Zedkaia's predecessor, Litokwa Tomeing, was defeated in a vote of no confidence on October 21, 2009, in a motion led by former president Kessai Note.

[2] The ouster of President Tomeing marked the first successful vote of no confidence in Marshallese history.

[8] Zedkaia had previously carried out chiefly duties on behalf of his mother during her lifetime.

[5] President Zedkaia assumed the chiefly titles for all of the lands on Majuro that had been previously governed by Leroij Atama following her death.

[5] The state funeral for his mother was the largest to take place in the Marshall Islands since the death of President Amata Kabua in 1996.