Photo: Hilary Hosia.
WILMER JOEL
The national referendum and the special election for Namdrik Mayor were held simultaneously last Friday — with the main feature being a low turnout of voters at polling stations around Majuro.
There were more voters in the afternoon than in the morning, according to some electoral officials at MIHS and RES who spoke to the Journal. One voter also reported that the polling place at the College of the Marshall Islands, where the referendum and special election for Namdik were held, had been full since 8am.
But by any measure, the turnout was very low. Unofficial and not yet final results show that only 814 of 2,317 — about 34 percent — of registered Namdrik voters cast ballots in the special mayor election. Turnout for the constitutional amendment vote was far lower.
Demonstrating how small the turnout was for the referendum on the seven constitutional amendments, Electoral officials had completed tabulation of all of the Majuro votes by the next day, Saturday. “On Saturday we finished counting all Majuro absentees and regular (votes),” said Chief Electoral Officer Ben Kiluwe. “There’s no doubt, very low turn out.”
Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs Assistant Secretary Antari Elbon was heard on the V7AB radio station expressing disappointment with the low turnout of voters for the referendum and urged more participation, especially with the youth. “If it is not you, then who?” he asked. “If not now, then when?”
Some voters who went through the process spoke with the Journal about their experiences.
Twenty-year-old Batlok Hemty, who voted for Namdik, said he voted to find the right candidate to lead the atoll.
“It is important for people to vote to find the right people to lead the atoll with the proper vision and objectives,” he said. “My advice to all the Namdik voters is that we need to vote wisely.”
A 73-year-old voter, who asked not to be identified, said she voted for the referendum as well as the special election for Namdik Mayor.
“I voted in the first-ever national referendum in the 1970s as well as for the Compact movement,” she said. “Back then there was a lot of excitement and it gained a lot of traction with voters; there were a lot of people who went out to vote.”
She added that the turnout for voting nowadays is declining and wonders if the people still care for their country enough to get out and vote. “If you don’t vote, you are not exercising your right as a citizen, which is vested in the constitution,” she said.
Tawe Clement wins Namdrik vote
Low voter turnout or not, there is no question about who will be the next mayor of Namdrik. Tawe Clement won convincingly in the seven-candidate race.
A few postal votes remain to be counted over the next week. But in the meantime, including all domestic votes and postal ballots already received, Tawe received 408 votes, or slightly over 50 percent of the 814 votes cast.
The 814 voters casting ballots last Friday for the mayor election represents 34 percent of Namdrik registered voters, who number 2,317, according to the RMI Electoral Administration.
The next closest candidate was Mika Luther, with 175 votes, followed by Johniston Jetnil with 104. The other four candidates polled from six to 80 votes, according to results posted to the Electoral Administration’s election webpage: http://www.rmielection.com.