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Writer's pictureThe San Juan Daily Star

Judge issues warning to parties that do not have representatives during vote count



New Progressive Party Electoral Commissioner Aníbal Vega Borges, at left, and State Elections Commission Alternate Chairwoman Jessika Padilla Rivera

By The Star Staff


Disputes among the various political parties continued Monday, a day before millions of voters are expected to elect a new governor, mayors and a new Legislature.


San Juan Judge Raúl Candelario ruled in favor of the New Progressive Party (NPP) by ordering the continuation of the counting of early voting ballots. He ruled that any political party that does not have representatives for the counting would be renouncing its right to oversee the votes.


The ruling came after both the campaign manager of NPP gubernatorial candidate Jenniffer González Colón, Francisco Domenech, and NPP electoral commissioner Aníbal Vega Borges, along with other NPP leaders, accused the minority parties of obstructing the process for the counting of early voting ballots.


Ángel Cintrón, political director of González Colón’s campaign, warned on the radio with allegations that the minority parties had left the counting tables Sunday night.


Domenech insisted that the NPP is the only one that wants to defend the vote of each Puerto Rican and that they have some 300 lawyers who will voluntarily oversee votes today.


Similarly, Domenech blasted the alternate chairwoman of the State Elections Commission (SEC) for, in his opinion, having become an accomplice of the minority parties by not complying with the law that says that the counting machines have to be operated by the majority party, according to the last election.


Most polls show González Colón winning the gubernatorial race in today’s election, with Juan Dalmau Ramírez, the candidate of the alliance between the Citizen Victory Movement and the Puerto Rican Independence Party, in second place. For the first time in the history of the Popular Democratic Party, its gubernatorial candidate -- Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz González -- is expected finish in third place.


With the hope of an 11th-hour turnaround, Ortiz asked voters on Sunday “not to fall for the trick.”


“Don’t take the bait they want to throw at you,” Ortiz said at his campaign closing in Mayagüez during his Virazón Popular caravan. “This coming Tuesday, along with the almost 100,000 votes we have in the early voting that puts us ahead, give me the confidence to direct the government agenda that addresses your priorities.”


“We’re going to the streets next Tuesday, we’re going to the polls to demonstrate the strength of this popular party, we’re going to vote, vote, vote and we’re going to win,” he added.

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