Gibbons and five other candidates – Kenji Dengokl, Nancy Wong, Uchel Sechewas, Olympia E. Morei, and Kambes Kesolei – ran for a seat in the Koror State Legislature, which was vacated when then legislator Paul Ueki ran for a senatorial seat in the Olbiil Er a Kelulau and won in November 2008.
The total number of registered voters for Koror State is 4,824. However, only 1707 of the registered voters cast their votes last Friday – a mere 35 percent of the total registered voters.PEC officials speculate that the low turnout of voters may be correlated with the number of vacant seats in the legislature and other factors correlated to changes in the national government.“It is not really clear why there is such a low turnout,” said an official. “Maybe the people have not shed the cobwebs and residue left over from the 2008 General Election and the activities that followed afterwards.”All of the ballots have been counted. According to PEC officials, there was not a single absentee ballot – none was requested. The uncertified election results show Gibbons with 603 votes, followed by Sechewas with 438 votes, Wong with 250 votes, Dengokl with 172 votes, Morei with 115 votes, and Kesolei with 112 votes. Of the 1707 ballots that were cast, 10 were voided, 6 were for write-ins, and 1 was blank.According to PEC officials, the PEC Board will meet tomorrow and are likely to certify the results of the election; and consequently, Gibbons will officially declared the winner of the Koror State legislative race.
