Nor would the PNP appeal the ruling granting representation in the EEC to the five parties

Judge’s verdict Anthony Cuevas that representation in the plenary session of the State Election Commission (CEE) already Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), Citizen Victory Movement (MVC) and Worthiness project it seems to become definitive and firm, as the New Progressive Party (PNP) I would follow in the footsteps of the body president Francisco Rosado Colomer, and they would not raise the controversy on appeal.

The Deputy Commissioner of La Palma, Vanessa Santo Domingo, confirmed that Cuevas was satisfied with the parts of the Elections Act relevant to the rights of the party, but stipulated that, after the results of the last elections, the principles of the previous law should be applied.

“We are pleased that the parties maintain their right to vote and participate in the plenary session of the Commission. It’s something that the governor (Pedro Pierluisi) had stated clearly. That aside, part of our satisfaction with the statement is that it does not stipulate that the Electoral Code is unconstitutional, but that it was simply a question of how the retention of those franchises was applied for the next election cycle. The reality is that the president of the EEC had to apply how electoral franchises were maintained in accordance with the 2020 electoral law, and this trial in court had to take place somehow, ”Santo Domingo said.

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The electoral law in force since 2011 stipulated that all parties that achieved automatic re-registration in general elections would maintain their representation before the EEC. However, the new Code stipulates that the entire EEC will consist of two to three parties, a provision that Cuevas decided cannot come into effect until 2024.

In their arguments at the administrative and judicial levels, both the PNP and the CEE pointed to the cost of representing the five parties in the body as a reasonable reason to prevent the PIP, MVC and Proyecto Dignidad from having “their own” election commissioners.

According to Rosado Colomer, the annual cost for each match is $ 1.2 million.

“We are concerned and it was one of the proposals we made in court. We understood that the court did not consider or attach enough importance to the need to cut back the fiscal crisis we are experiencing at all government agencies. However, we have to take the budgetary measures or request that the budget be increased in order to meet it, ”said Santo Domingo.

The deputy commissioner hinted that the PNP’s position is that the PIP is recognized as the ‘third party’ of the CEE, rather than the MVC, which came third in the candidacy for governor and in the number of full votes on the state ballot.

“Those parties would have the same rights they had in 2019 and 2020 when they signed up. They are no more, they are no less. They are what they had at the time, ”said the lawyer.

Should the third game be the PIP or MVC, he asked Subway.

“We understand that any decision must be made in accordance with the Elections Act 2020 and it is a controversy that both parties, both the PIP and the MVC, will have to refer to the full Commission and make the decision in due course. Our position is that the third party must be the one who meets the requirements set out in the electoral law so that it can be considered as such, ”stressed Santo Domingo.

Of the three “state parties”, only the PIP met the new law’s requirement to nominate candidates for mayors and municipal legislators in at least 39 of the 78 municipalities.

However, both the MVC and the Dignity Project have stated that the requirement could not be met as the electoral law became law months after the candidacies closing date.

One problem that remains to be resolved is whether the third party would have a representation in it Fixed subscription commissions, as the electoral law has reduced the number of communities that make up the institutional balance in those spaces from three to two.

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