district administrators.
siderable effort in encouraging thegg
supporters to register and vote.
The
High
Commissioner
first
elections
to
Micronesia in
Chapter 6
SUFFRAGE
A Territory-wide suffrage act for all
levels of government has yet to be
enacted. Voting qualifications are prescribed separately by municipal
charters, district legislature charters,
and Secretariat Order No. 2882, as
amended. In general, electors must be
Trust Territory citizens, 18 or older,
and residents for specified lengths of
time of the municipality or other
election district where they vote. Discrimination in voting based on race,
sex, language, or religion does not
exist.
Both men and women areeligible
to be chosen for elective office in the
Trust Territory.
About 44,000 persons wereeligible
to vote in the 1966 Congress of
Micronesia elections if they registered
and met other requirements prescribed
by law. Participation in that election
varied widely among districts. For
example, the percentage of eligible
electors voting ranged from a reported
high of 98% in the Mariana Islands
District to a low of 42% in Truk. To
make the people aware of their right
26
issueg
orders to outline the conduct of
the
the
Congress
1965. The Congreg
passed an act in 1966 providing fam.
election of its members, which w,
signed as Public Law No. 2-16 2
later incorporated into the Code of
Trust Territory as Chapter 3A. Unda
this law all eligible persons desiring tq
vote must first register. A person mag
register by executing an affidavit mm
which he identifies his voting residencal
and swears that he meets the qualift
cations prescribed by law. Candidate
for the House of Representatives ang
the Senate may be nominated eitha
by petition or political party. A
elections of members of Congress amg’
by secret ballot, and Public Law Nog
2-16 provides for supervision of po
ing places, complaints of irregularitie
appeals from decisions of electiog§,
officials,
absentee
recounts -of
voting.
ballots,
ang
Responsibility fog
conducting the Congress elections %
vested in the district administratong
who
are
designated
electiogg
commissioners for their districts, ang
in boards of election of the 21 electiogg
F
districts.
Chapter 7
fl
POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
Traditional
cultural
patterns
most areas of the Territory placed §
Part V—Political Advanceme!
~—
-}
and Development, and seven assistant
to vote, the Government has disseng,,
inated information on registratiogge,
voting procedures, dates of electiongi,,
etc., through radio broadcasts ang,
meetings with local officials. Politicg}e.
parties in the districts, as well as somgy;
candidates, have also expended cog’,
as,
+
who assume high-level administrative
and professional duties are covered
under the higher salary schedule established for professional and managerial
employees. High-level appointments of
Micronesians have included a District
Administrator, a Special Assistant to
the High Commissioner, a Deputy
Assistant Commissioner for Resources
aera
experience in their fields. Micronesians