Adachi trailing Oilouch by 233 for VP

By: L.N. Reklai

November 2, 2016 (Koror) After tallying all votes cast in Palau’s recently concluded 2016 General Election, excluding absentee ballots, the Palau Election Commission’s unofficial results shows Tommy Remengesau Jr. leading over Surangel Whipps Jr. by slim margin of 78 votes.

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Such narrow margin has people all over town speculating about what happened to reduce the gap between the primary in September and this general election between the two candidates.

After the primary election, prior to absentee vote count, results showed Remengesau Jr. leading Whipps Jr. by 779 votes. After absentee ballots were tallied, he increased his margin by 1,189 votes.

Results from yesterday which do not yet reflect absentee votes, showed Whipps Jr. trailing only by 78 votes, after the other two candidates, Sandra Pierantozzi and Antonio Bells threw their support behind him for this general election.

The two former presidential candidates garnered combined votes of 896, excluding absentee votes, after the primary election. With absentee vote count, they collected a combined absentee vote of 211. Whipps Jr. gained 777 after the absentee votes were counted and Remengesau jr. gained 1,189.

This general election numbers show Whipps Jr. with 4,030 before absentee vote count.  Remengesau jr. has 4,108.  The speculations now are focused on the absentee votes, whether the 1,187 absentee votes that Remengesau had over Whipps 777, can be beat.

Such narrow margin in Palau’s presidential race is unprecedented.  The narrow margin shows the popularity of the two presidential candidates, especially the new comer in the presidential race, Surangel Whipps Jr., who won his first term as Senator in a landslide as a write-in candidate and has been a top vote-getter in the last two terms as a Senator.

Incumbent President Remengesau Jr. is the longest serving President and had served as a Senator, a Vice President as well as having served two-terms presidency and maintains his popularity through his conservation initiatives that have reached global level.

In the vice presidential race, Yositaka Adachi trails Raynold Oilouch by 233 votes. Former candidate to vice presidential race, Senator Mlib Tmetuchl had pledged Adachi his support after the primary election.  Tmetuchl had garnered over 2,000 votes in the primary election. [/restrict]