‘Better Times’ comes out ahead in ’05 polls

One of the most exciting elections in CNMI history, the election of 2005 saw a four-way race among incumbent Gov. Juan N. Babauta, Speaker Benigno R. Fitial, Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, and former governor Froilan C. Tenorio.

It was also the longest election, with candidates and the entire Commonwealth having to wait 14 agonizing days from Election Day to find out the winner. Votes cast in the polling places on Nov. 5, 2005, yielded a result too close to call that the election had to be decided by the 1,500 ballots sent out to overseas voters.

Initial results showed Covenant Party standard-bearer Fitial leading the election for the top post. Hofschneider came second with 126 votes behind, followed closely by Babauta who got 143 less votes than Hofschneider.

Babauta enjoyed a huge margin of 972 votes over the fourth candidate, Tenorio of the Democratic Party. The former governor conceded a few days after the preliminary results were out.

The two-week wait for the final results, however, provided no surprises. Babauta, the only one to have campaigned overseas, garnered the most number of absentee votes. But the numbers were simply not enough to overturn the decision of the poll voters.

Fitial and his running mate, Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez, claimed victory after picking up 312 overseas votes. They finished with 28 percent of the total votes, winning over their closest rivals by 99 votes.

Hofschneider and Rep. David Apatang followed closely with 3,710 or 27.3 percent of the total votes. The independent team got the nod of 339 absentee voters.

Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente claimed 382 absentee votes, ending with 3,610 votes, or 26.6 percent. They were behind the Fitial-Villagomez tandem by 199 votes and behind the Hofschneider-Apatang team by 100 votes.

Tenorio and Antonio A. Santos picked up 186 absentee votes. This brought the Democrats’ total votes to 2442, or 17.99 percent.

The Republican Party had the worst showing ever. Babauta, who won a landslide victory four years ago, was beaten not only by his 2001 rival, but also by an independent candidate. The party also suffered great defeat in many other races.

Observers and party supporters alike have attributed the party’s poor performance in the election to its disunity and failure to conduct primary elections.

Clearly, the biggest winner in this year’s election is the Covenant Party, which claimed not only the top executive post, but also most of the legislative and mayoral seats.

The Commonwealth Election Commission received commendation for the efficient manner it conducted this election, notwithstanding the agency’s limited budget.

The election saw a most impressive turnout. About 93 percent of the registered voters showed up at the polling places and 80 percent of the absentee voters sent back their ballots.

Furthermore, the new ballot design significantly reduced the number of spoiled votes. CEC executive director Gregorio Sablan has estimated that the number of overvotes this election declined by 80 percent compared with the 2001 election.

The new ballot design organized the names of candidates by position or office, as opposed to the previous columnar format where names were listed according to political party. It also placed all of the races on one face of the ballot and provided instructions informing voters of the number of seats available in a specific position.

Preparations for the transition of power began soon after the election. The Office of the Governor-Elect has now completed its assessment of the Executive Branch and the autonomous agencies. Fitial’s transition committee says its findings only confirm what the people already know—that the economy is in bad shape and tough times are ahead.

But Fitial, who will assume office on Jan. 9, 2006, promises to make significant changes to the way government is run. The people can only hope the new administration will lead them to better times.