The
July 19 - August 1, 2023
1
Kaselehlie Press
The
July 19, 2023
Free bi-weekly publication
KASELEHLIE PRESS PO Box 2222 Kolonia, Pohnpei, FM 96941
Kpress@mail.fm
Vol. 23 Issue No. 17
www.kpress.info
Yap team takes first place at historic first ever FSM National Futsal Championship By Bill Jaynes The Kaselehlie Press July 15, 2023 Pohnpei, FSM—What began as a simple query from a then 17-year-old descendant of Kosrae living in Gainesville, Georgia has ultimately rekindled an FSM football (soccer) movement to be recognized by the FIFA, the sport’s governing body. Kenny Aldana simply wanted to know if there was a team that he could play for in the FSM and wrote to anyone he could think of in the FSM that might be involved in the sport. Receiving no replies did not stop Aldana and he wrote to Paul Watson of Great Britain who coached the now nonexistent FSM national football team in 2009 and 2010. Two years later Watson wrote a book entitled “Up Pohnpei” detailing his
experiences as coach of a team that had never participated in any international football competitions. Aldana’s query captured Watson’s imagination and he started putting together the details to hold an FSM-wide football competition. Ultimately, those preparations led to last week’s first ever Futsal championship, an indoor version of football that instead of 11 men per side has only five per side and is played indoors on a basketball court. That week long tournament is the first small step in the long and arduous procedure of being recognized by the Asian Football Confederation or the Oceania Football Confederation. If that can be accomplished, Click on above photo for short highlights video and the FSM leadership has tried and failed before due to lapsed application deadlines could be recognition by FIFA. “But it’s Click here for continuation on page 4 and other factors, the next step in the parade going to take a lot of work,” Watson said
Fabian Nimea and Yoslyn Sigrah will be Chuuk and Kosrae’s new FSM senators Constitutional referendum results uncertifiable due to Chuuk election process errors By Bill Jaynes The Kaselehlie Press July 18, 2023 FSM—On July 10, 2023, Ausen T. Lambert, Director of the National Election Office partially certified the results of the July 4, 2023 special election. On that date, Chuuk and Kosrae voters needed to elect from a list of nine candidates each, the person who would fill the seats vacated when Congress elected Chuuk’s at-large representative Wesley Simina to be the President of the FSM, and Kosrae’s atlarge representative, Aren Palik to be the FSM’s Vice President. FSM-wide, voters went to the polls to decide on the fates of nine proposed amendments to the FSM’s Constitution as proposed by the elected
members of the FSM’s Constitutional with a vote of 3,576. Kosrae elected Yoslyn Sigrah to be their representative Convention. with a vote of 697. The National Election Office was able to certify the results of the elections for The FSM Constitution has often been the two At-Large Senators the people of described as not being “built for speed”, Chuuk and Kosrae elected but, due to meaning that passing amendments to that some announced irregularities in Chuuk’s document was purposely designed with election, could not yet certify the final an abundance of caution to be certain results of the proposed Constitutional that proposed amendments truly reflect amendments. The Office did, however, the wishes of FSM’s voters. The current announce the percentages of the votes legal standard to pass an amendment to in each of the FSM States that reported the Constitution requires that 75 percent results on those votes which excluded any of FSM voters in 75 percent of its states votes to pass it. That standard may results from the State of Chuuk. change if the elections show that voters According to Lambert’s July 10 are shown to have chosen to pass an announcement, Chuuk elected Fabian amendment that lowers the threshold, but Nimea to be their at-large representative for this election, that standard is in place.
Because Chuuk has not yet reported its results on the referendum, and Pohnpei’s vote did on the “threshold” issue did not meet the 75 percent standard, as of press time, the determination as to whether that amendment has passed or not has not been officially settled. Kosrae’s voters elected to adopt all nine of the proposed constitutional amendments by a significant margin. It was the only State of the four FSM States whose voters chose to pass each amendment. Also, by a large margin, Pohnpei State’s voters passed seven of the amendments excluding only the amendments on “threshold” and the legal right for a health Click here for continuation on page 15