The president of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Jesús Manuel Ortiz, repudiated this Friday the veto issued by Governor Pedro Pierluisi, to the proposed amendments to the Electoral Code.
“With this anti-democratic veto, the only person responsible for the fact that voters over 75 years of age but under 80 cannot request early voting is the Governor himself, as we have already established countless times, the current statute establishes that only persons of 80 years or older can apply. I ask the Governor to stop making politics on this issue and take responsibility for it. He cannot continue assigning the PPD a blame that only corresponds to him and his party ”said the president of the PPD at a press conference.
“By not signing the amendments, today the Governor turned his back on the majority of the country that, represented in the Legislature, in coalition voted in favor of the amendments that are under his evaluation. These substantial amendments sought to guarantee a fair and unquestionable electoral process. Moreover, he demonstrates that the Governor was never willing to make amendments to the current Code, since he never built bridges of communication with us to clarify his doubts or find convergent points ”he added.
Luis Pabón Roca and Carlos Díaz Olivo analyze.
The press secretary of La Fortaleza, Sheila Angleró, indicated in written statements that the governor did not sign the measure, since it does not establish 60 years as the minimum age for early voting, as was the agreement of the legislative leadership of the PNP and the PPD prior to project approval.
“Also, the measure limits the power of the president of the EEC to add other categories to the vote in advance in the absence of unanimity and seeks to shorten the time for the request of the early vote, which again, instead of facilitating, hinders the vote,” Anglero added.
He also reacts to the possible candidacy of Ricardo Rosselló.
Another of the provisions that the governor objected to is that the alternate president of the State Elections Commission be entrusted with directing the Administrative Board for Absentee Voting and Early Voting (JAVAA).
Finally, other reasons why the measure did not have the endorsement of the president is that it “attempts against the right to secret vote by contemplating the placement of a bar code on the ballots. This way of identifying the ballots It could be unconstitutional because it can, in conjunction with voter registration on Election Day, be used to determine how a particular voter voted,” he explained.
