Fitial leads vote tally

The 2005 gubernatorial election will largely be decided by those who did not visit the polls on Election Day.

Initial results showed that Covenant Party standard-bearer Benigno R. Fitial is leading the election for the top post. He has a 126-vote advantage over his closest rival, independent candidate Heinz S. Hofschneider.

But Gov. Juan N. Babauta is not very far behind. He has only 269 votes less than Fitial and 143 less votes than Hofschneider.

The Republican incumbent enjoys a huge margin of 972 votes over the fourth candidate, Democrat Froilan C. Tenorio.

A total of 1,526 absentee ballots have not yet been counted. The ballots will be collected from the U.S. Postal Service at noon of Nov. 19 and will be counted on the same day.

According to partial election results, Fitial got 28.3 percent of the “good” votes cast. Following closely are Hofschneider with 27.3 percent and Babauta with 26.1 percent. Tenorio got 18.3 percent.

The total number of ballots cast during Saturday’s general election was not available at press time but data from the Commonwealth Election Commission show that there were 12,352 votes counted for the gubernatorial race. Among the Commonwealth-wide elections, the contest for governor registered the most number of counted votes.

Garapan and Oleai, which comprise Precinct 3 along with the Northern Islands, delivered Fitial’s lead. Precinct 3 ballots were the last ones to be counted Sunday morning.

Before Precinct 3 votes were run through the counting machines, Hofschneider was leading with 2,788 votes. He was followed by Babauta with 2,709 votes. Fitial was at third place with 2,577 votes, while Tenorio came last with 1,902 votes.

But with 920 votes compared to Hofschneider’s 583 and Babauta’s 519, Fitial pulled away to claim partial victory.

The Precinct 3 votes brought Fitial’s total to 3,497. Hofschneider currently has a total of 3,371 votes; Babauta 3,228 votes; and Tenorio 2,256 votes.

In the Northern Islands, Fitial got 43 votes. Hofschneider has 28 votes, Babauta 26 votes, and Tenorio 2 votes.

Fitial also won the election on Rota, which is widely regarded as a Republican bailiwick. Fitial earned 429 votes on Rota, while Babauta got 371 votes. Hofschneider received 272 votes and Tenorio got 109 votes.

The Precinct 2 villages of Chalan Kanoa and Susupe also threw its support behind Fitial, giving him 304 votes. Hofschneider followed with 230 votes. Tenorio placed third with 166 votes, while Babauta ranked the lowest with 131 votes.

Hofschneider, whose ranking alternated between second and third in most precincts, got phenomenal support from Precinct 1. Hofschneider posted a 407-vote lead over his closest opponent at Precinct 1—which is made up of San Antonio, San Vicente, Koblerville, Kagman, and Northern Marianas College.

Hofschneider’s running mate, Rep. David Apatang, hails from Precinct 1, the largest election district in the Commonwealth.

Tenorio received 1,192 votes from his own precinct, followed by Babauta with 1,148 and Fitial with 1,106 votes.

Babauta claimed victory in Precinct 4, which is composed of Tanapag, San Roque, and Capitol Hill. His Precinct 4 votes totaled 643, giving him a lead of 165 votes over Hofschneider, 260 over Fitial, and 298 over Tenorio.

The governor’s reelection bid gained support from 390 voters on Tinian. He is leading Fitial by 78 votes and Hofschneider by 209 votes.

The ballot counting started at 12:30am at the Multipurpose Center in Susupe and took about three hours.