General elections were held in

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

on 1 November 2016 to elect a

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and the National Congress. Incumbent

Tommy Remengesau Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician; in 2013 he was elected the ninth president of Palau and was re-elected to that office in 2016. Previously he served as the seventh president of the island nat ...

was challenged by his brother-in-law, Surangel Whipps Jr. for the presidency, emerging as the top two in the primary elections on 27 September. Remengesau was subsequently re-elected with 51% of the vote.

Electoral system

The President and Vice President were elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

. The 16 members of the House of Delegates were elected in single-member constituencies based on the states using

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

. The 13 members of the Senate were elected from a single nationwide constituency by

block voting Block voting or bloc voting refers to electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected at once and a group (voting bloc) of voters can force the system to elect only their preferred candidates. Block voting may be used at large (in a si ...

, with each voter having 13 votes to cast. The number of senators elected to the

Palau National Congress Palau has a bicameral legislature, the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate of Palau, which both sit at the capitol complex in Ngerulmud, Melekeok State. The House of Delegates h ...

was planned to be reduced to 11 from the previous 13 for the 2016 general election, but this decision was reversed.

Presidential candidates

Four candidates had declared their intention to seek the presidency in 2016, including Remengesau, who was seeking re-election. *

Antonio Bells Antonio Bells (born 6 July 1948) is a Palauan politician who served as the Vice President of Palau and Minister of Justice between 17 January 2013 and 19 January 2017. He graduated from Montana University with a degree in economics. He is a fo ...

Vice President of Palau The vice president of Palau is the second-highest position in the executive branch of the government of Palau, after the president. List of vice presidents See also * President of Palau * List of current Vice Presidents References ...

(2013–2017) * Sandra Pierantozzi,

(2001–2005), Minister of Health (2001–2004), Minister of State (2009–2010) *

, President of Palau (2001–2009, 2013–Present), Vice President of Palau (1993–2001) * Surangel Whipps Jr., Senator

Campaign

The deadline to file nominating petitions for a presidential run was 3 August. President Tommy Remengesau declared his candidacy for re-election on 1 March at a campaign kick-off held at the Ngarachamayong Cultural Center. Senator Surangel Whipps Jr., who began campaigning for president in 2015 and announced his candidacy earlier in the year, became the first candidate to file his candidacy with the Palau Elections Commission Office on 20 July 2016. Sandra Pierantozzi, the former vice president under Remengesau, was the only woman to enter the race. A presidential debate with all four candidates was held on 17 August 2016, at the Palau Community College (PCC). The debate was jointly sponsored by the Palau Media Council and the Palau Community College.

Results

President

The presidential primaries were held on 27 September, with Remengesau and Whipps Jr. finishing as the top two to advance to the general election on 1 November. Following their losses in the primaries, Sandra Pierantozzi and

both endorsed Whipps Jr. Early results released on 2 November initially showed Whipps leading with 1,832 votes, with incumbent President Remengesau trailing with 1,667 votes. However, by 4 November, Remengesau had regained a slim lead with 4,108 votes, while Whipps trailed by just 78 votes, or 4,030 votes. The was decided by the absentee ballots, which the Palau Election Commission said would be counted after 8 November. Elenita Bennie Brel, the administrator of the national Election Service, announced that final results for the presidential would not be known until later in November, since absentee and provisional ballots would be sorted and counted in the presence of representatives of both presidential campaigns. Bennie Brel explained, "We want to make this election very fair and transparent for everyone who has concern and wants to come in. So after November 8 the counting of the absentee ballots and then it takes another 15 days for the board f the electoral commissionto certify them." On 10 November it was announced that Remengesau had been re-elected.

Vice President

Senate

House of Delegates

References

{{Palauan elections

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results Elections in Palau Non-partisan elections Presidential elections in Palau