Ngatpang, Palau — The Palau Election Commission has rejected a petition submitted by the Ngatpang State Legislature to recall Governor Jersey Iyar and hold a new gubernatorial election, citing constitutional inconsistencies and procedural errors.
The commission outlined three key reasons for rejecting the petition:
- Conflicting constitutional provisions: The Ngatpang State Constitution contains conflicting information between its Palauan and English versions regarding the percentage of voter signatures required to validate a recall petition. The Palauan version requires signatures from 30% of voters in the last general election, while the English version sets the threshold at 35%.
- Omission of the governor’s name: The petition and the accompanying resolution did not explicitly name the governor subject to the recall, a requirement under the law.
- Unclear timing for the 60-day election requirement: The constitution does not clearly define when the 60-day countdown for holding a recall election begins—whether it starts when the petition is submitted to the legislature or when it is received by the Election Commission.
- Governor Iyar responded to the petition, acknowledging the public’s right to initiate such a process.
“I give credit to those who chose to initiate this petition because they believe there is something lacking in the government and seek to address it. That is their prerogative,” Iyar said. “Maybe they see something I missed. We’re not stopping them, but they should have done more research on the process and requirements.”
The petition was based on language in the Ngatpang Constitution that allows citizens to initiate a recall without citing any wrongdoing or criminal conduct. It stated that voters in Ngatpang sought to “change their government” and elect a new leader who is more caring and capable.
However, the discrepancy in required signature thresholds between the two language versions of the constitution complicated the validation process. In the 2022 Ngatpang State General Election, 313 of 538 registered voters cast ballots. Based on that figure, the petition would have needed at least 110 valid signatures to meet either version’s threshold.
Governor Iyar also expressed disappointment with the legislature’s handling of the petition.
“The sad thing is that the legislature received the petition and passed a resolution acknowledging it without doing further research before submitting it to the Election Commission,” he said.
Iyar defended his record, noting he has been transparent with constituents.
“I believe I’m the only elected leader in Ngatpang with a report card. Every November, I deliver the Annual Ngatpang State Address to report what we’ve done and how our government is performing,” he said, adding that he plans to continue the tradition this year.
He also claimed that some petitioners later expressed regret, saying they were misled.
“Some people told me they thought they were signing a nomination petition for a candidate, while others believed it was a document from traditional chiefs,” Iyar said. “They said they didn’t realize what they were signing.”