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Initiative on land alienation up in November elections
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Posted on Jun 25 1999
A legislative initiative seeking an indigenous-only vote on any land issue will be included in the balloting during the November midterm elections after the House of Representatives passed the proposal yesterday.
Senate Legislative Initiative 11-1, sponsored by Senate Vice President Thomas P. Villagomez, is the first initiative to draw support from two-thirds of the members of both houses in the Legislature in time for the forthcoming polls.
It will propose a constitutional amendment to provide that only persons of Northern Marianas descent can vote on constitutional amendments affecting the protections against alienation of land.
To become part of the statute, it will need majority of the number of votes cast in the November elections, meaning 50 percent plus one vote.
In an interview after the House voting, Villagomez said the initiative would effectively restrict other U.S. citizens who are not indigenous from deciding on issues concerning land ownership in the Commonwealth.
Once it gets the votes, the initiative will then start registration of all Northern Marianas-descent population that can decide in the future on land ownership and other issues involving the limited land mass of the island.
