“Out of the 295 additional signatures submitted on June 6, a little over 100 were gathered from Tinian alone,” stated Sablan, Ind.-Saipan.
“It gives me great pleasure to present you with…signatures from the registered voters of Tinian in support of your initiative to require that the CNMI Open Government Act will apply to members of the Commonwealth Legislature,” said former Sen. Ramon M. Dela Cruz, president of Tinian Republican Party.
In a letter to Sablan, Dela Cruz said it is important that public officials demonstrate a high standard of accountability for public funds during these trying times.
Signatures for the petition were gathered on May 31.
Approximately 2,500 signatures of registered voters were collected during the initiative drive last year but these were not enough to get the petition on the ballot.
Sablan hopes that this year’s number of signatures will make it for the next general election.
The signatures were submitted to the Attorney General’s Office on May 5, and the petition has since been revived to collect additional signatures in order to ensure the initiative’s placement on the ballot.
Sablan said there is now a question about whether the initiative will be placed on the ballot in this year’s delegate election due to unclear definition of “regular general election.”
If the initiative is certified, but not placed on the ballot this year, it will be placed on the ballot in 2009.
