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CEC mum on Dems’ allegations
CEC says it has 10 days to reply; notes that CEC office still has no power
The Commonwealth Election Commission is keeping mum on the allegations of the Democratic Party of the Northern Marianas that there were irregularities in the conduct of the Nov. 13 general election and in the counting and tabulation of ballots.
CEC executive director Julita A. Villagomez said yesterday that they have no comments on the Democratic Party’s allegations.
Villagomez pointed out that the CEC has 10 days to reply to the Democratic Party and had not provided the party yet with the documents it had asked for.
“We don’t even have [electricity] here in our office,” she said.
The Democratic Party, through its election committee chair Tony Mareham, wrote a letter to Villagomez last Monday about the party’s intent to inspect all used, defaced, and unused ballots, documents, records, video recordings, and many other election-related items.
In the letter, Mareham said that, without explanation, several “significant irregularities” may call into question the validity of the election results.
Democratic Party chief executive officer Stephen C. Woodruff earlier told Saipan Tribune that they went to CEC’s office in Susupe that afternoon, Monday, to obtain answers and access the documents, but Villagomez did not provide them any.
Woodruff agreed that the CEC still has no electric power.
