Guamanians go to Polls

DAVID SNORTH on the double-headed ballot.

GUAM’S VOTERS go to the polls on November 7 to fill a vacancy in the Territorial Senate and to continue the process of building a new relationship with the US mainland.

The two elections are unrelated, but they are being held the same day in an effort to save money.

The Senate vacancy occurred when Senator Pedro Sanchez, a Democrat, died in August. A four-way contest has devel oped for the seat, and interestingly, none of the three strongest candidates are of Chamorro ancestry (as Sanchez had been).

Two of the four candidates are Demo crats: Sanchez’ widow, a Samoan, and Madeline Bordallo (a Haole), wife of for mer Governor Ricardo Bordallo, who was defeated for re-election last year. Gover nor Bordallo’s case is on appeal. The vote for his wife may indicate how the island feels about the conviction.

The other two candidates are Repub licans: the Party organisation’s choice is Leslie Moreno, a Filipino, while the in dependent Republican is Harry Concep cion, the only candidate with Chamorro blood. The Democratic majority in the Senate is not at stake, as the party will con tinue to control the body no matter who wins in November.

The other part of the election relates to Guam’s desire to work out a new relation ship with the United States. To this end, the Guam Commission on Self Determi nation presented the voters with a draft

Guam Commonwealth Act. The idea is that such a draft would represent Guam’s bargaining posture as it began to negotiate with the US Government in Washington.

To test the population’s feelings, voters had a chance in August to vote separately on 12 different articles: 10 were accepted, with votes ranging from 51 to 61 per cent. No vember’s vote will be a re-run for the two articles turned down by slim margins in the August voting.

Both articles have strong ethnic over tones. Article I calls for a Guam which is a self-governing entity under United States sovereignty and which recognises Cha morros as a distinct group and also recog nises their right to determine their own political future.

This article has been interpreted to mean that only Chamorro voters would have the ultimate right to decide whether Guam seeks independence in the future.

Article VII calls for granting the island Government control of the movement of aliens to Guam (now the responsibility of the Mainland’s Immigration Service) and would not permit aliens living on Guam to use their time on the island to qualify for citizenship. (US law now permits al iens living on Guam for five or more years to apply for citizenship.) These proposed provisions were unpopular in the Filipino community, which feared that an island controlled immigration system would be more likely to deny visas to Filipinos than a Mainland system. □