Elections in the Republic of Palau

Abstract

This article reviews national elections in the Pacific island state of Palau. The article provides an overview of elections since 1988, concentrating on the vote for president and vice president, but also drawing attention to developments with respect to the national congress as well as various issues involving direct input from the electorate as a whole. Island politics are intense and intimate, with candidates relying on family and clan relations for support and advice. In 2008 the dominant figure from 2000 and 2004, Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., was out of the presidential picture because of a constitutionally specified term limit, leaving the executive offices open to two talented teams: Elias Chin and Alan Seid, and Johnson Toribiong and Kerai Mariur. The article focuses on the 2008 election, at which the electorate also chose 21 new members (including two women) to the national congress and took further important constitutional decisions following the convening of Palau’s 2nd constitutional convention in 2005.