The 1999 Northern Mariana Islands general election was held on Saturday, 6 November 1999. Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands voted for 3 seats in the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, all eighteen seats in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives, seats for the municipal council, and seats for the board of education, and a judge. There were also 4 other legislative initiatives, 2 of which were voted on by all CNMI voters, while 1 was voted on only by Rota voters and 1 only by Tinian voters.[1][2]
The 1999 elections marked the first time a third party lawmaker was elected in the Northern Mariana Islands, with the newly formed Reform Party achieving a "stunning upset and defeat of formidable incumbent Senator Juan P. Tenorio (Morgen) by newcomer Ramon "Kumoi" Santos Deleon Guerrero."[3][4]
The 1999 elections takes place in the aftermath of the Japanese asset price bubble and the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which saw as many as 2,000 businesses in the CNMI close down, severely affecting the ruling incumbent Republican party.[4] Tourism has been significantly negatively affected and austerity measures have begun to pressure the population as the economy has turned negative since Governor Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio took office.[5] The Asian financial crisis severely affected the CNMI's main tourist market of East Asia, including South Korea and Japan, the latter also being a key investor in the CNMI since the implementation of the Plaza Accords in 1986 which saw the Japanese investing their surplus of dollars throughout the world.[6] Throughout the period of the Japanese asset price bubble, from 1986 to 1991, "It has been estimated that from 3/4 to one billion dollars in foreign investment flowed into the Commonwealth during the short period of about six years—most of it Japanese."[6] The bursting of this price bubble saw Japanese investment in the CNMI dry up and severely impacted the Commonwealth. Before and during this period of economic turmoil, the CNMI Legislature potentially exacerbated the economic situation by implementing policies that hindered businesses and frequently changed laws and regulations to the detriment and irritation of businesses.[6]
This election also marks the year that The Reform Party was founded by former Governor Froilan C. Tenorio, who claimed to be disgruntled and tired of the disunity showed by his former political affiliation, the Democrats.[7][8]
