By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

A GROUP of concerned citizens is circulating an initiative petition to require that the winning candidates for governor and lt. governor in the 2009 election garner a majority of the votes cast.
If no candidate secures a majority, a runoff election will be held, according to the petition.
Tina Sablan, who represents a group of about 25 who represent various sectors in the local community, said the 2005 gubernatorial election was too close and they believe that the CNMI Constitution should be changed to address this issue.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial won the four-way race by a 99-vote margin over former Speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider. Fitial received just over a quarter of the total votes cast.
“People want (their elected leaders) to win a majority of their votes,” said Sablan over the phone.
Asked about the petition, Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said: “We respect the democratic process and would not object to a popular initiative to amend the Constitution.”
Sablan said some lawyers volunteered their time to draft the initiative petition whose signatures still have to be certified by the attorney general.
According to Sablan, “In order to get this initiative on the ballot we need the signatures of at least 50 percent of the total number of people qualified to vote in the CNMI, and at least 25 percent of the voters from each senatorial district.”
She added, “There are approximately 14,200 people currently registered in the CNMI, so we need to shoot for at least 7,100 signatures, including about 300 from Tinian and 400 from Rota.”
Sablan’s group is also gathering signatures for another initiative petition to apply the Open Government Act to the Legislature, including the Legislative Bureau.
“Because this initiative proposes only to amend a statute, we need the signatures of 20 percent of those qualified to vote in the CNMI or about 3,000 signatures,” she said.
She said time is running short and people interested in signing the petition are advised to e-mail Roger Ludwick at ludwick@itecnmi.com or Sablan herself at tinasablan@gmail.com.
She said they want to submit the petitions to the attorney general by June 6.