Acting co-chairman of the Committee of Whipps for Senate Browny Salvador said that Whipps Jr. said he had intended to run for the Senate but opted to concentrate on his father’s campaign for presidency first.
Whipps Jr. then decided to run as write-in candidate after his father lost the primary election.The Senate president and his running mate presidential chief of staff Billy Kuartei placed third in the primary poll.The top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 4 general election.Whipps Jr. is hopeful that he will get enough votes as a write-in candidate for the Senate.Under Palau’s election law, a write-in candidate is a person who the people elect to represent them even if his/her name is not on the ballot.If a write-in candidate does get enough votes to make it to the 13-man Senate, his qualifications are still to be verified by the Palau Election Commission, according to the law.Salvador said that Whipps will be an asset in the Senate having a diverse background.There are 43 candidates contesting the 13 seats in the Senate.
