A group of concerned citizens in the Northern Marianas is circulating an petition to require that the winning candidates for governor and lieutenant governor in the 2009 election wins a majority of the votes cast.
The Marianas Variety newspaper reports that according to the petition, if no candidate secures a majority, a runoff election will be held.
A spokesperson for the group, Tina Sablan, says the 2005 gubernatorial election was too close and they believe that the CNMI Constitution should be changed to address this issue.
Governor Benigno R. Fitial won the four-way race by a 99-vote margin over former Speaker Heinz S. Hofschneider.
Governor Fitial received just over a quarter of the total votes cast.
Tina Sablan says people want their elected leaders to win a majority of their votes.
The government's press secretary, Charles P. Reyes Jr, says it respects the democratic process and will not object to a popular initiative to amend the constitution.
