The Court of Appeal has reversed the judgment of the San Juan Court of First Instance on the election of the mayor of San Juan, filed by the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC) candidate, Manuel Natal Albelo, against the elected mayor Miguel Romero . .
“We will request the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico to review and revoke the erroneous decision issued 2-1 by a panel of the Court of Appeal, and to redress the valid decision of the Court of First Instance. elections in San Juan “Romero in turn responded after acknowledging the determination and insisting that it had been a 2-1 vote.
According to Natal’s verdict, “he gave [a Romero] adequate notice of the existence of an action against you in the fashion that may appear if you are interested ”.
“ We conclude that this notice not only met the requirements of Section 10.15 of the Electoral Law, but it also guaranteed the petitioners due process of justice as it gave them accurate notice of what was claimed and requested in the challenge letter and requirements of the judge. Primary Provisions in the Order to Show Cause, ”reads the 18-page document shared by the former representative.
“Now the case is returning to the Court of First Instance so that all Unit 77 irregularities can finally be assessed,” reads a publication on the politician’s Facebook account.
Natal had filed a lawsuit in the San Juan Court of First Instance to challenge Unit 77’s votes that brought Romero victory for that municipality’s council.
“There are at least 6,593 unit 77 municipal ballots that are illegal and whose voters, custody and origin are impossible to determine,” the MVC said in an appeal for mayor.
However, his claim was denied because he “failed to meet the term of authority set in the 2020 Elections Act to serve the challenged candidate”. In other words, Natal has not served the challenged candidate within the five-day term set by the new Code Electoral.