The figure is up by 1,028 compared to the 2005 elections’ 15,118, of whom 12,352 actually showed up at the polls.
Aside from choosing a gubernatorial team, voters will also elect six senators, 20 members of the House of Representatives, four mayors, nine municipal council members and two Board of Education members for Tinian and Saipan.
Voters will likewise decide on three legislative initiatives and one popular initiative.
Sam McPhetres, history and political science senior instructor at Northern Marianas College, said voters should be very careful in choosing their leaders.
“Well, the public should look for someone who can separate facts from fiction and look at realities, and most important of all, can sit down and plan in such a way that he expects it to come true maybe five years from now,” McPhetres said.
“One of the things that we’re famous for is reactive politics. It means we react from what happens to us from outside. We don’t pro-act. We don’t look ahead and make our own decisions. What we need to do is plan ahead and not wait for people to tell us something and then react about it,” he added.
Runoff
McPhetres said the public should also keep in mind that this gubernatorial election will mark a historic milestone for the islands’ political history because the leading gubernatorial team must have 50 percent plus one of the votes cast to be declared the winner.
The four gubernatorial tickets are Rep. Heinz Hofschneider and his running mate Speaker Arnold I. Palacios of the Republican Party who are number 1 on the ballot; Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Lt. Gov. Eloy Inos of the Covenant Party, number 2; Independent candidates former Sen. Ramon Deleon Guerrero and former Education Commissioner David M. Borja, number 3; and Independent candidates former Sen. Juan T. Guerrero and House Floor Leader Joseph N. Camacho, number 4.
A new law mandates a runoff between the two gubernatorial teams to be held 14 days after the election results are certified by the commission.
“A runoff is definitely going to happen. With four candidates, I don’t think anybody is going to get the 50 percent votes cast,” said McPhetres.
Robert Guerrero, executive director of the commission, said they must certify the winning candidates within 10 days from Nov. 7.
The 14 days will then be counted. Before the runoff is held, absentee voters should get their ballots.
Polling places will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. An alcohol ban will be imposed during the period. Hotels, resorts, including Managaha, that cater to tourists are exempted from the ban.
“We’re prepared as we can ever be,” Guerrero told the Variety.
The six counting machines were tested yesterday.
Rota and Tinian will each have one machine to conduct preliminary tabulations.
These will be recounted on Saipan, which is expected to begin counting ballots around 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Guerrero said overvotes and spoiled ballots won’t be counted and the tabulation committee will canvass the votes.
