Manibusan retains AG seat; 2 judges, justice are retained

Edward E. Manibusan, John Manglona, Joseph Camacho and Wesley Bogdan

Attorney General Edward E. Manibusan gets to keep his title a while longer after a closely contested fight between him and his opponent, former associate judge Juan T. Lizama.

Following the tallying of ballots for the 2022 general election, the unofficial tabulation results show that Manibusan will remain as the CNMI’s attorney general for the next four years.

Manibusan held a consistent, significant lead against his opponent among all the precinct votes.

According to the unofficial results, Manibusan managed to gain over 55% of the votes cast in this election for the AG position. while Tudela bagged roughly 45% of the votes. Manibusan secured his win following the tabulation of early voting ballots, which had a total of 3,380 votes. Lizama, on the other hand, gained 2,958 votes from early voting.

On Election Day itself, Manibusan gained the support of many last-minute voters, with 3,370 individuals voting in favor of keeping him as the CNMI attorney general. Meanwhile, Lizama earned 2,535 votes.

Finally, based on the absentee ballots, Manibusan earned 772 voters while his opponent earned just 620.

Saipan Tribune tried to obtain a comment from Manibusan yesterday, but e has yet to issue a public statement as of press time.

In related news, CNMI voters voted in favor of retaining the two CNMI judges and one justice who are up for retention election: Justice John Manglona, associate judge Joseph Camacho, and associate judge Wesley Bogdan.

According to the tabulated results, Manglona gained 82% of votes in favor of his retention. This is equal to about 11,013 who voted in favor of his retention. Of the over 11,000 votes, 5,090 came from early voting ballots, 4,716 came from Election Day voters, while 1,207 were absentee voters.

Meanwhile, Camacho also won 75% of the votes in favor of his retention. Based on the unofficial results, Camacho gained a total of 10,179 votes in favor of his retention.

In a comment from Camacho, he said it is his honor and a privilege to serve as a judge for the people of the CNMI. “Thank you to the voters for their overwhelming support. I am humbled by their vote of confidence,” he stated.

Bogdan was also granted retention after receiving a total of 9.032 votes in favor of his retention. Of the over 9,000 votes, 4,095 came from early voting ballots, 3,992 came from Election Day voters, while 945 were absentee voters.