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Fitial panel firm on Covenant-GOP merger
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Posted on Jun 12 2011
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s so-called Blue Ribbon Committee led by former speaker Oscar Rasa is firm in pushing for the merger of the Republican Party and the Covenant Party, with 1,077 duly signed petitions so far gathered to join the GOP.
The Republican Party has yet to hold a general membership meeting, four months after the February schedule required by its bylaws.
Rasa said the petitioners also want to join or rejoin the GOP, just like what Fitial did in January. The committee met again on Thursday night at the Carolinian Utt in Garapan.
Fitial was one of the founders and longest leaders of the Republican Party in the CNMI but he left it to form the Covenant Party in 2001 for his gubernatorial bid. He won on his second try.
Longtime Republicans said the governor has been planning to become president again of the Republican Party, and this is the reason why he has been encouraging Covenant Party members to also switch to the Republican Party.
Rasa, when asked for comment, said a sitting governor cannot be chairman or president of the party according to party bylaws but he automatically becomes a member of the Central Committee, which also has as members other elected officials mostly lawmakers.
This Central Committee determines the implementation of bylaws, and recommends necessary changes.
Some Republicans said Fitial could easily sway members of the committee to amend party bylaws to allow a sitting governor to become chairman or president of the party.
One of those present at the meeting said he supports the push for the merger and to have a Republican CNMI governor, which the committee said will help the CNMI get more attention in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress.
“The Republican National Committee would have want a Republican governor. and sooner or later, there won’t be sufficient funding to operate this government and we need the U.S. Congress help. This is also to develop better relationship with the Congress,” Rasa said.
Fitial can no longer seek re-election in 2014 under the law. The administration is mum whether Fitial would run as delegate.
