GIFF JOHNSON
The final unofficial election results were issued by the Electoral Administration Tuesday December 12 this week, confirming that 13 Nitijela seats will change hands.
Most postal absentee votes either didn’t arrive in time or were rejected for technical reasons, muting their impact. It appeared that only one Nitijela race — Likiep — was impacted by postal votes.
In addition to 13 new faces in Nitijela come January numerous new mayors will also be heading local governments.
The most high-profile incumbents losing their seats are Speaker Kenneth Kedi, Vice Speaker Peterson Jibas, Natural Resources Minister John Silk, Finance Minister Casten Nemra, and former Finance Minister Alfred Alfred, Jr.
The 13 new members beats the 11 seats that changed hands in 2019 but is one fewer than in 2015, when 14 seats changed hands.
The results mark the first time in the 44-year history of the RMI that Nitijela will have four women in the chamber. In the most recent Nitijela, there were two and the most ever is three.
New member Marie Milne from Ebon and Daisy Alik-Momotaro, who will return for a second term at Jaluit after a four-year hiatus, will join former President Hilda Heine (Aur) and second-term incumbent Kitlang Kabua (Kwajalein).
It looked like there would be three couples in Nitijela the coming term: Daisy and Dennis Momotaro, Hilda Heine and Tommy Kijiner, and Marie and Sonny Bakidri Milne.
But the postal ballots upended the domestic result that showed Kijiner winning at Likiep. The initial postal tabulation elevated Wallace Peter to a 120-tie with Kijiner and then the final postal box, tabulated last Saturday, gave him one more vote to put Peter as the winner 121-120. That result is likely to be subject of a recount and possible other objections from Kijiner.
The current government has taken a significant hit to its numbers with the loss of two incumbents at Jaluit (Jemi Nashion and Casten Nemra), Ailinglaplap (Alfred Alfred, Jr.), and the return to Arno of former Nitijela member Gerald Zackios (who picked up the seat vacated by returning incumbent Jiba Kabua.
The shakeup in numbers puts a majority within reach of the current opposition. Even though the Kabua administration’s numbers are significantly diminished, behind the scenes Iroojlaplap Mike Kabua remains the grandmaster of organizing groupings to get 17, the magic number needed to form a government when Nitijela convenes to elect a new president January 2.
In related election news:
Chaos and confusion characterized what took place after the postal ballots were transported from the RMI Post Office to the ICC tabulation HQ last week Monday, December 4. Poll watchers raised multiple complaints during the tabulation of postal ballots last week.
The release of the final unofficial results was delayed to Tuesday this week due to tabulation of one postal ballot box being twice derailed by objections and unruliness of poll watchers at the ICC. When Attorney General Bernard Adiniwin directed that the box in question be processed in its entirety Saturday at the ICC, eight police officers were assigned to the tabulation table to ensure that the count was not further disrupted.
That was completed late in the day Saturday. Although the last postal box wrapped up the tabulation process, it took Electoral authorities and the AG until Tuesday afternoon to issue the notification of the final unofficial results.
Complaints and recount requests have been submitted for the following islands: Likiep, Jaluit, Namu, Ebon and Majuro.
—Reporting by Hilary Hosia.