Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas
It’s Now Governor Fitial
House Speaker Wins Crowded Gubernatorial Race
In the end, it came down to 99 votes from among 1,227 absentee ballots cast in last month's elections in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. That vote spread determined victory for Benigno Fitial and his running mate, Timothy P. Villagomez. The two Covenant Party candidates - Fitial is Speaker of the Commonwealth House of Representatives and Villagomez is the Vice Speaker - bested a crowded field of four contenders.
Fitial and Villagomez edged out Reps. Heinz S. Hofschneider and David M. Apatang, Republicans who ran as Independents because the backers of incumbent Gov. Juan Babauta refused to allow a contested primary. That decision caused the GOP to lose more than the governorship.
The gubernatorial result was the closest in the CNMI's history. While Fitial and Hofschneider battled it to the end - the absentee ballots were counted 14 days after the November 5th general election - not even an endorsement from U.S. President George W. Bush and several state governors was enough to sway local voters to return embattled incumbent Gov. Babauta and Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente to office. A former Democrat governor, Froilan Tenorio and running mate Antonio A. Santos, came in a distant fourth.
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Fitial, who promised "Better Times" if elected, maintained a 126-vote lead over Hofschneider after on-island votes were counted on Nov. 5th. During tabulation on Nov. 19th of 1,227 absentee ballots, Fitial received 312 for a total of 3,809 votes or 28.07 percent. Hofschneider received 339 for 3,710 final votes or 27.34 percent while Babauta garnered 382 for a total of 3,610 votes or 26.6 percent. Tenorio tallied 180 absentee votes bringing his total to 2,442 votes or 17.99 percent.
Fitial will be the first Northern Marianas chief executive of Carolinian ancestry. There are two ethnic indigenous races in the CNMI, the Chamorros--who comprises the majority--and the Carolinians, whose ancestors came in the late 1800s and early 1900s from what are now the outer islands of Chuuk and Yap states in the Federated States of Micronesia.
Fitial used to head the Northern Marianas Republican Party but formed the Covenant Party five years ago and ran for governor, losing to Babauta in a four-way race in November 2001. Then two years ago, he ran for a legislative seat and won the majority in the 18-member House of Representatives and captured the leadership post. Hofschneider has been a life-long Republican but ran as an Independent after officials of the ruling Republicans earlier this year denied his request for a primary against Babauta. Party loyalists and political observers blamed this year's disastrous election results for the Republicans on the decision not to have a primary. The party, for the first time in commonwealth history, will not control the Senate.
The Covenant Party won three out of four mayoral races that were contested. It won on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. An Independent incumbent for the Northern Islands handily won against two other candidates. In the race for the Washington Representatives Office, incumbent Republican Pedro A. Tenorio won re-election against the Covenant's Juan S. Demapan.
For the first time ever, a woman won a Senate seat in the nine-member upper chamber. Democrat Maria "Frica" T. Pangelinan topped this year's four-year Senate race.
And it looks like the Covenant Party will have a chance to control the Senate and the House of Representatives, in addition to the executive branch. The Republican and Covenant Senate members won three seats each. If the Covenant members can get the support of two more senators, they can form a coalition to control the chamber. Those two votes will likely come from the Senate's two Democrats and one Independent.
It is a similar situation in the lower chamber, although political observers believe the Covenant Party will continue to control the leadership. Seven Republicans and seven Covenant members were elected including two Democrats and two Independents. However, the Covenant have the edge since Rep. Ray N. Yumul was elected as Covenant member two years ago but ran as an Independent this year as his military reserve status prohibits him to align with any political party. Democrat Justo S. Quitugua, who won re-election, joined the coalition two years ago that put the Covenant Party (and Fitial) in charge of the House. Quitugua and newly-elected Democrat Florencio T. Guerrero are expected to side with the Covenant to form a ruling coalition.
