KOROR (Palau Horizon) — The Palau Elections Commission has started verifying the signatures gathered by the supporters of Sen.-elect Camsek Chin who have filed a recall petition against Senate President Seit Andres and Sen. Joshua Koshiba.
Chin in an interview welcomed the petition filed by his supporters, saying that the people “are just exercising their rights and should be applauded.”
Chin also reacted to the statement made by Andres that the recall petition does not guarantee him a seat in the Senate.
“Andres is misinformed, delusional and confused. The recall petition is not for me. I have a seat in the Senate. The petition is for him and Senator Koshiba,” Chin said.
The Senate leadership claims that Chin is not qualified to be a senator because he is supposedly a U.S. citizen. Chin insists that he is a Palauan citizen.
He said Andres and Koshiba are now the subject of a recall petition because they are no longer serving the public interest and are no longer upholding the Constitution.
He also belied reports that he is behind the recall petition but said that if ever he had a hand in the petition it is within the bounds of his constitutional rights.
Chin said since the Senate has still refused to sit him as a member, he will wait for what the people will do next.
“It is now up to the people— what are they are going to do next now that they have started the recall petition,” Chin said.
He said all lawmakers could be recalled “if they are not performing well, and it does not matter how long a government official has been in his position.”
He said the recall petition is not a waste of money as claimed by Andres.
Chin said it is the Senate that has wasted money by refusing to sit him and by using taxpayers’ money to pay for the legal fees in the court case against him.
“They are the ones who are wasting taxpayers’ money by hiring a lawyer from the United States to represent them,” Chin said.
According to the Constitution, the petitioners should state the grounds for recall and it should be signed by not less than 25 percent of the number of persons who voted in the most recent election.
The petitioners wanted Andres and Koshiba removed from the Senate for their alleged failure to abide by the wishes of the public and the traditional leaders.
The petition also said that the two senators showed disrespect to the court decisions by refusing to sit Chin in the Senate.
