The impeachment trial of the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is dividing the community.
The trial begins on May 13 and Governor Ralph Torres' camp have failed in their attempt to quash the proceedings on technicalities.
There were six articles of impeachment against the governor for alleged commission of felonies, corruption, and neglect of duty.
RNZ Pacific's correspondent in Saipan Mark Rabago said the trial is causing a lot of tension in the community.
CNMI Governor Ralp DLG Torres. Photo: Office of the Governor of CNMI
"It basically divides the islands, those who are opposed and those who are in support of the governor. And as it's election year, we are going to have elections in November, it antes up the animosity on the islands. It is a lose-lose for everybody here," Rabago said.
"The governor was impeached on a majority vote, after his impeachment the proceeding will go to the Senate, in the Senate the House representatives will have to prosecute the governor where the senators will be acting as the jurors," said Rabago.
"They are the ones who decide whether he is guilty or not . The governor wants his charges to be dismissed because he says there are some mistakes in the paper itself, some lost paginations, grammatical errors so they were trying to junk the charges on technicalities," he said.
"A vote last Friday was suppose to have nine senators but two of them abstained, one was because he's running for assistant governor in the ticket for governor Torres and the other one I think it had something to do with familial relation.
There were seven who voted and in order for the dismissal to be put through you needed five votes," Rabago said.
"We are now waiting for the impeachment trial to begin on May 13."
Rabago said the impeachment trial was proving a great distraction from the day-to-day work for the governor.
