By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE Republicans of Precinct 4 who continue to question the legitimacy of the GOP’s board of directors is now challenging the party leadership to hold a primary in light of the controversies regarding the selection of House candidates.
Luis Q. Kapileo said they are now “seeing that what the GOP board members are doing to the party is backfiring on them.”
Kapileo said due to the continuing rift between the GOP board and the precinct clubs, particularly those of Precincts 1 and 4, it would be better for the leadership to let either the general membership or the people select the candidates through a primary.
The newly amended bylaws allow the GOP board to appoint the precinct leaders who then select the precinct club officers.
The precinct leaders and officers select the House candidates who are then endorsed by the GOP board.
Kepileo said they want to see how the board will resolve the issue in Precinct 1 after its club did not include former Rep. Dave M. Apatang on their slate.
Apatang, Kapileo said, is a “victim” of the GOP board’s inability to set criteria for the candidades and failure to stick to the democratic process.
Kapileo said the party’s general membership would have included Apatang on the Precinct 1 ticket.
Apatang has consistently topped elections in that precinct which has the most voters on Saipan.
In January, the Precinct 4 club elected Kapileo as chairman, but the GOP board refused to sanction the meeting and the decisions made there.
The board later amended the party bylaws and re-organized the precinct clubs.
Former Rep. Benigno Sablan was later named Precinct 4 club chairman.
“Our concern is not with who gets in, but with how the selection is made because we believe that the general membership should participate,” Kapileo said. “Taking away the people from the selection process is counter-productive and self-defeating.”
Kapileo said instead of letting the party “drown in a whirlpool of factionalism,” the GOP should focus on critical issues facing the CNMI and formulate an agenda to resolve these problems.
“Without a plan, the party does not deserve to exist,” Kapileo said.