This blog has mentioned the two state gubernatorial elections being held in November 2009, but it has not previously mentioned that the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth of the United States in the northern Pacific, also holds a gubernatorial election this year. The election is on Saturday, November 7. The term is 4 years. At the last gubernatorial election, in 2005, the nominee of the Covenant Party, Benigno Fitial, narrowly won a 4-candidate race. The 2005 results were: Covenant Party 28.1%, Independent candidate Heinz Hofschneider 27.3%, Republican nominee Juan Babauta 26.6%, Democratic nominee Froilan Tenorio 18.0%.
The Covenant Party incumbent is running for re-election. The Republican Party will choose its gubernatorial nominee in an open primary on June 27. The Democratic Party is not running anyone for Governor, but there will be at least one independent candidate.
The Covenant Party does not appear to have a webpage, but according to two webpages that have information about the party, D.C.’s Political Report and wikipedia, the party stands for populism, environmentalism and neoliberalism. The party won 4 seats in the House (out of 20 seats) in 2007, down from 7 seats in the 2005 election. Here is a newspaper story about the Covenant’s recent campaign rally on the island of Tinian, which featured a motorcade of over 300 vehicles.
The Covenant Party did not participate in the November 2008 election that elected the Commonwealth’s first non-voting Delegate to Congress. At that election, independent Gregorio Sablan defeated his Republican and Democratic opponents and five other independent candidates. Sablan is listed in the Congressional Directory as an independent, but he has joined the Democratic caucus.
The Northern Mariana Islands had 13,848 registered voters in 2008. In the 2005 gubernatorial race, a total of 13,517 votes were cast.
Yet another out post in the Fascist Imperial Global Empire and other American Citizens unable to vote for President!
Does that mean a 98% voter turnout in 2005 or has registration gone down since then?
#2, good question. The Northern Mariana Islands Election Commission’s webpage doesn’t have any data for voter registration for this year’s election, so far at least. In fact the Election Commission doesn’t have any mention of the 2009 elections at all on its web page so far. I e-mailed them and asked them why. All the information about 2009 was obtained from other sources, mostly newspapers.
Dear Saint Richard: Thx for spot lighting the marginal corners of our enfranchisement problem[s]…..
The Covenant Party is just a really conservative party created by Republicans who couldn’t win their original party’s nominations. Dick Armey and Tom DeLay endorsed the party in the last election. I’ve seen no reason beyond that unsourced statement on Wikipedia to believe they are pro-environment.
Also of interest to third party activists, the Northern Mariana Islands used to have a very strong Reform Party but it wasn’t affiliated with any faction claiming control of the national party, it was affiliated to a liberal splinter group called the American Reform Party.
Thanks for comment #6. That’s new and interesting information. As to the American Reform Party in the Northern Mariana Islands, it actually elected someone in the late 1990’s to the legislature.
This article doesn’t mention the Covenant Party but it does talk about Tom DeLay’s involvement in the Northern Mariana Islands.
http://www.msmagazine.com/spring2006/paradise_full.asp
I think it’s pretty safe to say that the reason the Republican Party split was over sweatshops, with the Covenant Party taking a pro-stweatshop stand.