THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM














"government of the people, by the people, and for the people..."

Abraham Lincoln 1863

Governance at a Glance - FSM

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is an independent country comprised of four States; Chuuk, Yap, Kosrae and Pohnpei. The FSM has a constitutional government in free association with the United States of America. The FSM Constitution provides for three separate branches of government at a national level; Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The four State governments conduct the majority of governmental functions other than foreign affairs and defence.
      The FSM Constitution came into effect on 10 May 1979. The National Congress is unicameral, consisting of 14 Senators. One Senator is elected from each of the four States for a four-year term, and ten are elected for two-year terms from congressional districts apportioned by population (Chuuk - 5, Pohnpei - 3, Kosrae - 1, Yap - 1). The Congress elects the president and Vice President from the four Senators serving four-year terms. The president is both chief of state and head of government. There are no political parties.
      Each of the four States has an elected Governor, a Lieutenant Governor and a unicameral legislature, except for the State of Chuuk. The State governments have their own Constitutions and are structurally similar to the National Government in many ways. The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor serve a 4 year term.

Electoral Geography - The State of Pohnpei

The State of Pohnpei consists of 11 electorates or Municipalities. Six of these municipalities are on the island of Pohnpei and one municipality for each of the five atolls (Mokil, Pingelap, Ngatik, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi). Each electorate consists of a number of villages.
      A total of 100 polling places exist throughout the State. In addition there are four overseas polling stations where the concentration of Pohnpei citizens is high. These are located in Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii and Kansas City.

The following table identifies the municipality, number of polling stations, number of State members and estimated number of voters in Pohnpei.

Municipality
Legislative Members
Voters
Polling Places
National Electorate Name
Villages
Kitti

4
5,315
27

2

42

Kolonia
2
2,232
7
1
7
Kopingamarangi
1
567

1
1
1
Madolenihmw
4
4,329
27
2
46
Mwoakilloa
1
565
1
2
1
Nukuoro
1
436
1
1
1
Nett
2
2,567
11
3
23
Pingelap
1
1,038
1
3
1
Sapwuahfik
1
558
1
1
1
Sokehs
4
4,607
14
1
22
U
2
3,408
9
3
26
TOTAL
23
25,622
100
171

Timing oF Elections

General elections for the position of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Legislature are held simultaneously every four years, on the second Tuesday in November.

Election System Used

The election system used to elect representatives in Pohnpei is the First Past The Post method.

Runoff Elections

If no Governor-Lieutenant Governor ticket receives a majority of votes cast, a runoff election is held between the two tickets receiving the greatest number of votes in the general election. The runoff election is held 28 days after the date of the election. In a runoff election , write-in ballots are not valid.
     If two or more candidates receives an equal number of votes for an available seat in the legislature, then a run-off election is held between them.

Filling Vacancies

Office of the Governor - If the office of the Governor becomes vacant the Lieutenant Governor takes office as the Governor.

Lieutenant Governor - If there is a vacancy in the office of the Lieutentant Governor, the Governor will call a special election to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. The election will be held between 60 and 120 days after the the Governor calls for the election.  However, if the vacancy occurs within one year of the next general election, the Governor will fill the vacancy with an appointment, with the advice and consent of the Legislature.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor - Should vacancies occur in the office of Governor and Lieutenant Governor concurrently, the Speaker acts as the Governor and calls a special election to fill the vacancies. The election will be held between 60 and 120 days after the the Governor calls for the election.  However, if the vacancies occur within one year of the next general election, the Speaker will take office as the Governor for the remainder of the term and fill the Lieutenant Governor position by appointment with the advice and consent of the Legislature.

Legislators - Vacancies are filled by a special election. The special election is held between 60 and 120 days after the Governor calls the election.
For More Information See:
VOTER REGISTRATION

VOTING

CONTENTS