The Legislature of the Marshall Islands ( ) has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in nineteen single-seat and five multi-seat
constituencies
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
. The last election was November 20, 2023. Elections in the Marshall Islands are officially
nonpartisan Nonpartisan or non-partisan may refer to:
__NOTOC__ General political concepts
* Nonpartisanship, also known as Nonpartisanism, co-operation without reference to political parties
* Non-partisan democracy, an election with no official recognition ...
, but most members of the are affiliated with one of the four active
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in the
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
:
Aelon Kein Ad (AKA),
Kien Eo Am Kien or Kiens may refer to:
* Kien, Bern, a village in Bern, Switzerland
* Kien, Burkina Faso, a village
* Kien (album), ''Kien'' (album), a 2008 album by the Japanese group Bleach
* Pine Ridge Airport (ICAO: KIEN), Pine Ridge, South Dakota , US
* ...
(KEA),
United People's Party (UPP), and
United Democratic Party (UDP).
History
Bicameral Marshall Islands Congress was established in July 1950. The two chambers were the
House of Iroij and the House of Assembly.
Kabua Kabua was the president of the House of Iroij in 1953.
Atlan Anien
Atlan Anien (January 17, 1920 – 1992) was a speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands.
Biography
Anien began his education at the US Navy Interpreter School and subsequently went to Goshen College and then the University of Hawaii
...
was the president of the House of Assembly in 1953.
The Congress was reformulated as unicameral in 1958.
Members were elected for a 4-year term. The congress was chaired by
Atlan Anien
Atlan Anien (January 17, 1920 – 1992) was a speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands.
Biography
Anien began his education at the US Navy Interpreter School and subsequently went to Goshen College and then the University of Hawaii
...
in 1959,
Amata Kabua
Iroijlaplap Amata Kabua (November 17, 1928 – December 19, 1996) was the first President of the Marshall Islands from 1979 until his death in 1996 (five consecutive terms).
Background
Amata Kabua was a scion of Marshallese Royalty. Amata Kabua ...
in 1962, and
Dwight Heine in 1963 and 1964
The legislature, ''Nitijeļā'', was established in its current form in 1979 by the
Constitution of the Marshall Islands
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
.
Speakers
The salary of the speaker is set to 35,000 USD annually.
Members of
The twenty-four electoral districts into which the country is divided correspond to the inhabited islands and
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical parts of the oceans and seas where corals can develop. Most ...
s. There are four political parties in the Marshall Islands:
Aelon Kein Ad (AKA),
Kien Eo Am Kien or Kiens may refer to:
* Kien, Bern, a village in Bern, Switzerland
* Kien, Burkina Faso, a village
* Kien (album), ''Kien'' (album), a 2008 album by the Japanese group Bleach
* Pine Ridge Airport (ICAO: KIEN), Pine Ridge, South Dakota , US
* ...
(KEA),
United People's Party (UPP), and
United Democratic Party (UDP). Control is shared by the AKA and the KEA.
Committees
The has 7 permanent standing committees with oversight authority and legislative authority. All committees have 9 members.
Staff
The is supported by various staff.
Clerk of the
The Clerk is the administrative head of the legislature, with authority to approve related matters. The Clerk prepares the 's business and serves as the legislature's secretary, keeping minutes and publishing them.
The current Clerk is Morean Watak, and Carl Alik is her Assistant Clerk.
Legislative Counsel
The Office of the Legislative Counsel was established in 1981. The office provides legal advice to MPs and the Speaker, as well as providing legislative drafting services. The Legislative Counsel also serves as the Commissioner of the Marshall Islands Revised Code if the Cabinet has not appointed a Commissioner.
The current Legislative Counsel is Joe Lomae.
See also
*
Government of the Marshall Islands
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 (for all citizens above the age of 18), with each of the 2 ...
*
Politics of the Marshall Islands
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources.
The branch of social science that studies politi ...
*
Elections in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a four-year term by the parliament. The Legislature (''Nitijela'') has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in ...
*
Congress of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
*
List of legislatures by country
This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general Deliberative assembly, assembly of Representative democracy, representatives and that have th ...
References
External links
*
{{National unicameral legislatures
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
Politics of the Marshall Islands
Political organizations based in the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
The territory consists of 29 c ...
1979 establishments in the Marshall Islands