By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE NMI Republican Party’s board of directors on Thursday announced the creation of a new GOP Precinct 4 club, saying that Luis Q. Kapileo’s group should not be called Republicans.
Kapileo’s group has been in a dispute with the party’s leadership over the selection of the GOP’s Precinct 4 candidates for the House of Representatives.
None of the board members wanted to be quoted, and said their comments should be attributed to the board.
According to the board, “as of now, no precinct clubs have been formed or organized… the party’s leadership will meet with the newly assigned precinct leaders on March 23.”
The board said the media should not use the party’s name when referring to an individual or group from any precinct “to avoid any confusion regarding precinct clubs.”
The GOP leadership during the meeting on Thursday also named new precinct leaders and scheduled an orientation on March 23.
All board members, except for second vice president Roman Tudela, were present at the meeting.
When the issue of the Precinct 4 club was raised, the board members agreed that the club formed “prior to the date of this meeting is not recognized by the central committee since the meeting that was called and the election that was subsequently held violated the party’s former bylaws.”
The board said the meeting conducted by Kapileo and his group on Jan. 4 fell on the first Thursday of the month, and the notice was not issued by the GOP central committee.
Section 6(a) of the former bylaws states that “precinct election meetings shall be held in every odd numbered year at 7:30 p.m., on the second Wednesday in January at a place published by the State Central Committee.”
Section 6(d) also provides that “in cases of Failure to Hold Elections, the District Chairman shall call for a special election,”
The board members also justified their election during a general membership meeting on Dec. 18 last year through the suspension of party bylaws that allowed allow former members to return to the party.
“During (that) meeting, the then-officers called for the suspension of the party bylaws to allow former party members back into the party,” the board said in a statement.
Elected during the Decemeber meeting were former Rep. Thomas B. Pangelinan, president; former Rep. Bennet Seman, 1st vice president; Roman Tudela, 2nd vice president; Kimo Rosario, secretary; and former Rep. Karl T. Reyes, treasurer.
The board said the minutes of that meeting were later adopted and certified the new set of officers as being duly elected.
The board on Thursday stated the organization of precinct clubs will be completed as required by the newly adopted amendments to the party’s bylaws that were approved on Feb. 15.
Kapileo earlier said that those amendments were improperly adopted.
Under the amended bylaws, individuals will be selected to serve as precinct leaders, and each will represent the zones that make up a precinct.
The board said the orientation meeting for the new precinct leaders will be held at the Saipan Bowling Center at 8 a.m. on March 23.
After the orientation, the precinct leaders will meet again, and discuss the scheduling of elections of precinct club officers.
The newly elected secretaries of the clubs will then advise the party’s state central committee about the precincts’ elections results in writing within seven days after the elections.
The schedules of these meetings, the board said, “will entirely be left up to the respective precinct clubs to decide.”
The precinct club officers and the central committee will select the party’s legislative candidates.