General elections were held in

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and the

National Congress National Congress is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures. Political parties *Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress, original name of the Oromo People's Congress *Guyana: People's National Congress Reform *India: **In ...

. Incumbent

Tommy Remengesau Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician. He served as the Palauan president between 2001-2009 and 2013-2021. He served as a Senator in the Palau National Congress between his two administrations. In ...

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 or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

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

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

using

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

. The 13 members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

were elected from a single nationwide constituency by

block voting Block or bloc voting refers to a class of electoral systems where multiple candidates are elected simultaneously. They do not guarantee minority representation and allow a group of voters (a voting bloc) to ensure that only their preferred candi ...

, 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 (), 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 has 16 members, each s ...

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 people, Palauan politician who served as the Vice President of Palau and Justice Minister of Palau, Minister of Justice between 17 January 2013 and 19 January 2017. He graduated from the University o ...

Vice President of Palau Vice President of Palau is the second-highest position in the executive branch of the government of Palau, after the President of Palau, president. The vice president is elected in popular elections separate from presidential elections. When ...

(2013–2017) *

Sandra Pierantozzi Sandra Sumang Pierantozzi (born 9 August 1953) is a Palauan politician. She served as the country's Vice-President from 19 January 2001 to 1 January 2005. Pierantozzi was defeated by Camsek Chin in the 2 November 2004 vice-presidential election ...

(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 Palau Community College is a public community college in the Republic of Palau. It is the only higher education institution in the nation. It is an independent institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers a ...

(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,

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 election 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 (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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