The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico issued a resolution tonight declaring No Ha Lloc the petition of the candidate for direct nomination for mayor of Guánica, Edgardo Cruz Vélez, that the highest forum exercise jurisdiction over the challenge of the election to the municipality.
According to the resolution, the request for intra-jurisdictional certification meant that the Supreme Court was equally divided with 4 votes in favor and 4 against, so the No Place was declared.
Associate Judge Martínez Torres issued an expression in which he agreed with what was decided by the Court and expressed that “the Supreme Court cannot become the forum of first instance, at the whim of the parties.”
“First, the primary forum is fully empowered to resolve this appeal with the urgency it deserves. This was the case in each of the controversies that the Court of First Instance addressed during the current election cycle. There is nothing to tend to indicate that this case will be different. Second, the appeal before our consideration is at an incipient stage of the process. Therefore, we must allow the primary forum to continue with the procedure and attend to the corresponding evidence, “reads the opinion.
On the other hand, the associate judge Estrella Martínez issued a particular expression in which he assured to consider that “the resource that occupies to us has to certify before the democratic emergency that experiences the Municipality of Guánica. That is to say, I consider that mere formalisms and technicalities cannot drown or unnecessarily postpone the implementation of the will of the Guánica electorate. “
It is expected that the electoral and legal team of Ismael ‘Titi’ Rodríguez, who had already been sworn in as mayor, will go to court to challenge the process that resulted in the advantage of Creu Vélez.
It was this Friday that the EEC awarded 27 votes to the candidate by direct nomination which gives them the lead in the contest for mayor of Guánica.
The decision of the Supreme Court would mean that the case of contesting the election will continue its course in the Court of First Instance.