Nominations for Marshall Islands national and local elections closed in late July. Out of 96 candidates running for the Nitijela, nine women have nominated to run. Of those nine women, six participated in the first ever Mock Parliament for Women, which was held in the Marshall Islands Nitijela this Friday. A number of candidates running in local elections also participated in the Mock Parliament, which had 27 participants in total.

The Mock Parliament was chaired by Chairperson Abacca Anjain-Maddison, who was elected to act in the role as Speaker by the Delegates during the 4-day which preceded the week. Chairperson Abacca Anjain-Maddison, who is a former Senator and is running again in the upcoming election reflected on the positive experience of presiding over the Mock Parliament. “I was quite nervous to begin with, as it was quite overwhelming to feel the aura of the Nitijela while sitting in the Speaker’s Chair. But I settled in quickly and really learned a lot from the experience. The women performed very, very well and I think we all showed that women Senators would have a lot to offer the people of Marshall Islands in term of ideas, commitment and a willingness to serve our country,” she said.