| Parliament name |
Congress |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 March 2017 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
The 2017 mid-term elections resulted in a similar composition of the 14-member Congress. Outgoing members took eight of the 10 seats up for renewal in 2017. No women were elected, as in the previous elections. However, there were two female candidates in 2017, unlike the 2015 elections where there were none.
In absence of political parties, all candidates stand as independents in Micronesia and campaigning usually focuses on local issues. National issues in 2017 included the constitutional referendum on dual citizenship, which was held in parallel with the parliamentary elections (see note 1), and the Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States of America, on which a parliamentary resolution was introduced in December 2015 (see note 2).
Note 1:
The constitutional amendment was intended to permit Micronesians to hold dual citizenship. However the proposal failed to secure the required threshold, of three-quarters of votes cast in three of the country's four states.
Note 2:
Since independence in 1986, Micronesia has been in free association with the United States of America based on COFA, whereby the United States funds the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) through an annual subsidy. In December 2015, the FSM Congress introduced a resolution signifying the intent to end the COFA in 2018. However, the resolution had not been adopted by the FSM Congress at the time of the 2017 elections.
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Date of previous elections: 3 March 2015
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: N/A
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: 5 March 2019*
*All general elections for the Congress are held biennially in each odd-numbered year on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in March.
Number of seats at stake: 10 (partial renewal)
Number of candidates: 22 (20 men, 2 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 9.1%
Number of parties contesting the election: N/A*
*There are no political parties.
Number of parties winning seats: N/A
Alternation of power: No
Number of parties in government: N/A
Names of parties in government: N/A
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 11 May 2017 |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 March 2017 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
117'977
39'067 (33.11%)
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Notes
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| Distribution of votes |
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Round no 1
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| Political group |
Candidates |
Votes |
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% of votes |
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| Distribution of seats |
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Round no 1
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| Political Group |
Total of seats
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| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
10
0
0.00%
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| Distribution of seats according to age |
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| Distribution of seats according to profession |
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| Comments |
Sources:
Congress (18.03.2017)
http://www.mvariety.com/
http://www.fsmned.fm/news.htm
http://www.fsmpio.fm/BIO/former%20presidents_vice/president_haglelgam_bio.html
http://www.tfbmicronesia.com/
http://www.fsmpio.fm/ELECTION/timetable_2017.pdf
http://www.fsmcongress.fm/pdf%20documents/19th%20Congress/REPORTS/SCR%20No.%2019-115.pdf |
