2008 Palauan general election

General elections were held in Palau on 4 November 2008 to elect the President and members of the National Congress. The presidential election was won by Johnson Toribiong. Incumbent President Tommy Remengesau was ineligible to run because he had served the maximum two consecutive terms allowed and announced that he would run for a seat in the Senate.[1]

2008 Palauan general election

November 4, 2008

Presidential election

Nominee Johnson Toribiong Elias Camsek Chin Party Independent Independent Running mate Kerai Mariur Alan R. Seid Popular vote 5,040 4,828 Percentage 51.07% 48.93%

President before election Tommy Remengesau Independent Elected President Johnson Toribiong Independent

This was the first election in Palau in which presidential candidates ran with a declared vice-presidential candidates.[1] In previous elections, the President and Vice-Presidents had been elected separately, and the winners of those elections served as a "national leadership team".[1]

Presidential candidates

Primary elections were held on 23 September,[1] with two candidates progressing to the general election in November. Four candidates registered for the primary elections:

• Elias Camsek Chin – The incumbent Vice-President was seeking a promotion to the Palauan presidency. His running mate was Senator Alan R. Seid.[1]
• Johnson Toribiong – He is the current Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan), and he was running with Delegate Kerai Mariur.[1]
• Surangel S. Whipps – He is the President of the Senate and his running mate was Billy Kuartei, the Chief of Staff for President Remengesau.[1]
• Joshua Koshiba – He is a Senator and his running mate was Governor of Peleliu Jackson Ngiraingas.[1]

Campaign

All four presidential candidates and their running mates held rallies throughout Palau. Campaigning also took place in overseas Palauan communities in the mainland United States, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.[1]

A total of 43 candidates ran for the thirteen seats in the Senate,[1] while 44 candidates contested the sixteen seats in the House of Delegates.[1] A record ten women were competing for seats in the Senate and House of Delegates,[1] with seven women running for the at large Senate race.[1]

Results

President

Elias Chin and Johnson Toribiong were the top two vote-getters in the primary elections. Chin and Toribiong then faced each other in the general election.[2] In early, preliminary results Toribiong held a 130-vote lead over Chin, with 1,629 votes to Chin's 1,499.[3] Toribiong and his running mate, Kerai Mariur, were declared the winner of the election on 7 November.[4] It was reported that Toribiong had received a concession phone call from Vice-President Chin.[4]

Candidate		Running mate	Primary		General
			Votes	%	Votes	%
	Elias Camsek Chin	Alan Seid	3,027	32.95	4,828	48.93
	Johnson Toribiong	Kerai Mariur	2,526	27.49	5,040	51.07
	Surangel Whipps	Billy Kuartei	2,248	24.47
	Joshua Koshiba	Jackson Ngiraingas	1,387	15.10
Total			9,188	100.00	9,868	100.00
Valid votes			9,188	98.85	9,868	94.26
Invalid/blank votes			107	1.15	601	5.74
Total votes			9,295	100.00	10,469	100.00
Source: Shuster

Senate

Surangel Whipps, Jr. has made history by becoming the first Senator to win by write-in and he also led all Senators with highest percentage (65.2%) of votes since his father achieved 73.5%.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Independents	121,994	100.00	13	+4
Total		121,994	100.00	13	+4
Total votes		10,469	–
Registered voters/turnout		14,289	73.27
Source: IPU

Elected members

1. Surangel Whipps Jr. (6,461)
2. Raynold "Arnold" Oilouch (6,073)
3. Mlib Tmetuchel (5,360)
4. Joel Toribiong (5,086)
5. Kathy Kesolei (4,947)
6. Mark U. Rudimch (4,891)
7. Hokkons Baules (4,437)
8. Adalbert Eledui (3,934)
9. Regina K. Mesebeluu (3,731)
10. Alfonso N. Diaz (3,603)
11. Tommy E. Remengesau Jr. (3,579)
12. Regis Akitaya (3,144)
13. Paul Ueki (3,044)

House of Delegates

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Independents	5,853	100.00	16	0
Total		5,853	100.00	16	0
Valid votes		5,853	96.01
Invalid/blank votes		243	3.99
Total votes		6,096	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		14,289	42.66
Source: IPU

Elected members

Constituency	Elected member
Koror	Alexander Merep
Airai	Tmewang Rengulbai
Kayangel	Noah Kemesong
Ngarchelong	Marhence Madrangchar
Ngaraard	Gibson Kanai
Ngiwal	Noah Idechong
Melekeok	Lencer Basilius
Ngchesar	Secilil Eldebechel
Ngardmau	Rebluud Kesolei
Ngaremlengui	Swenny Ongidobel
Ngatpang	Jerry Nabeyama
Aimeliik	Kalistus Ngirturong
Peleliu	Jonathan Isechal
Angaur	Horace Rafael
Sonsorol	Celestine Yangilmau
Hatohobei	Wayne Andrew

References

1. Miho, David (2008-09-20). "Palauans Prepare For Tuesday Primary Election". Pacific Magazine. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
2. Miho, David (2008-10-01). "Absentee Ballots Don't Change Outcome Of Palau Presidential Primary". Pacific Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
3. Miho, David (2008-11-05). "Toribiong Has The Lead In Palau Presidential Vote". Pacific Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
4. Miho, David (2008-11-07). "Johnson Toribiong Wins Palau Presidential Race". Pacific Magazine. Retrieved 2008-11-06.

External links

• Pacific Magazine: Record Number Of Women Seek Palau Senate Seats
• Okedyulabeluu: Updated results below
• Pacific Magazine: Johnson Toribiong Wins Palau Presidential Race