Puerto Rico suspends primary elections 3:38
(CNN Spanish) - The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ordered this Thursday to continue with the primary elections on the island next Sunday.
The primary elections, in which candidates for the governor's office, legislature and some mayors will be chosen, began on August 9, but were canceled in several polling stations because they did not receive the materials and ballots for which they could not complete the process of vote. In some voting centers in Puerto Rico, the process went smoothly.
After the cancellation, the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission (CEE) had agreed on Sunday with the Primary Commissions of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and the New Progressive Party (PNP) to continue the process on August 16. It was also agreed that a vote count would not be started.
Following this decision, some pre-candidates for governor filed legal appeals against the State Elections Commission in the San Juan Court of First Instance.
Among the demands was that of Pedro Pierluisi, a pre-candidate for governor for the New Progressive Party (PNP) who asked the court to annul the EEC's determination to paralyze the electoral process of the vote counting of the primaries.
The candidate for governor for the PNP and current governor, Wanda Vázquez Garced, demanded that the EEC order that they vote again in all the schools that did not open at the time established by the electoral law from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. : 00 pm
The pre-candidates for the governorship of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Eduardo Bhatia and Carlos “Charlie” Delgado, and the voter Carmen Damaris Quiñones Torres, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU, for its acronym in English) also They asked the San Juan Court of First Instance to review the decision to postpone the primaries of the two majority parties in Puerto Rico. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico also accepted these cases filed in the Court of First Instance of San Juan.
The Supreme Court determined that the primary process will remain suspended until its resumption on Sunday, August 16, in the precincts that did not start voting and those where the eight-hour period provided by the Electoral Code and the Primary Regulations was not provided. The continuation of the primaries in the corresponding elections must be carried out from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, as established by the regulations. That is to say, voters who were unable to vote last Sunday, August 9 because their school did not open due to lack of ballots, will now be able to exercise their right.
Likewise, it was determined that the votes of the people who have already voted are valid and will not be annulled. The Supreme Court based its decision on the fact that "the deficient administration of the electoral event left thousands of voters without the opportunity to express their will regarding the primaries at the polls" and stipulated that what happened "is not consistent with the constitutional and statutory postulates that demand the right to universal, free, secret and direct suffrage ”. The justice body concluded that "the circumstances that permeated the primary cannot be a stumbling block that annuls the exercise of the right to vote with the same weight as that of the rest of the voters."
On the other hand, the Supreme Court determined that, in order to protect and guarantee the constitutional right of the voters, given that the primaries have not ended, it will prohibit the disclosure of preliminary and official results of the vote that took place last Sunday. . In addition, it ruled that the State Elections Commission must take the necessary measures to start the voting in the remaining schools in a timely manner and disclose the results of all the votes cast when the vote ends "for the tranquility and calm of all parties and the People of Puerto Rico ».