Frances Sablan, chairwoman of the CEC, said reports reaching their office indicate that some supporters of the losing Republican gubernatorial team of Rep. Heinz Hofschneider and his running mate Speaker Arnold I. Palacios may opt for a recount.
“I heard that there are some unsatisfied supporters who were unhappy with how we handled the election, especially with the absentee ballots,” she said.
She said an e-mail was circulated on Monday indicating a possible request for a recount but did not elaborate.
“There’s a certain time limit to keep them [the ballots]. We keep all the ballots just in case someone asks for a recount,” she added.
The Northern Mariana Islands Reform Act of 2000 allows any registered CNMI voter to contest election results.
The commission hand-counted the ballots during the runoff because its counting machines were not programmed for one race.
CEC certified on Monday afternoon Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos of the ruling Covenant Party as the winners of the runoff.
Their team got 6,610 votes edging the GOP tandem, which garnered 6,240 — it was the closes gubernatorial election since 2005.
On Monday, the GOP ticket got 428 absentee votes while the Covenant team got 297.
A total of 930 absentee ballots were returned, of which 210 were considered spoiled.
The Heinz & Arnold camp has yet to issue a statement, but the local GOP already congratulated the governor and the ruling party for their victory.
