget that contains Australian funding for asylum seekers.
The government of President Baron Waqa is expected to hand down its budget on Thursday.
Three opposition MPs were banned from parliament in May amid chaotic scenes that included a police stand-off. One of them, Roland Kun, has moved to New Zealand because his Australian wife Katy Le Roy had her visa revoked and was dismissed as Nauru's parliamentary counsel.
Another two - former president Sprent Dabwido and Squire Jeremiah - were suspended on Thursday for behaving in an "unruly manner".
And thanks to the expulsion of the Chief Justice earlier in the year, there's no functioning courts for the suspension to be challenged in.
There are now only three opposition MPs left in the Nauruan Parliament - and at this rate, they'll be gone next month, leaving the government free to do what it pleases without public dissent.
As for the cause, it can be blamed on one thing: Australia's "Pacific solution". Nauru's regime is addicted to Australian blood money, and they've suppressed the media, the courts, and now their own democracy to keep it flowing. And Australia seems quite happy with that. They're turning one of their neighbours into a dictatorship, but provided it keeps their refugees out of the headlines, they're happy to see that happen.