What on Earth is the Capital of Palau??

[skuban]

We've seen this issue come up time and again: 

"The capital of Palau is Melekeok." 

"Nooo, the capital is Ngerulmud." 

"You're right it's Ngerulmud, but Sporcle recognizes Melekeok."

"Actually, it's not Ngerulmud, it really is Melekeok."

"I'm so confussseeedd, what on Babeldaob is the capital of Palau!?"

I've done some reading on the issue. I'll explain my findings.

The capitol building (note: capitol) is located in the state of Melekeok, on the hill / "town" of Ngerulmud. However, the location of the capitol is not necessarily the location of the capital.

Prior to its movement to the state of Melekeok in 2006, the capital of Palau was in the State of Koror. You would imagine that the government would keep things the same, and move the new capital to a State once again: in this case, the State of Melekeok.

The only real way, however, to definitively say what the capital city is is by regarding the Constitution of Palau. However, if you read the document (Ctrl+F "capital"), you'll see that it hasn't been updated since its movement from Koror. Therefore, judicially there is still a vacant gap in determining what the capital of Palau actually is.

Since there is no government declaration recognizing any capital, it is right now open to interpretation. The capital could be recognized as Ngerulmud, or it could be recognized as Melekeok. Sporcle has chosen Melekeok, and in my opinion it is a wiser choice than Ngerlumud. I believe it is a better choice because it stays consistent with recognizing a State as the capital of Palau. You'll notice that the constitution states the capital is in the State of Koror; therefore, since the change in 2006 I would stay consistent and say that the current capital of Palau is in the State of Melekeok.

I hope that that can clarify some of the controversy. Again, until Palau updates its constitution, it all comes down to a matter of opinion. I, for one, agree with the Sporcle admins. 

[Funnyfavorer101]

Shouldn't Sporcle also accept Ngerlumund (unless it already does)? I mean, from my understanding, by State, they mean area/province/county/etc. and by 'hill', they mean city/village/town/etc. Therefore, shouldn't the 'hill' be counted as well? In the U.S., Washington D.C. is not its own state. It's a city. Same with the other, state-only capitals. I understand why Sporcle should accept Melekeok, given that the constitution previously (and still does) designate the capital as being in the State of Koror. But shouldn't Ngerlumund be counted as well?

[skuban]

I think yeah, accept Ngerlumud. But Melekeok should be displayed. This is especially pertinent in clickable quizzes where one may be wondering whether to display Melekeok or Ngerulmud as the answer.

[sconeyj]

Right, I'm going to confuse everyone here. I emailed the US Embassy of Palau to put this question to them and hopefully solve this once and for all, and they told me the capital of Palau is Koror!

Where do we go from here?!

-sconeyj