The Covenant Party was a political party in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) advocating governmental and financial reform. It was named after the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America,Act of Mar. 24,1976,Pub. L. 94-241,90 Stat. 263,codified as amended at 48 U.S.C. §1801 note. In the legislative elections of 2003,the Covenant Party won nine of eighteen seats. The party mostly made up of members from the Republican Party,but many prominent Democrats would also join the party. In the 2005 general elections,the Covenant Party increased its position as one of the strongest parties in the Commonwealth when Benigno R. Fitial,the party's gubernatorial candidate,won the election. The Covenant Party won seven of eighteen seats in the commonwealth's House of Representatives and three of nine seats in its Senate. In the Commonwealth Legislature 2007 elections,the Covenant Party won only four of twenty seats in the House of Representatives.
General elections were held in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on Saturday,5 November 2005,electing the governor and Legislature. There was also a referendum on calling a Constitutional Convention,which was approved by voters. The gubernatorial election was the closest in the commonwealth's history,and resulted in the election of Benigno Fitial,narrowly defeating independent Heinz Hofschneider by 84 votes and incumbent Republican Governor Juan N. Babauta by an additional 98 votes. This would be the last year that the gubernatorial race would work in a first-past-the-post voting system as it would be reformed to work under a two-round system for the 2009 general elections. This election made commonwealth history by electing both the territory's first Carolinian governor and its first third party governor.
Benigno Repeki Fitial is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the sixth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history,Fitial was elected on November 6,2005,assumed office on January 9,2006,and was re-elected to a (five-year) second term in 2009. He was impeached by the CNMI House of Representatives on February 11,2013,and was scheduled to face trial before the CNMI Senate to determine if he should be removed from office. He resigned on February 20,2013,after 7 years,1 month,and 11 days in office.
The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The Senate consists of nine senators representing three senatorial districts,each a multi-member constituency with three senators.
Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez is a Northern Marianan politician who served as the seventh lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 9,2006 until his resignation on April 24,2009,under Governor Benigno R. Fitial. Villagomez took office as Lieutenant Governor on January 9,2006,after being elected as a ticket during the 2005 gubernatorial election. Villagomez,like Fitial,was a member of the Republican Party but became a member of the Covenant Party.
The Northern Mariana Islands' first election of a delegate to the United States House of Representatives took place on November 4,2008. Since the CNMI traditionally had general elections in odd-numbered years,the November 2008 ballot contained only this office.
The 2009 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Saturday,November 7,2009. This was the last general election to be held on a odd year. This election also saw the extension all office holding officials by one year to move the elections to even-years,corresponding with the elections of other federal and state offices,including the nationwide United States House of Representatives elections and the United States general elections. This election also oversaw the first run-off to be held in the Northern Mariana Islands,which were held on Monday,November 23,2009. Benigno Fitial became the first governor to win a second term since 1985 and the first time a candidate won a majority since 1993 thanks to the newly implemented run-off voting system.
Eulogio "Eloy" Songao Inos was a Northern Marianan politician who served as the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from 2013 to 2015. Inos,a member of the Republican Party,also served as the eighth lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2013.
Maria "Frica" Tudela Pangelinan is a Northern Mariana Islander politician. She is the first female senator to serve in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate.
Rita Hocog Inos was a Northern Mariana Island educator,activist and politician. Inos was the former Education Commissioner of the Northern Marianas school system and served on the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents. Inos was a two-time candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands,becoming the first woman to seek election to that particular office.
Heinz Sablan Hofschneider is a politician from the Northern Mariana Islands. Hofschneider served as the Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives from 2002 to 2004 and is a four-time candidate for Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Jesus "Jesse" Camacho Borja is a Northern Mariana Islander politician and lawyer who served as the fourth lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 10,1994 until January 12,1998 under former Democratic Governor Froilan Tenorio.
Diego Tenorio Benavente is a Northern Mariana Islander politician who served as the sixth lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 14,2002 to January 9,2006,under former Governor Juan Babauta.
The 2012 Congressional election in the Northern Mariana Islands was held on November 6,2012 to elect the territory's sole Delegate to the United States House of Representatives. Representatives and non-voting Delegates are elected for two-year terms.
The 2014 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election was held on November 4,2014,to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. As no candidate received a majority of the vote,a run-off election was held 14 days later. Incumbent Republican Governor Eloy Songao Inos and running mate Ralph DLG. Torres were elected. Inos,who served as lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2013,first became Governor following the resignation of his predecessor,Benigno Fitial.
Janet Ulloa Maratita is a politician from the Northern Mariana Islands and former member of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives.
The 2022 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on November 8,2022 to elect the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote in the general election,the two highest-placing candidates advanced to a runoff election on November 25,2022.
David Mundo Apatang is a Northern Mariana Islander politician who is serving as the 13th lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since 2023. He previously served as the mayor of Saipan from January 12,2015 to January 8,2023. As a Republican,Apatang formerly served in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives. Apatang was elected lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands in the 2022 election on an independent ticket headed by Arnold Palacios.
General elections were held in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on 3 November 2001,electing the governor and members to the legislature. The 2001 elections marked the last general election that the dissolved Reform Party,which merged back into the Democratic Party in 2002,would appear on the ballot. Despite the economic hardships experienced under Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio's Administration,the apparent strength the 1999 general elections signaled that the Democratic Party and its splinter Reform Party had,and the newly formed Covenant Party which was formed as a splinter party from the ruling Republican Party,Republican candidate Juan Nekai Babauta won with a landslide in the four-way race. Benigno Repeki Fitial's newly formed Covenant Party landed a distant yet sizable second place. Jesus Borja of the Democratic Party won a distant third and Froilan Tenorio of the Reform Party placed fourth.
