Leaders are once again asking over 16,000 registered voters to be part of history by voting in the CNMI's first gubernatorial runoff election on Monday, making sure that the next governor and lieutenant governor are elected by a majority of the votes cast.
Monday, Nov. 23, has been declared a legal holiday.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial of the Covenant Party will be facing off with Republican Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider.
Fitial banks on “proven leadership and proven experience,” while Hofschneider advocates “change in leadership.”
A runoff election will be held, not because of Hofschneider's eight-vote lead over Fitial, but because no candidate received at least 50 percent plus one of the votes cast in the four-way gubernatorial race on Nov. 7.
Hofschneider and his running mate, House Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, beat Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos by eight votes, 4,900 to 4,892, the closest gubernatorial race in CNMI history.
“Go out and exercise your right to vote. That's how democracy works. After the runoff, we will have a governor voted by a simple majority,” said House Vice Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero, author of the bill that became the runoff election law, Public Law 16-43, signed by Fitial in July.
Palacios, however, was the author of the original proposed constitutional amendment to ensure that the governor and lieutenant governor are elected by a majority of the votes cast.
Both the current administration and its predecessor were elected without a majority vote.
In the November 2005 election, Fitial received 28.07 percent of the total votes cast for governor. He won by 99 votes against his closest opponent, Hofschneider, who got 27.34 percent.
In the November 2001 polls, former Gov. Juan N. Babauta was declared winner despite receiving less than half of the votes. He got 42.8 percent of the total votes cast. His closest rival, Fitial, got 24.4 percent.
Candidates speak
Inos, in an interview yesterday, called on voters to once again come out and participate in the first gubernatorial runoff election.
“Please come out and exercise your right to vote. And while you're in the process of exercising your right to vote, make the right choice by voting for Ben and Eloy because we believe that we have the experience and the ability to lead the Commonwealth in these trying times. We have identified the issues and have solid plans to bring us out of this situation for the betterment of the Commonwealth,” he said.
The Covenant Party said the CNMI cannot afford to choose the “alternative.”
Hofschneider, in a phone interview yesterday, called on voters “to take the time and vote.”
“I encourage voters to stand up and be counted, to make a difference not only in their own lives but also in the lives of others who may have been forgotten or have suffered silently in the last four years. We cannot afford to have the same system of running things in the next four or five years,” he said.
Hofschneider, a former speaker like Fitial, urged the 13,000 voters “who wanted change” to “come out again and really open their minds and hearts.”
“I speak for change,” he said. “This is not about political parties anymore, but about people.”
Fitial, in a Nov. 17 memorandum, declared Nov. 23 a legal holiday.
“In observance of such a holiday, I remind each and every one of you to go out and exercise your right to vote,” Fitial said in the one-page memorandum.
Whoever wins in the runoff election will serve for five years instead of four, because of the recently passed and ratified Senate Legislative Initiative 16-11 requiring the holding of regular general elections only in even-numbered years.
Senate President Pete P. Reyes (R-Saipan) said every registered voter should take part in the historic runoff election.
“Election is not over yet, and we are hoping for a higher turnout. Please make sure to make the right and wise choice,” he said.
Rep. Tina Sablan (Ind-Saipan) urged all citizens to go to the polls and “vote [with] their consciences on Nov. 23.”
“Let no one be ruled by fear before, during, or after the runoff-regardless of the election results. And may we exercise our right to vote fully informed about both the candidates, with our eyes wide open, and our hearts in the right place,” she said.
With Monday a holiday, government offices will be open only for three days next week: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Thursday is the Thanksgiving holiday.
In the Nov. 7 general elections, only 13,784 cast their votes including absentee votes, out of the 16,108 voters who registered. The voter turnout of 86 percent was much lower than the 93 percent recorded in the 2005 gubernatorial elections.
While runoff elections in other states usually get fewer votes than in normal elections, deputy special assistant for administration Joseph C. Villagomez believes “there will be more voters on Monday because this is historic for the CNMI.”
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