Separate balloting for gov., lt. gov. introduced in House

A legislative initiative has been introduced in the House of Representatives that will seek separate voting for governor and lieutenant governor in what its sponsor said is an effort to encourage leadership in the government.

Article III Section 4 of the NMI Constitution provides joint election of the two top public officials under one ticket similar to that in the United States.

But Rep. William S. Torres wants an amendment to the constitutional provision to allow for separate balloting for governor and lieutenant governor for a term of office of four years each.

“The governor and lieutenant governor shall each be elected with each voter casting a single vote applicable to each office,” read the amendment.

It also will seek restriction in the terms of office for these positions to be not more than twice in any election for two consecutive terms.

The initiative, which is now under review by the House Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations, will have to be approved by three-fourths of the members of each of the houses before it is included in the balloting for the November 2001 general polls.

In his proposal, Mr. Torres claimed the present system in the gubernatorial election encourages “homogenization of the political process” in this multi-cultural island community.

In order for representative democracy to thrive these days, he said it is critical to strengthen the foundations of representation to reflect changing times such as economic trend and social reality in the CNMI.

“To achieve this objective necessitates fostering an ambiance that promotes pluralism in the political process. The call to public service should and ought not to be circumscribed to political intrigues,” the Saipan representative said.

“Such calling to public service should extend beyond artificial political rituals, customs and traditions. It is time to modernize and to make progressive the political process in order to encourage leadership at its finest,” added Mr. Torres.

Political hegemony, he said, hampers social and economic progress of the islands, and allowing for the separate election of the CNMI leaders will broaden the appeal for public service to citizens both here and abroad.

“This amendment will make all elected officials directly accountable to the electorates,” the lawmaker pointed out.

If the initiative gets the legislative approval and is ratified by majority of the voters next year, it will take effect during the 2005 gubernatorial election.