| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Nitijela / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
19 November 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats of the Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
|
On 19 November 2007
parliamentary elections were held in parallel with local elections. Most members of the 33-member parliament (the Nitjela) belong to two major factions: the United Democratic Party (UDP) of President Kessai Note
which held 20 seats; and the opposition Aelon Kein Ad (AKA
meaning Our Island) Party
led by former president Mr. Imata Kabua. Mr. Note was re-elected as President by parliament in January 2005.
In September 2007
President Note backed Taiwan (Republic of China)'s request for membership of the United Nations. The Marshall Islands recognized Taiwan in 1998 under Mr. Kabua's presidency. Since then
Taiwan has been the country's second largest donor after the United States.
On 10 November
Speaker Litokwa Tomeing (UDP) defected to the AKA
shortly after a trip to China. He criticized the eight years of UDP rule as "a dismal failure" and called for a change in government. He pledged to adopt a One China policy after the elections. Speculation about the country's diplomatic shift had been mounting after prominent AKA members traveled to China in October. The AKA said it would endorse Mr. Tomeing as the country's next president.
Local media was uncertain of the impact of the Speaker's defection
in a country where family ties have historically played a stronger role than political platforms.
In the 2007 elections
the country used a new electoral system under which voters can cast ballots for up to four candidates. It also allowed voters to cast their ballot at any polling station regardless of which atoll they are from.
Approximately 50 per cent of the 36
000 registered voters turned out at the polls. Some polling stations opened late and ran out of ballot papers
while some voters were reportedly uninformed about the new electoral system and took more time to vote. As a result
there were lengthy waits in front of polling stations.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)
which observed the poll
concluded that in spite of logistical problems "the voting and counting were conducted in a democratic manner".
Preliminary results showed that the AKA secured at least 17 seats. President Note was re-elected thanks to votes from overseas. The only woman in the outgoing legislature
Ms. Abacca Anjain-Maddison
failed to win a seat.
The final results announced in late December confirmed the victory of the AKA
which took 18 seats. The UDP won the remaining seats.
The newly-elected parliament held its first session on 7 January 2008 and elected Mr. Tomeing (now representing the AKA) as the country's new President. It elected Mr. Jurelang Zedkaia (AKA) as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 19 November 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
36'134
18'093 (50.07%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Aelon Kein Ad (AKA) |
18
|
|
|
|
|
| United Democratic Party (UDP) |
15
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
32
1
3.03%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.marshallislandsjournal.com/
- Parliament (25.01.2008
06.06.2008) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
