Federated States of Micronesia: Congress, 7 March 2017

At stake in this election:

• 10 seats in the Congress.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State:  President Peter M. CHRISTIAN (11 May 2015)
• Head of Government:  President Peter M. CHRISTIAN (11 May 2015)
• Assembly:  Micronesia has a unicameral congress with 14 seats

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Congress, 4 members (‘Senators’) are elected by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms, and 10 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 2-year terms. The four senator seats are elected “at-large” from four states (Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae).

Last Election:

• In the 2015 election, all incumbents were reelected. There were no female candidates. As there are no political parties in Micronesia, all candidates ran as independents.

Main candidates in the election:

• Independents*
  • Seats won in last election:  14

* Micronesia does not have political parties, thus all candidates run as independents.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population:  104,719 (July 2016)
• Registered Voters:  92,000 (2013)

Gender Data:

• Female Population:  52,960 (2016)
• Is Micronesia a signatory to CEDAW:  No
• Has Micronesia ratified CEDAW:  Yes, accession (1 September 2004)
• Gender Quota:  No
• Female candidates in this election:  unknown
• Number of Female Parliamentarians:  0
• Human Development Index Position:  123 (2014)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization:  N/A

Disability Data:

• Is Micronesia a signatory to CRPD:  Yes (23 September 2011)
• Has Micronesia ratified CRPD:  No
• Population with a disability:  15,669