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1965 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands parliamentary election

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Parliamentary elections were held in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands on 19 January 1965.[1]

Background

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Constitutional changes for the Trust Territory were made by an order from the US Secretary of the Interior on 28 September 1964.[2] A bicameral Congress was established, with a 12-member House of Delegates (later renamed the Senate) with two members from each of the six districts and a 21-member General Assembly (later renamed the House of Representatives) with seats apportioned to each district based on their population – five from Truk, four from the Marshall Islands and Ponape, three from the Mariana Islands and Palau and two from Yap.[3] This replaced the previous Council of Micronesia, which had been based outside the Trust Territory in Guam.[4]

Future elections were to be held every two years in November of even-numbered years, with all members of the General Assembly and half the House of Delegates renewed at each election. In the 1965 elections, half the Delegates (one from each district) were elected for a term ending in January 1967 (following the 1966 elections) and the other half elected for a term ending in January 1969 (following the 1968 elections).

Campaign

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A total of 94 candidates contested the elections,[5] of which 28 were running in the House of Delegates elections, with six running in both Palau and Ponape, and four in the Marshalls, Marianas, Truk and Yap.[6] Although voting was meant to take place even where there was only one candidate, a misunderstanding led to Bethwel Henry being returned unopposed without a vote.[7]

Results

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Of the 41,473 people thought to be eligible to vote, 35,506 registered to do so. Of these, 25,079 people voted.[8]

Elected members

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House of Delegates

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District Member Term
Marianas Olympio T. Borja Four years
Jose R. Cruz Two years
Marshalls Isaac Lanwi Four years
Amata Kabua Two years
Palau John O. Ngiraked Four years
Roman Tmetuchl Two years
Ponape Bailey Olter Four years
Eliuel Pretrick Two years
Truk Tosiwo Nakayama Four years
Andon Amaraich Two years
Yap Francis Nuuan Four years
Joseph Tamag Two years
Source: Annual Report, TTPI, TTPI

General Assembly

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District Constituency Member
Marianas 1st District Benjamin Manglona
2nd District Manuel D. Muna
3rd District Juan A. Sablan
Marshalls 4th District Namo Hermios
5th District Henry Samuel
6th District Dwight Heine
7th District Atlan Anien
Palau 8th District Lazarus Salii
9th District Sadang Ngiraeherang
10th District Jacob Sawaichi
Ponape 11th District Elias Robert
12th District Bethwel Henry
13th District Max Iriarte
14th District Olter Poll
Truk 15th District Smart Lampson
16th District Petrus Mailo
17th District Soukichi Fritz
18th District Mitaro Danis
19th District Chutomu Nimues
Yap 20th District Luke Tman
21st District John N. Rugulimar
Source: Annual Report, TTPI, TTPI

Aftermath

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Following the elections, Tosiwo Nakayama was elected as the President of the House of Delegates.[9]

On 15 October 1965 Dwight Heine resigned from Congress to become District Administrator of the Marshall Islands. A by-election was held in February and April 1966 which was won by Ekpap Silk.[10] Smart Lampson died on 13 June 1966; Naosy Pitiol was appointed to complete his term by the Acting Truk District Administrator.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Annual Report of the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to the Secretary of the Interior, Fiscal Year Ended 1965 p13
  2. ^ Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the United States Congress, Volume 111, Part 12, p16441
  3. ^ Micronesia To Go To Polls Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1964, p13
  4. ^ Meeting Will Discuss Plans for US Trust Territory Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1962, p143
  5. ^ Norman Meller (1969) The Congress of Micronesia: Development of the Legislative Process in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands University of Hawai'i Press, p273
  6. ^ In A Nutshell Pacific Islands Monthly, February 1965, p10
  7. ^ Meller, p261
  8. ^ Annual Report of the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to the Secretary of the Interior, Fiscal Year Ended 1965 p18
  9. ^ President Tosiwo Nakayama Government of Micronesia
  10. ^ a b Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Office of United Nations Political Affairs, pp198–199