WORLD.WARTAGLOBAL.id, Majuro - Ben Kiluwe, Chief Electoral Officer of the Marshall Islands, declared the final results of the national election on December 27, 2023. However, one caveat emerged regarding the fifth parliamentary seat in Majuro Atoll, where a lawsuit for the seat is still pending the outcome of a court petition that may be filed by the losing candidate with a margin of 17 votes.
Out of the 33 parliamentary seats, 40 percent of them have changed hands as a result of the national election held on November 20, 2023. Several prominent incumbents, including the Minister of Fisheries and Climate John Silk and Parliament Speaker Kenneth Kedi, lost in the election.
Nevertheless, the opening ceremony for the new parliament is scheduled for Tuesday, January 2, 2024, where the 33 members of the Nitijela will vote to elect a new president, parliament speaker, and deputy parliament speaker. Incumbent President David Kabua is expected to run for a second term in the upcoming election.
The dispute over the parliamentary seat in Majuro Atoll features a heated debate between Stephen Phillip, who received 1,232 votes, and Yolanda Lodge-Ned with 1,215 votes. Despite Lodge-Ned filing a recount petition, Kiluwe rejected it, citing that a 17-vote difference is too substantial to dispute.
A notable aspect of this election is the low voter turnout. Out of 55,167 registered voters, only 33 percent or 17,998 voters cast their ballots. The use of mail-in ballots, especially by Marshallese residents living in the United States, posed challenges. Out of 3,752 mail-in ballots sent, only 1,117 were received and counted, creating a limited impact on the election results.
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