1965 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands parliamentary election

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

Background

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

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

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

House of Delegates
District Member Term
MarianasOlympio T. BorjaFour years
Jose R. CruzTwo years
MarshallsIsaac LanwiFour years
Amata KabuaTwo years
PalauJohn O. NgirakedFour years
Roman TmetuchlTwo years
PonapeBailey OlterFour years
Eliuel PretrickTwo years
TrukTosiwo NakayamaFour years
Andon AmaraichTwo years
YapFrancis NuuanFour years
Joseph TamagTwo years
Source: Annual Report, TTPI, TTPI

General Assembly
District Constituency Member
Marianas1st DistrictBenjamin Manglona
2nd DistrictManuel D. Muna
3rd DistrictJuan A. Sablan
Marshalls4th DistrictNamo Hermios
5th DistrictHenry Samuel
6th DistrictDwight Heine
7th DistrictAtlan Anien
Palau8th DistrictLazarus Salii
9th DistrictSadang Ngiraeherang
10th DistrictJacob Sawaichi
Ponape11th DistrictElias Robert
12th DistrictBethwel Henry
13th DistrictMax Iriarte
14th DistrictOlter Poll
Truk15th DistrictSmart Lampson
16th DistrictPetrus Mailo
17th DistrictSoukichi Fritz
18th DistrictMitaro Danis
19th DistrictChutomu Nimues
Yap20th DistrictLuke Tman
21st DistrictJohn N. Rugulimar
Source: Annual Report, TTPI, TTPI

Aftermath

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
  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. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Office of United Nations Political Affairs, pp198–199
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