Fitial, in a letter to Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa. and chairman of the Committee on House Administration, said Gregorio C. Sablan will be “the first elected delegate to serve from the Northern Mariana Islands and it is important to our people that he be able to participate fully in your orientation program. This is a historic occasion for us as we have waited more than 30 years to have an elected delegate.”
The orientation is scheduled for Nov. 17-21 in Washington, D.C.
Sablan, a former two-term House member and executive director of the Commonwealth Election Commission, topped the nine-way CNMI delegate race, and has a 360-vote lead over Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio.
About 655 absentee votes are still to be counted on Nov. 18, but many concede that it is statistically improbable for Tenorio to overtake Sablan’s lead.
Fitial assured Brady that the CNMI will immediately notify the U.S. Congress of the official delegate election result on Nov. 18.
“Under our rules, Mr. Sablan’s election will not be certified by our election board until Nov. 18, 2008 but, as we are located on the other side of the International Date Line, that is Nov. 17 in Washington, D.C…. I can assure you that the certification of our election results will reach you by the end of the day on Nov. 18, 2008, our time,” the governor said.
In a written statement issued on Sunday, Sablan said he will attend the orientation in the nation’s capital.
He said he plans to meet with Tenorio to discuss transitioning the CNMI Washington Representative’s Office into the new delegate’s office.
House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, a Republican from Saipan who supported Sablan in the delegate race, will accompany Sablan.
The two are also scheduled to meet with key congressional members during their trip.
