4,942 4,726 Start date November 4, 2008 | 51.12% 48.88% | |
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Winner Johnson Toribiong | ||
The Palauan presidential election was held as part of the Palauan general elections on November 4, 2008. It was won by Johnson Toribiong. Incumbent President Tommy Remengesau was ineligible to run because he has served the maximum two terms allowed.
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This was the first presidential election in Palau's history in which presidential candidates are running with declared vice-presidential candidates. In past elections the President and Vice-Presidents were elected separately, and the winners of those elections served as a "national leadership team".
Outgoing President Tommy Remengesau announced that he would run for a seat in the Senate.
Candidates
The first round of the election was primary election held on September 23, 2008. Four candidates ran in the election, but only the top two candidates with the most votes qualified for the November 4, 2008 general election.
The original four presidential and vice-presidential candidates are as follows:
Campaigning
All four presidential candidates and their running mates held rallies throughout Palau. Campaigning also took place in overseas Palauan communities in the mainland United States, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Primary
Elias Chin and Johnson Toribiong were the top two vote-getters in the September 23 primary election. Chin and Toribiong, faced each other in the general election on November 4, 2008.
General
The general presidential election, between Toribiong and Chin, was held on November 4, 2008. In early, preliminary results Toribiong held a 130-vote lead over Chin, with 1,629 votes to Chin's 1,499.
Toribiong and his running mate, Kerai Mariur, were declared the winner of the election on November 7, 2008, after the final vote tally showed them receiving 4,942 votes. Toribiong defeated Chin, who garnered 4,726 total votes, by just 216 votes. It was reported that Toribiong had received a concession phone call from Vice-President Chin.