Parliamentary elections were held in the

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (, abbreviated FSM), or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a region of Oceania. The federation encompasses the majority of the Caroline Islands (excluding Palau) and consists of four Admin ...

on 8 March 2011, alongside a three-part referendum. As there were no political parties, all 34 candidates ran as independents.Micronesia (Federated States of): Congress
IPU For the first time in the country's history, two women ran for election, both in

Chuuk State Chuuk State (; also known as Truk) is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It consists of several island groups: Nomoneas, Faichuk, Faichuuk, the Hall Islands, Namonuito Atoll (Magur Islands), Pattiw (Western Isl ...

. However, neither was elected. The three referendum questions were held on extending the congressional term length to four years for all members (at the time, 10 of the 14 members were only elected for two-year terms),Federated States of Micronesia, 8 March 2011: Four-year term of office for all members of Congress
Direct Democracy allowing the holding of dual citizenship,Federated States of Micronesia, 8 March 2011: Lifting the ban on dual citizenship
Direct Democracy and whether a Constitutional Convention should be elected to revise the constitution.Federated States of Micronesia, 8 March 2011: Election of a Constitutional Convention
Direct Democracy Only the latter proposal was approved. However, the convention didn't get elected.

Electoral system

The 14 seats in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

consist of 10 seats elected every two years, and four "at large" seats elected every four years. The 2011 election was one in which all 14 seats were up for election. Around 92,000 voters registered for the elections. Two of the referendum questions, on congressional term lengths and dual citizenship, involved amending the constitution. In order to pass, they required the approval of at least 75% of voters in at least three of the four states. The third referendum on calling a Constitutional Convention is required every ten years by article 2 of Chapter XIV of the constitution, and required only a simple majority at the national level.

Campaign

President Manny Mori was challenged by Anna Asauo Wengu, one of the two women candidates. He promised to increase the amount of foreign investment in order to develop the country's fishing industry, as well as campaigning on the importance of connecting the four states by fibre optic cable. He also promised to focus on education, including the provision of financial assistance for post-graduates. The other female candidate, Augustina Takashy, ran against Joe Suka, the leader of the Floor in Congress. She campaigned on investing in job creation and ensuring that basic social services were affordable to all, as well as promising to work on gender issues.

Constitutional changes

The two referendum questions involving changing the constitution would have altered chapters III, IX and X of the document.

Term length amendments

Dual citizenship amendment

The dual citizenship amendment would be achieved by removing article 3 of Chapter III:

Results

Congress

Referendums

Four year term of office for all Congress members

Lifting the ban on dual citizenship

Calling a Constitutional Convention

Presidential election

An indirect election to elect the president was held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 11 May 2011, following the parliamentary election on 8 March 2011. Incumbent president Manny Mori was reelected.

References

{{Micronesian elections Elections in the Federated States of Micronesia 2011 elections in Oceania

Parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

Non-partisan elections 2011 referendums Referendums in the Federated States of Micronesia Election and referendum articles with incomplete results