The restriction imposed in 2011 by the annexationist New Progressive Party (PNP) has been criticized as “restricting democracy and impeding the political representation of minority groups” in the country’s general election.
The court complaint finds that the ban on combining candidacies on the ballot paper violates various constitutional rights of political parties, their members and voters.
According to political organizations, the ban limits the ability of political parties to form coalitions and field candidates representing a variety of viewpoints.
The litigation proposes that Articles 6.1 and 7.9 of Puerto Rico’s Election Code be declared unconstitutional. Although the country has been under colonial rule by the United States for nearly 125 years, general elections have been held to elect its governor, mayors, and other members of the Legislative Assembly since 1952.
Lawyer Carlos Gorrín Peralta stated that PIP and MVC appear in court with the utmost confidence in the judicial system as a last resort to correct the flaw in the electoral law that has disrupted electoral law and practice for more than a century.
He specified that the electoral laws in Puerto Rico, in force since 2011, violated the fundamental values of our people by providing in the electoral code forbidding two or more political parties from agreeing to form an alliance or from posting coalition candidates.
The constitutional lawyer emphasized that “this ban was reaffirmed in the 2020 amendments and is retained in the amendments currently being discussed in the legislature.”
“The bans make it difficult for political parties and their members to exercise fundamental rights, such as the right to vote, freedom of association and freedom of expression,” said lawyer José Javier Lamas.
He stressed that this situation also constitutes discrimination against bipartisan political opposition – represented by the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) – without compelling government interest.
“In that sense, we face provisions of the electoral law that are clearly unconstitutional and need to be declared as such in order to pave the way for an electoral process that recognizes greater democratic participation,” the attorney said.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the MVC and the PIP, their respective general coordinator Manuel Natal Albelo and their general secretary Juan Dalmau Ramírez, and their election commissioners, who will form an alliance for the November 2024 elections.
rgh/nrm