The State Election Commission (CEE) will issue an amended certification later today, correcting the results of the Contest for the Mayor of Guánica, which will reveal whether, in fact, Edgardo Cruz Velez he will become the first mayor to be elected by direct appointment in Puerto Rico’s political history.
“The regular tables have ended their function. Now we have the table of the deputies (commissioners) who deal with some cases of three cases that were pending, and then give a purpose to the result. Currently, a number of minutes are being evaluated. On December 30, the last day of the voting, additional votes were counted and registered in minutes. It should be confirmed that the last number of the candidacy for direct nomination are the final figures and that the addition of the votes that may appear in these minutes has been considered ”, summarized the Deputy President of the EEC, Jessika Padilla.
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Padilla, however, confirmed or refuted the statements of both Cruz Vélez and the election commissioner of the New Progressive Party (PNP), Hector Joaquin Sanchez, in the sense that the applicant won ‘write-in’ by at least nine votes in favor Ismael “Titi” Rodríguez Ramos, of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), and who has already sworn as mayor of Guaniqueño.
“We have heard that expressions have been made regarding a prevalence of the ‘enrollment candidate’ (but) until worked on, we cannot state that these are in fact the official results that could change what it is the candidacy for mayor from Guánica, ”said Padilla.
The deputy president did acknowledge that with today’s exercise, Cruz Vélez would be the only person to increase his vote count, while party candidates could suffer a reduction in their totals if mixed votes are given for the ex-military.
According to Commissioner Sánchez, Cruz Vélez added 27 mixed votes with the voter not marking the direct nomination box, including five votes previously assigned as full for the PPD and Rodríguez Ramos.
According to Sánchez, Cruz Vélez would end with a minimum of 2,390 votes, compared to 2,381 for Rodríguez Ramos.
Padilla recalled that in order to reverse the result and that Cruz Vélez could be certified as mayor, the candidate himself must legally challenge the election on or before tomorrow, as he had already gone ahead. Francisco Rosado Colomer, president of the EEC.
The EEC will issue an amended statement, but the document would have no practical effect without the court validating Cruz Vélez’s claim.
“The committee has no power to correct itself or itself. There are already some results that were certified on January 5th. If those results change, it will be up to the interested party to challenge the election because the committee does not have that power, ”Padilla explains.
The local commissioner in Guánica of the PPD, Joel Rodriguez, this afternoon rejected the information provided by the PNP about Cruz Vélez’s triumph.
“We are carrying out the work on behalf of the Supreme Court and the truth is that at the moment the ballots awarded to the direct nominee, Edgardo Cruz Vélez, do not exceed eleven. The process of searching for ballots with a specific grade or writing in the direct nomination column is now complete. The 14 units, 30 schools, the six schools beforehand and a briefcase of ballots found in other districts were verified, not only the municipal ballots, but also the state, legislative and plebiscite. Only one ballot with the name Edgardo Cruz Vélez was found, eliminating any doubt that ballots should be decided, ”said Rodríguez.