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Government
Politics of the Marshall Islands
The government of the Marshall Islands operates under a mixed
parliamentary-presidential system. Elections are held every four years in
universal suffrage (for all citizens above 18 years of age) with each of the
twenty-four constituencies (see below) electing one representative (senator) to
the lower house of RMI’s bicameral legislature, the Nitijela. (Majuro, the
capital atoll, elects five senators.) The President, who is head of state as
well as head of government, is elected in his turn by the 33 senators of the
Nitijela.
Legislative power lies with the Nitijela. The upper house of Parliament, called
the Council of Iroij, is an advisory body comprised of twelve tribal chiefs.
The executive branch consists of the President and the Presidential Cabinet (ten
ministers appointed by the President with the approval of the Nitijela.)
The twenty-four electoral districts into which the country is divided correspond
to the inhabited islands and atolls:
Ailinglaplap Atoll
Ailuk Atoll
Arno Atoll
Aur Atoll
Ebon Atoll
Enewetak Atoll
Jabat Island
Jaluit Atoll
Kili Island
Kwajalein Atoll
Lae Atoll
Lib Island
Likiep Atoll
Majuro Atoll
Maloelap Atoll
Mejit Island
Mili Atoll
Namdrik Atoll
Namu Atoll
Rongelap Atoll
Ujae Atoll
Utirik (Utrik) Atoll
Wotho Atoll
Wotje Atoll
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