Pro-statehood activist calls out OAS for delay in resolving issue on equal voting rights for Puerto Ricans
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
Gregorio Igartúa, a longtime pro-statehood activist and attorney, is calling out the Organization of American States (OAS) for what he describes as an “unjustifiable and discriminatory” delay in resolving a petition he filed nearly two decades ago seeking equal voting rights for Puerto Rico’s residents.
The case, Igartua et al. v. United States (#13.154-Pet. 776-06), was first submitted to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2006. It challenges the denial of the right to vote in U.S. presidential elections and the lack of congressional representation for Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million U.S. citizens — a situation Igartúa argues has persisted since the island became a U.S. territory in 1898.
Despite a hearing held on Oct. 6, 2018, in Boulder, Colorado, the petition remains unresolved. In a letter addressed to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, Igartúa expressed frustration over what he calls a “20-year overdue” decision.
“After 17 years of filing, the OAS has not decided the complaint,” Igartúa wrote in a letter dated Dec. 5. “Apparently, there is a lack of knowledge of what due process of the law is, or someone is deliberately withholding its disposition.”
Igartúa contends that the OAS’s inaction effectively contributes to the denial of democratic rights for Puerto Ricans, who cannot vote for the U.S. president and lack voting representation in Congress. The petition seeks to secure equality in federal elections for island residents, whom Igartúa describes as “4th, 5th, and 6th generation American citizens by birth.”
The activist also criticized the OAS for failing to comply with its own charter and complaint regulations, noting that the delay has been denounced before the United Nations. He urged the secretary general to “take affirmative action and order final disposition.”
Puerto Rico’s political status -- and its residents’ limited voting rights -- has long been a contentious issue in U.S. and international forums. While several plebiscites have shown majority support for statehood in recent years, Congress has yet to act on the matter.
As of now, the OAS has not publicly commented on Igartúa’s latest demand for resolution.