| Parliament name |
Congress |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
8 March 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the Congress on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
At stake in the March 2011 elections were all 14 seats in Congress. Ten members are elected every two years
and four "at-large" seats representing the states that compose Micronesia are renewed every four years. Only the at-large members are eligible to run for the posts of President and Vice-President.
Following the March 2007 elections
the Congress re-elected Mr. Isaac V. Figir as Speaker. It also elected Mr. Manny Mori as the country's new President and Mr. Alik L. Alik as Vice-President. President Mori pledged to enhance the government's efficiency by cutting down on "bureaucratic red tape that hinders economic growth". He subsequently established three new offices to avoid duplication between related functions. Speaker Figir was re-elected again in March 2009.
In October 2008
the Congress passed two constitutional amendments: one extending the term of all members of Congress from two to four years (Public Law 15-60) and the other allowing dual citizenship (15-61). A constitutional referendum on these laws was held in parallel with the 2011 elections.
Since there are no political parties in Micronesia
all candidates stood as independents. In all
34 candidates were running
eight of whom were vying for the four at-large seats. For the first time in the country's history
two women were also vying for seats in the Congress. Both were running in the state of Chuuk: one for the at-large seat against incumbent President Mori
and the other for a two-year seat in the same constituency as Mr. Joe N. Suka
the incumbent Floor Leader of the Congress.
Micronesia has no national newspaper. The website of some States provided limited information on the candidates.
President Mori ran on the government's record. He promised to attract more foreign investment to develop fishing ventures
thereby creating jobs and generating income. He underscored the need to enhance communication between the islands and to the outside world by connecting all the states by fibre optic cable. He pledged to give top priority to education
providing financial assistance for post-graduate education
streamlining vocational education to form a skilled labour force that would be employable even outside the country. He called on voters in Chuuk to return him to Congress so he could pursue his policies in a second term as President.
Ms. Augustina (Akostina) S. Takashy
who was running against Floor Leader Suka
pledged to invest in job creation. She also pledged to ensure that basic socio-economic services are accessible and affordable to all and to improve living standards. She promised to work for gender mainstreaming and gender-sensitive budgeting.
Turnout was reportedly low among the 92
000 registered voters.
Mr. Mori was re-elected to the Congress
thus becoming eligible for a second mandate and President. Speaker Figir was also re-elected. None of the two female candidates was successful.
Both constitutional amendments were rejected.
On 11 May
the newly elected Congress held its first session and re-elected Mr. Figir as its Speaker. On the same day
the Congress re-elected Mr. Mori as the country's President and Mr. Alik as Vice-President. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Distribution of votes |
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
14
0
0.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
| Source: Office of the National Election Director (16.03.2011) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
