Kenneth Kedi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands | |
| In office 4 January 2016 –3 January 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Capelle |
| Succeeded by | Brenson Wase |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1971 (age 52–53) |
| Political party | Kien Eo Ad (KEA) |
Kenneth Kedi (born 1971) is a Marshallese politician. He was Speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands between 2016 and 2024,having been re-elected in 2020. Kedi is a member of the Kien Eo Ad (KEA) party.
Kedi was born in 1971. [1] Kedi is a member of the Kien Eo Ad (KEA) party. [2] He represents the Rongelap Atoll in the Legislature. He has stated that people from the atoll are hesitant to return after nuclear testing on the island by the United States during the 20th-century. [3]
In June 2011 when Kedi was Minister of Transport and Communications,he was charged with ten counts of criminal acts relating to misappropriation of funds,making it the first time a Marshall Islands minister was charged with criminal acts. [4] [5] When the case went to court the next month seven of the charges were dropped,and Kedi pleaded no contest to the remaining three. The amount of money involved in the case was around US$2000. Kedi received a suspended prison sentence of 30 days,and a $1000 fine. He continued to serve as Minister. [6]
On 4 January 2016 Kedi was elected Speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands. He won the election with 19 to 14 votes of former Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak. [1] He succeeded Donald Capelle. [2] In November 2018 he supported an ultimately unsuccessful vote of no-confidence in President Hilda Heine. [7] In October 2019 the Supreme Court of the Marshall Islands struck down the country's voting law as unconstitutional relating to an issue for offshore postal ballots. Kedi subsequently argued that previous election law which did allow for offshore postal ballots to take effect again. [8]
On 6 January 2020 Kedi was re-elected as Speaker,defeating Brenson Wase with 19 against 14 votes. [9] [10]
In February 2023, The Washington Post reported that Kedi is under investigation by the Marshall Islands' attorney general. [11]
Kedi lost his seat during the 2023 Marshallese general election. [12] He was succeeded as Speaker by Wase on 3 January 2024. [13]
Kessai Hesa Note is a Marshallese politician who was President of the Marshall Islands from 2000 to 2008.
The Legislature of the Marshall Islands has 33 members,elected for a four-year term in nineteen single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. The last election was November 20,2023. Elections in the Marshall Islands are officially nonpartisan,but most members of the Nitijeļā are affiliated with one of the four active political parties in the Marshall Islands:Aelon Kein Ad (AKA),Kien Eo Am (KEA),United People's Party (UPP),and United Democratic Party (UDP).
The government of the Marshall Islands operates under a mixed parliamentary-presidential system as set forth in its Constitution. Elections are held every four years in universal suffrage,with each of the 24 constituencies electing one or more representatives (senators) to the lower house of RMI's unicameral legislature,the Nitijela. The President,who is head of state as well as head of government,is elected by the 33 senators of the Nitijela. Four of the five Marshallese presidents who have been elected since the Constitution was adopted in 1979 have been traditional paramount chiefs.
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General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 16 November 2015.
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Events in the year 2017 in the Marshall Islands.
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Events in the year 2020 in the Marshall Islands.
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Brenson S. Wase is a Marshallese politician and a long-time member of the cabinet and senator in Nitijela.
General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 20 November 2023,alongside a constitutional referendum.
Events in the year 2024 in the Marshall Islands.
