Varela objects to amendments to Electoral Code proposed in Senate

Rep. José “Conny” Varela Fernández

By THE STAR STAFF

On Monday, Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Rep. José “Conny” Varela Fernández urged House Speaker Carlos Méndez Nuñez to ensure that the process of amending the Electoral Code is fair and inclusive, as he opposed the Senate’s attempts to approve changes to election laws unilaterally.

“A few days ago, the Senate President stated that he would move forward with his bill to amend the Electoral Code because ‘he has the votes.’ However, that bill contains several highly questionable provisions and fails to address many flaws in the Electoral Code that he himself imposed in 2020,” the veteran Caguas District lawmaker said. “Experience tells us that once the Senate President makes such a statement, there is little room for opposing viewpoints, no matter how reasonable they might be. Therefore, the Senate President’s bill should not be the sole method for achieving these changes.”

Varela highlighted several problems with Senate Bill (SB) 717, including the lack of a transparent process for selecting the chairperson of the State Elections Commission (SEC). The bill allows the governing New Progressive Party (NPP) to maintain control of the SEC even if it loses the general election. He also chided the limits imposed on the voting rights of senior citizens who vote early. He noted that even in areas of agreement, such as increasing the number of voters, the NPP can retain control of the SEC even after losing the general election.

Additionally, the legislation proposes establishing 40 Permanent Registration Boards, but it does not specify how this goal will be accomplished. Varela pointed out that while the idea has been suggested in the past, the NPP previously claimed it was impossible due to the wishes of the Financial Oversight and Management Board.

“In the House of Representatives, we unanimously approved Concurrent Resolution 24, authored by Speaker Johnny Méndez and Representative Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló, to create a joint committee tasked with evaluating changes to the Electoral Code. This is the appropriate way to address this matter,” said Varela, a former chairman of the House Electoral and Constitutional Affairs Committee. “Therefore, I urge the Speaker to halt any attempts to implement unilateral measures for amending the Electoral Code and to ensure that the amendment process is fair and participatory, involving the joint committee that representatives from all parties have already endorsed. The only way to achieve a reliable and equitable electoral process is through consensus. Over the past four years, we have opened the door to that process, and we believe the House of Representatives must continue down that path.”

Varela’s objections to SB 717 came on the heels of a joint statement issued overnight by the presidents of the Citizens’ Victory Movement (MVC by its initials in Spanish), PDP and Dignity Project (PD) rejecting the amendments proposed in the bill.

The document signed by MVC General Coordinator Eva Prados, PD President Nilda Pérez and Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera, the PDP president, summarized the opposition to the proposed amendments in several key points and echoed Varela’s misgivings about the process that generated them and the way in which they are intended to be approved.

“These amendments are not generated through a process of dialogue and consensus among the country’s various sectors, as a democratic system mandates,” Prados said in a written statement. “What Puerto Rico needs is a true electoral reform built on open dialogue, with all citizen and political voices represented, not another law drafted by a few for a few. Even the public hearings are a sham, where not all interested voices and groups were included.”

Pérez added that for the Senate president, “democratic participation has become a mere formality of requesting briefs without listening to those of us who represent the electorate.”

“Trying to exclude genuine dialogue with the registered parties is a lack of respect for the legislative process and the will of the people,” she said.

Hernández Rivera stated that “the proposed amendments do not resolve the real problems of our electoral system; on the contrary, they further weaken transparency, electoral balance, and citizen confidence.”