General elections were held in Palau on 4 November 2008 to elect the President and members of the National Congress. The presidential election was won by Johnson Toribiong. Incumbent President Tommy Remengesau was ineligible to run because he had served the maximum two consecutive terms allowed and announced that he would run for a seat in the Senate.^[1]

Quick Facts Nominee, Party ...

2008 Palauan general election

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Presidential election

Nominee Johnson Toribiong Elias Camsek Chin Party Independent Independent Running mate Kerai Mariur Alan R. Seid Popular vote 5,040 4,828 Percentage 51.07% 48.93%

President before election Tommy Remengesau Independent Elected President Johnson Toribiong Independent

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This was the first election in Palau in which presidential candidates ran with a declared vice-presidential candidates.^[1] In previous elections, the President and vice-presidents had been elected separately, and the winners of those elections served as a "national leadership team".^[1]

Primary elections were held on 23 September,^[1] with two candidates progressing to the general election in November. Four candidates registered for the primary elections:

• Elias Camsek Chin – The incumbent Vice-President was seeking a promotion to the Palauan presidency. His running mate was Senator Alan R. Seid.^[1]
• Johnson Toribiong – He is the current Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan), and he was running with Delegate Kerai Mariur.^[1]
• Surangel S. Whipps – He is the President of the Senate and his running mate was Billy Kuartei, the Chief of Staff for President Remengesau.^[1]
• Joshua Koshiba – He is a Senator and his running mate was Governor of Peleliu Jackson Ngiraingas.^[1]

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.^[1]

A total of 43 candidates ran for the thirteen seats in the Senate,^[1] while 44 candidates contested the sixteen seats in the House of Delegates.^[1] A record ten women were competing for seats in the Senate and House of Delegates,^[1] with seven women running for the at large Senate race.^[1]