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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Federal Court Assumes Jurisdiction In Mixed-Vote Case: Decision In Suspense; Recount Is Suspended… UT’s Fed Certification Expected Soon… Ultimatum In Water Strike Issued… $50m Could Be Assigned To PR Public Housing…Congress OKs Millions For Island Groups… Luis Acevedo: Calderon Stays Until Winner Named…PIP Says Federal Case Is "Colonialism"
Federal Court Assumes Jurisdiction In Mixed-Vote Case By Manuel Ernesto Rivera November 23, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — Federal Judge Daniel Dominguez on Tuesday assumed jurisdiction in the case regarding the mixed votes that the New Progressive Party (NPP) has asked to be nullified. Dominguez made the decision after reaching an understanding that the litigation initially complied with the "one man, one vote" doctrine of the Bush vs. Gore conflict. The federal judge finally ordered that the votes be counted and separated, but not adjudicated. Also, he said he will issue a ruling for the Supreme Court to cease acting in the case about the mixed votes initiated locally by attorney Manuel Suarez. The NPP plaintiffs requested, among other things, that the ballots with marks under the insignia of the Puerto Rican Independence Party and also beside the PDP candidates for governor and resident commissioner be nullified. Immediately, NPP election commissioner Thomas Rivera Schatz said he was "pleased with the developments up to this point." Judge Leaves Decision On Mixed Votes In Suspense November 23, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — For fear of losing his jurisdiction, Federal Judge Daniel Dominguez could order that the mixed-vote ballots with three marks be counted but not adjudicated. Dominguez left his decision regarding the mixed votes in suspense, two hours after he had ordered the State Elections Commission to segregate these mixed votes and adjudicate them, but with a footnote which specifies the votes are subject to a judicial ruling in federal court. "This court is thinking of only counting the ballots, but not adjudicating them because it could put my jurisdiction in danger," Dominguez said Monday night during a judicial hearing. The New Progressive Party plaintiffs requested, among other things, that they declare void the votes of voters that made marks below the insignia of the Puerto Rican Independence Party and to the side of the Popular Democratic candidates for governor and resident commissioner. Recount Is Suspended Until Monday By RICARDO ZÚÑIGA November 23, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — The State Elections Commission suspended until Monday the vote recount pending the resolution of the judicial process in federal court about the mixed votes. The director of the vote review for the SEC, Benicio Carmona, announced through spokespeople that the work would remain suspended until Monday, causing cheers and applause from the election officials of the Popular Democratic Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party, who have stayed at the SEC Election Operations Center. The officials from the NPP table had abandoned their work in the morning per instructions from their election commissioner Thomas Rivera Schatz to not count mixed ballots, contrary to the order from the Supreme Court to do the review and the recount simultaneously and not adjudicate the controversial mixed votes. "The situation we have here is intolerable for the entire world," the PDP vote review director, Nicolás Gautier, said. As soon as the recess was announced, officials from the NPP and the PDP began demonstrating in each corner of the street with access to the Center, separated by police lines, shouting slogans and insults. Urban Train’s Federal Certification Should Arrive Soon November 23, 2004 Monday the final security certification for the Urban Train, allowing it to open its doors to the public, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, Fernando Fagundo, announced Tuesday. "We expect the certification will arrive between tomorrow (Wednesday) and Monday, we hope that the holiday (of Thanksgiving) does not change what we were told," he said in a meeting with the press after leaving public hearings of the Incoming and Outgoing Transition Committees. The certification must be issued by the U.S. Board of Transportation Security. At the time the permit is in the hands of the state government, only two weeks will pass until the public can begin using the train, Fagundo said, and he repeated that the project, which cost $3.1 billion, is ready. "As I have said, we will begin to give free trips so the people can see it and get to know it, but instead of doing it only on weekends, I think we can do it every day for a period of time," he said. Labor Chief Gives IAU, ASA An Ultimatum In Water Strike November 23, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — The Independent Authentic Union (IAU) and the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (ASA) received an ultimatum from Labor Secretary Roman Velasco to end the negotiation process for a new collective agreement by Wednesday, as the strike reaches into its 50th day. Velasco said the prolonged negotiation and strike are "unsustainable" and called on both parties to "really get to work and finally resolve this conflict." "I have asked the essential parties to put all their attention on the process of the collective negotiation," Velasco said. "The parties have not cooperated sufficiently in the last few days," he said Monday, when talks ended at 4 p.m. at the request of ASA management, despite having said that negotiations would extend into the night to speed up the process. Millions Could Be Assigned To PR Public Housing November 23, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — Before the year ends, the program that subsidizes the maintenance of public housing on the island could receive an additional $50 million annually if the federal government approves a new regulation. The outgoing resident commissioner, Anibal Acevedo Vila, said he asked the director of the Office Of Budget and Management at the White House, Joshua Bolten, to expedite the new regulation on the public housing program. "It will be decided before Dec. 31," Acevedo Vila said. "The revision gives a fair deal to Puerto Rico for the first time with respect to the operation subsidy of our public housing," he added. Congress Approves Millions For Groups On The Island November 22, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — The office of the resident commissioner in Washington, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, announced that the final agreements about the federal 2005 budget approved by Congress include $1.4 million destined for Nutritional Assistance Program, and money for several other parties. The funds for the nutrition program form part of the legislation referring to the budget of the federal Agriculture Department, reported Monday by the press. There was also $44.6 million assigned to the Urban Train, $1.9 million to buy public transport buses in Carolina, said Paul Weiss, executive director of Acevedo Vila’s office in Washington. Luis Acevedo: Calderon Would Stay Until Winner Named By Manuel Ernesto Rivera November 22, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — With the text of the Constitution in hand, the former president of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Hector Luis Acevedo, said Monday that in the event that there is no governor-elect to be sworn in on Jan. 2, Gov. Sila M. Calderon must remain in charge until a candidate is certified as the winner of the elections. Acevedo reacted to statements made by the next Senate president, Kenneth McClintock, who said the Legislative Assembly will exercise it constitutional duty to appoint a governor in case the vote review and recount are not finished by Jan. 2. "It is totally false. It is a lack of respect for the Constitution to come to throw shadows on its text … to come to plant doubts in the minds of the Puerto Rican people about a closed election as this was, is to do a disservice to the country," Acevedo said. Article IV of the Constitution, Section 2, says" "the governor will exercise his power for a term of four years, starting Jan. 2 of the year following the election, and until a successor is elected and takes possession." For Acevedo, this means that "if for some reason there is not a governor-elect on Jan. 2, the outgoing governor remains, per the Constitution, in charge until the next governor-elect takes possession." He said that Section 9 of the Constitution refers to the death of an officially certified leader as elected by the State Elections Commission or if the governor-elect does not want to swear in, then the Legislative Assembly may name a person to the post. PIP Says Federal Case Is "Colonialism" November 22, 2004 SAN JUAN (AP) — The possibility that it will be federal judges who decide the outcome of the Puerto Rican elections is "the crudest success of the colonialism in Puerto Rico," Puerto Rican Independence Party election commissioner Juan Dalmau said Monday. Dalmau said if federal judge Daniel Dominguez finally assumes jurisdiction in the case of the mixed ballots, whatever his decision on the matter will mean that the next governor was decided by a federal judge. He said, even, that if the case arrives at the Boston Appeals Court, it will be U.S. judges, named by a president that was not chosen by Puerto Ricans, who will have the last word. Here who is going to decide at the end of the counts who is the governor of Puerto Rico are the federal judges," Dalmau said at the Election Operations Center of the State Elections Commission. On the other hand, Dalmau anticipates the recount that started Monday will add to the votes for the PIP candidates. He said, however, that they will not likely get the votes for governor to retain their electoral franchise.
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