SPEAKER Edmund S. Villagomez said he will officially declare a vacancy in the House of Representatives next week.
In an interview on Tuesday, Villagomez said a special election will be held in Precinct 3 since Rep. Ivan A. Blanco, who passed away on Friday, had not completed half of his term in the 22nd Legislature.
Blanco, the House Republican leader, and the other current lawmakers were sworn in six months ago. The current House members’ term ends in January 2023.
The CNMI Constitution states, “A vacancy in the legislature shall be filled by special election if one-half or more of the term remains.”
“So it should be a special election, and that is what is going to happen,” Villagomez said.
Although Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ official announcement of Blanco’s passing would suffice to declare a House vacancy and allow the Commonwealth Election Commission to initiate the process for a special election, Villagomez said, “We are still going to come up with a letter to declare the vacancy — it is a formality to cover all the bases.”
Edmund S. Villagomez
