Yearbook 2004
Palau. In the November 2 presidential election, President Tommy Remengesau was re-elected with approximately 64% of the vote. His main opponent, Polycarp Basilius, received 36%. Elias Camsek Chin was elected new Vice President, even by a large margin.
At the same time as the election, a referendum was held on five constitutional amendments. Voters said yes to a proposal to allow dual citizenship for Palau Americans. The total population in Palau is 18,105 people in 2020. President Remengesau had tried in vain to pass this amendment in Parliament earlier. According to the government, dual citizenship is the only way to stop the flight of educated Palauians to the United States. The approximately 7,000 Palauians who live in the United States now have the right to vote and to own land in Palau.
The voters also voted in favor of three other constitutional amendments: that the president and the vice president should be elected at the same time, that a member of parliament may sit for a maximum of four terms of office and a proposal on how the salaries of parliamentarians should be regulated. However, the proposal to abolish Parliament’s second chamber was rejected.