‘Bush,’ ‘Kerry’ to face off in debate

Gov. Juan N. Babauta will defend the reelection bid of U.S. President George W. Bush Jr. in a public debate a week before the scheduled mock presidential election on Oct. 30 and may face former Gov. Froilan Tenorio, who will side with presidential candidate John Kerry in the debate.

Organizers of the mock election said Babauta already confirmed his attendance to the debate to represent the Republican Party, while they are still planning to ask Tenorio to represent the Democratic Party. There are no official ties, though, between the local and national chapters of the Democratic Party. The CNMI’s GOP, meanwhile, recently got the recognition of the U.S. Republican Party.

The possible Babauta-Tenorio face off will be held on Oct. 23, possibly at the Joeten Kiyu Library and televised on KMCV Channel 7.

The debate forms part of the activities being organized by the Northern Marianas College’s Political Science class in line with the planned presidential poll.

“We want to bring the national platform locally,” said Alvin Atalig, the class’ lead coordinator for the project. “Because of our location here [CNMI], sometimes, it’s either we are misinformed or uninformed [of the national platform].”

The debate would focus strictly on national issues—not local ones—including those affecting the CNMI, Atalig said.

Atalig said the class has also invited Sen. Luis Crisostimo to side with the Democratic Party and will invite Lt. Gov. Diego T. Benavente to join Babauta in the debate. Crisostimo already confirmed his participation in the activity. Atalig added that the class is now working on the mechanics of the debate.

The class is organizing the mock presidential election in support of the clamor of U.S. citizens in the insular areas for the right to vote for president. The Oct. 30 election being organized by students will give the CNMI electorate the chance to vote for president for the first time—albeit in a mock process. All registered voters in the Commonwealth as of Sept. 12, 2004 will be eligible to vote.

Donna Christian-Christensen, the Virgin Islands’ delegate to the U.S. Congress, has introduced a resolution that seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to extend voting rights to at least 4.3 million U.S. citizens living in the territories. She said that the right to vote is a fundamental one that should be afforded to all U.S. citizens of voting age.

Currently, residents of the Northern Marianas, Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands—including those who have relocated to the territories from the mainland United States—do not vote for president. The last four each send a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives.

“Having the right to vote in the national election will greatly impact our relation with Congress,” Atalig said.

Registered CNMI voters may cast their ballots in the mock polls at the Joeten Kiyu Public Library’s community room on Oct. 30, from 8am to 7pm. The class is coordinating with its counterparts on Tinian and Rota for the latter to put up polling places on those islands.