Marshall Islands Chief Election Officer Ben Kiluwe speaks to Electoral Administration staff on the eve of the Nov. 20 national election.
MAJURO — National election results for the Marshall Islands were declared final on December 27 by Chief Electoral Officer Ben Kiluwe with one caveat: A challenge to the fifth parliament seat in Majuro Atoll awaits the outcome of a possible court petition by the candidate who lost by 17 votes.
That issue aside, 40% of the 33 seats in parliament have changed as as a result of the November 20 national election.
Kiluwe’s announcement allows Nitijela to seat Stephen Phillip, who gained 1,232 votes to Yolanda Lodge-Ned’s 1,215. Kiluwe rejected a recount petition submitted by Lodge-Ned saying the 17-vote difference was a “wide margin.”
The opening ceremony for the new parliament is scheduled for Tuesday January 2 at which time the 33 Nitijela members will vote to elect a new president, speaker and vice speaker.
Incumbent President David Kabua is expected to be vying for a second four-year term, while former President Hilda Heine and other opposition candidates are in the mix in the lead up to the January 2 election.
Voting data provided by the electoral office shows extremely low voter turnout, based on the number of registered voters. There is no way to determine if the number of voters listed on the Electoral Administration’s eligible list of voters is accurate. But based on the available data, only 33% — 17,998 — turned out to vote of the 55,167 registered voters.
The postal absentee ballots were particularly problematic. With nearly half the Marshall Islands population now residing in the United States, postal absentee voters could have a major impact on the outcome of national elections. As a result of only a few ballots arriving in time to be counted, only one parliament race was changed by offshore voters.
The Electoral Administration mailed out 3,752 postal ballots to voters — over 1,600 less than one week prior to the deadline for voters to mail them back to the Marshall Islands — and only 1,469 returned prior to the December 4 deadline. But only 1,117 postal absentee ballots — 30% of those mailed out — were ultimately accepted and counted.
A total of 13 new members of the 33-seat body will join returning incumbents to be sworn into office January 2.
Among high-profile incumbents losing re-election bids were Fisheries and Climate Minister John Silk, a 24-year parliament veteran who has been in the cabinet of multiple administrations, and Speaker Kenneth Kedi, who has been an outspoken advocate for justice for nuclear test affected people of Rongelap, his home atoll, and the entire Marshall Islands.
