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A constitutional referendum was held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 27 August 2002. Voters were asked whether they approved of 14 separate amendments to the country's constitution. To be approved, the proposal required at least 75% of voters in at least three of the four states to vote in favour. [1] Ultimately all 14 proposals were rejected, as none passed the 75% threshold in any state.
The Micronesian constitution requires a referendum to be held every 10 years on convening a constitutional convention. [1] Such a referendum had been held in 1999, with a majority in favour of a convention. [1] A Constitutional Convention was subsequently elected in 2001. It sat from 12 November until 26 December 2001 and proposed 14 constitutional amendments. [1]
On 8 March 2002 President Leo Falcam proposed holding a referendum on two proposals (electoral system and direct election of the president and vice president) on 27 August and the remaining eleven proposals to be held alongside the 2003 parliamentary elections. [1] However, he changed the plans on 19 April so that all 14 proposals would be put to voters on the same day. [1]
| Ref no. | Proposal |
|---|---|
| CP 01-01 | To amend Article XI, section 2 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to require that a minimum of four justices shall serve on the bench of the FSM Supreme Court; to require that at least one justice reside in each of the four states; and to provide that the Chief Justice may appoint a justice pro tem if a vacancy that causes the total number of justices to fall below four is not filled within one year. [1] |
| CP 01-02 | To amend Article III, sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia to allow FSM citizens to hold dual citizenship. [2] |
| CP 01-05 | To amend Article XI, sections 6(a) and 6(b) of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia by deleting the words "including the trial division of the Supreme Court" and inserting an exception to the relevant Article that will prohibit or strip the National Courts of any jurisdiction whatsoever in cases where ownership of land and waters are at issue regardless of the diversity of citizenship. [3] |
| CP 01-07 | To enact a new section 8 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to provide for full faith and credit among the States. [4] |
| CP 01-08 | To enact a new section 4 of Article XII of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to create the Office of the Independent Prosecutor. [5] |
| CP 01-09 | To enact a new section 8 of Article X of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to provide for a continual annuity for former Presidents and Vice Presidents and to renumber sections 8 and 9. [6] |
| CP 01-11 | To amend Article XIII, section 1 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to require the National Government to establish certain standards for primary and secondary schools and to establish a fund to help the schools meet those standards. [7] |
| CP 01-13 | To amend Article IX, section 3 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia by enacting a new subsection (d) for the purpose of conferring on the National Government and State Governments the concurrent power to levy value-added taxes. [8] |
| CP 01-15 | To amend Article IX, section 5 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia for the purpose of altering the distribution of tax revenue between the National Government and the States to increase the States' share of revenue from not less than 50 percent to not less than 80 percent. [9] |
| CP 01-16 | To amend Article IX, section 8 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to provide for the number of at large members and the length of terms of members of Congress, and a limitation on the number of years a member of Congress may serve. [10] |
| CP 01-21 | To amend Article X, sections 1, 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to provide for direct election of the President and Vice President. [11] |
| CP 01-24 | To amend Article XII, section 1(b) of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, relating to foreign financial assistance. [12] |
| CP 01-25 | To amend Article IX, sections 8 and 20 of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to provide for the number of votes required to pass a bill on First and Second Readings. [13] |
| CP 01-26 | To amend Article IX, subsection 2(q) of the Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, to provide for the number of votes required to override a Presidential veto. [14] |
| Proposal | For | Against | Invalid/ blank votes | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | States | Votes | % | States | |||||
| CP 01-01 | 7,527 | 52.23 | 0 | 6,885 | 47.77 | 4 | 536 | 15,005 | 67,099 | 22.36 |
| CP 01-02 | 7,739 | 54.14 | 0 | 6,555 | 45.86 | 4 | 711 | |||
| CP 01-05 | 7,728 | 53.69 | 0 | 6,666 | 46.31 | 4 | 611 | |||
| CP 01-07 | 7,718 | 53.58 | 0 | 6,686 | 46.42 | 4 | 601 | |||
| CP 01-08 | 7,600 | 53.84 | 0 | 6,516 | 46.16 | 4 | 889 | |||
| CP 01-09 | 3,757 | 25.89 | 0 | 10,752 | 74.11 | 4 | 496 | |||
| CP 01-11 | 9,037 | 63.30 | 0 | 5,239 | 36.70 | 4 | 729 | |||
| CP 01-13 | 7,284 | 50.49 | 0 | 7,142 | 49.51 | 4 | 579 | |||
| CP 01-15 | 8,263 | 57.50 | 0 | 6,108 | 42.50 | 4 | 634 | |||
| CP 01-16 | 6,210 | 43.14 | 0 | 8,186 | 56.86 | 4 | 609 | |||
| CP 01-21 | 7,589 | 52.87 | 0 | 6,765 | 47.13 | 4 | 651 | |||
| CP 01-24 | 8,001 | 53.92 | 0 | 6,837 | 46.08 | 4 | 167 | |||
| CP 01-25 | 7,154 | 49.85 | 0 | 7,197 | 50.15 | 4 | 654 | |||
| CP 01-26 | 7,555 | 53.24 | 0 | 6,635 | 46.76 | 4 | 815 | |||
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a public vote in the legislature in what is called indirect initiative, or under direct initiative, where the proposition is put to a plebiscite or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-initiated referendum.
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, they can be appended to the constitution as supplemental additions, thus changing the frame of government without altering the existing text of the document.
In Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fundamental rights of a minority, but they can also hamper efforts to respond to problems and encourage corrupt compromises in the times action is taken. Changes to constitutions, especially those with entrenched clauses, commonly require supermajority support in a legislature. Parliamentary procedure requires that any action of a deliberative assembly that may alter the rights of a minority have a supermajority requirement, such as a two-thirds vote.
Referendums have been held in Australia to approve parliament-proposed changes to the Constitution of Australia or to the constitutions of states and territories.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 6 March 2007, alongside a double referendum. Thirty-five candidates competed for the fourteen seats in Congress. As there were no political parties, all candidates ran as independents.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 8 March 2005, alongside a three-part referendum. As no political parties existed, all 23 candidates for the 10 available seats in Congress ran as Independents.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 8 March 2011, alongside a three-part referendum. As there were no political parties, all 34 candidates ran as independents. For the first time in the country's history, two women ran for election, both in Chuuk State. However, neither was elected.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 7 March 1989 alongside a referendum on electing a Constitutional Convention. All candidates for seats in Congress ran as independents. The referendum was held in compliance with article 2, section 9 of the constitution, which specified that there must be a referendum on convening a Constitutional Convention at least every ten years. It was approved by 71% of voters, and the Constitutional Convention election was subsequently held in 1990.
A constitutional referendum was held in Uruguay on 29 November 1942, alongside general elections. The new constitution was approved by 77.17% of voters.
A referendum on the powers of the federal government to levy taxes on imports was held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 4 July 1995. Congress had adopted Public Law 8-135 on the matter, which would have altered article II of Chapter IX of the constitution. However, the move was vetoed by President Bailey Olter on 22 March. As a result, the referendum was held alongside by-elections for Congress. A three-quarter majority was required in three of the four states, but the proposal was rejected by voters.
A four-part referendum was held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 1 July 1999. Voters were asked whether a constitutional convention should be called, whether they approved of a proposal on the distribution of revenues from the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), whether the amount of tax revenues distributed to the states should rise from 50% to 70%, and whether states should be given exclusive ownership of their natural resources. The latter three had originally been planned to be held alongside the parliamentary elections in March, but were postponed due to a lack of funds to print the ballot papers.
A three-part referendum was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 6 November 1993. Voters were asked whether they approved of two constitutional amendments regarding collective land ownership of native islanders and the veto powers of the Governor, and whether a Constitutional Convention should be elected. All three proposals were approved by voters.
A constitutional referendum was held in Azerbaijan on 24 August 2002. Voters were asked eight separate questions, all of which were approved with at least 96% voting in favour.
A constitutional referendum was held in the Philippines on 14 November 1967. On 16 March 1967 Congress decided that a Constitutional Convention would be elected in 1971. In preparation for the election, two amendments to the constitution were proposed beforehand. Voters were asked whether they approved of two amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines; one to increase the number of members of the House of Representatives from 120 to 180, and one to allow members of Congress to be elected to Constitutional Conventions without giving up their Congress seats. A petition seeking to stop the referendum was filed before the Supreme Court, but was dismissed five days before the referendum. Both proposals were rejected by voters.
A fifteen-part constitutional referendum was held in Colombia on 25 October 2003. Whilst all fifteen proposals were approved by voters, only one question had a sufficient numbers of votes to pass the 25% quorum requirement.
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This article summarises referendum laws and practice in various countries.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 7 March 2017, alongside a referendum on allowing dual citizenship. Although the proposed constitutional amendment to allow dual citizenship was approved by a majority of voters, it did not pass the threshold of 75% voting in favour in at least three of the four states.
A nineteen-part referendum was held in the Northern Mariana Islands on 2 March 1996. Voters were asked whether they approved of constitutional amendments of each chapter, with a separate vote on each. All amendments were rejected.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 5 March 2019, alongside a referendum on calling a Constitutional Convention. All 14 seats in Congress were up for election, and all 13 incumbents standing for re-election were returned to Congress.
| Parliamentary elections | |
|---|---|
| Constitutional Conventions | |
| Referendums | |
