2019 Marshallese general election

2019 Marshallese general election

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All 33 seats in the Nitijeļā
First party   Party Independents Seats after 33
Speaker0000000 before election Kenneth Kedi Elected Speaker Kenneth Kedi

General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 18 November 2019. ^[1] Opponents of President Hilda Heine won a majority of seats. ^[2]

Background

The 2015 elections saw a significant defeat for the government of incumbent President Christopher Loeak, with five cabinet ministers losing their seats. ^[3] Following the elections, Casten Nemra was elected as president on 4 January 2016 by a margin of one vote. However, he was removed from office two weeks later by a vote of no confidence ending 21–12 in favour of dismissing him. On 27 January 2016 Hilda Heine was elected the country's first female president. ^[4] She narrowly survived a vote of no confidence on 12 November 2018; the vote was tied at 16–16 as one member of the Legislature was abroad for medical treatment. ^[5]

Electoral system

The 33 members of the Nitijeļā were elected in 19 single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting and five multi-member constituencies of between two and five seats via plurality block voting. ^[6]

Results

Hilda Heine and Kitlang Kabua were the only two women elected, with Kabua becoming the youngest member ever of the legislature at age 28. ^[7]

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	Notes
Ailinglaplap (2)	Christopher Loeak	702	Re-elected
	Alfred Alfred, Jr	516	Re-elected
	Isaac Zackhras	249
Ailuk (1)	Maynard Alfred	188	Re-elected
	Hackney Takju	121
Arno (2)	Jiba Kabua	512	Elected
	Mike Halferty	418	Re-elected
	Arthur Jetton	375
	Jejwarick Anton	343	Unseated
Aur (1)	Hilda Heine	292	Re-elected
	Justin Lani	196
Ebon (1)	John Silk	276	Re-elected
	Neamon Neamon	128
Enewetak (1)	Jack Ading	282	Re-elected
	Yoster John	60
Jabat (1)	Kessai Note	–	Re-elected unopposed
Jaluit (2)	Casten Nemra	580	Re-elected
	Jemi Nashion	446	Elected
	Daisy Alik-Momotaro	387	Unseated
Kili/Bikini/Ejit (1)	Peterson Jibas	284	Elected
	Eldon Note	204	Unseated
Kwajalein (3)	Michael Kabua	1,217	Re-elected
	Kitlang Kabua	931	Elected
	David Paul	817	Re-elected
	Alvin Jacklick	671	Unseated
Lae (1)	Thomas Heine	–	Re-elected unopposed
Lib (1)	Joe Bejang	321	Elected
	Whitney Loeak	44
Likiep (1)	Donald Capelle	318	Elected
	Tommy Kijiner, Jr.	238
Majuro (5)	Tony Muller	1,607	Re-elected
	Stephen Phillip	1,459	Elected
	Sandy Alfred	1,382	Elected
	Kalani Kaneko	1,379	Re-elected
	Brenson Wase	1,268	Re-elected
	David Kramer	1,242	Unseated
	Yolanda Lodge-Ned	1,225
Maloelap (1)	Bruce Bilimon	304	Re-elected
	Michael Konelios	172
Mejit (1)	Dennis Momotaro	287	Re-elected
	Helkena Anni	172
Mili (1)	Wilbur Heine	400	Re-elected
	Joniton Lometo	200
Namdrik (1)	Wisely Zackhras	258	Re-elected
	Hebel Luther	155
Namu (1)	Tony Aiseia	358	Re-elected
	Ace Doulatram	326
Rongelap (1)	Kenneth Kedi	339	Re-elected
	Hilton Tonton Kendall	287
Ujae (1)	Atbi Riklon	190	Re-elected
	Waylon Muller	96
Utrok (1)	Hiroshi Yamamura	303	Elected
	Amenta Matthew	257	Unseated
Wotho (1)	David Kabua	120	Re-elected
	Samantha Samson	30
Wotje (1)	Ota Kisino	294	Elected
	John Kaiko	200
Source: Info Marshall Islands

Presidential election

Incumbent President Hilda Heine lost to David Kabua, son of the former and longest President Amata Kabua.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	David Kabua	Opposition	20	62.50
	Hilda Heine	Government	12	37.50
Total			32	100.00
Total votes			32	–
Registered voters/turnout			33	96.97

References

1. Current Elections Pacific Women in Politics
2. Marshalls' Opposition poised to win election Radio New Zealand, 25 November 2019
3. Big upset in Marshall Islands election Radio New Zealand, 5 December 2015
4. Heine Election Ends Weeks Of Political Turmoil In RMI Archived 2016-02-04 at the Wayback Machine Pacific Islands Report, 29 January 2016
5. Marshall Islands president narrowly survives no confidence vote Radio New Zealand, 12 November 2018
6. Electoral system IPU
7. Johnson, Giff (20 January 2020). "Marshalls' President Kabua's inauguration set for Monday". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020.