As of Nov. 4, 655 absentee ballots were received by the commission, which expected the number to increase. A total of 1,118 absentee ballots were sent out.
Gregorio C. Sablan garnered the most votes cast in the CNMI, finishing with a 360-vote lead against Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio in the nine-way race.
The voter turnout was 72.5 percent — 9,394 of the 12,947 registered voters in the CNMI cast their ballots.
Julita Villagomez, the acting executive director of the commission, said they will convene at 5 p.m. today to manually tabulate the absentee votes.
Once the final votes are determined, the commission will certify the CNMI’s first congressional delegate-elect.
Sablan, a former two-term House member and executive director of the commission, ran as an Independent candidate.
He received 2,279 votes on Nov. 4 while Tenorio got 1,919.
Independent candidate John Oliver DLR. Gonzales finished third with 1,740 votes.
Retired Judge Juan T. Lizama, another Independent candidate, came in fourth with 1,611.
Sen. Luis P. Crisostimo, a Democrat who ran as an Independent, got 879 votes while the Democratic Party’s candidate, former Sen. David M. Cing, received 270.
Saipan Municipal Council member Felipe Atalig got 233 votes; businessman Chong Man Won, 219; and public school teacher John Davis, 139.
Villagomez said all delegate candidates should remove their campaign materials from public places by Dec. 4.
She said the Department of Public Lands, the agency that permitted their campaign displays on public places, will penalize those who will not follow the law.
