Unifying the CNMI

Finally, after what seemed like an interminable election period, this year’s general election finally came to a close on Saturday. The die has been cast and all everybody can do now is wait until the final tally is over. With virtually almost all gubernatorial candidates neck to neck in the race to the top, the cliché going around the islands these days is that it is still too early to call, that the 1,500 ballots could still prove to be the swing votes that could spell victory or disaster to any of the candidates.

However, the partial results of the Nov. 5 polls was an indication not so much of who had the largest number of supporters, or who will be leading the Commonwealth in the next four years, but how far the Commonwealth has become fractured due to partisan politics. From the two-party system it adopted based on the practices of the United States, politics in the CNMI has become the multi-headed Hydra of Greek mythology, with more heads threatening to sprout each time election season comes rolling along.

It has therefore become incumbent on whoever wins in this election to be a unifying force for the Commonwealth. The islands are literally at a crossroads and how the next four years will unfold will have a very significant impact on the future of the CNMI. The one who will emerge victorious after Nov. 19—when the absentee ballots are counted—is obliged, nay, mandated, to reach out to all and heal the deep divisions and fissures that crisscross the political landscape. The fact that there will no clear mandate in the form of a landslide victory further requires the eventual winner to not only be magnanimous in victory but to be humble in the face of such responsibility. Because he indeed will be faced with a lot of responsibilities, not the least of which is steering the Commonwealth safely through the turbulent times that lie ahead. And he will need all the help he can get. He must reach out across political lines and get the best people who can help him in navigating the islands to safety and prosperity. It is also incumbent on people to rise up to the challenge and meet him halfway, forgiving and forgetting and linking arms to ensure that all of us survive. It is only when one is united that the Commonwealth can be strong and a strong leader will need a strong people to make that happen.