Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vázquez on Sunday acknowledged losing the primary of her pro-statehood party to Pedro Pierluisi, who briefly served as the U.S. territory’s governor last year amid political turmoil.
With more than 66% of electoral colleges reporting, Pierluisi received more than 58% of the vote compared with nearly 42% for Vázquez.
Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado, mayor of the northwest town of Isabela for 20 years, was poised to win by a landslide the nomination of the main opposition Popular Democratic Party. Conceding defeat was Puerto Rico Sen. Eduardo Bhatia and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, known for her public spats with U.S. President Donald Trump.
With more than 45% of electoral colleges reporting, Delgado had received more than 60% of the vote.
The results come one week after delayed and missing ballots led to a chaotic primary that forced a second round of voting on Sunday in which thousands of Puerto Ricans got a second chance to vote for the first time.
Voting centers in nearly 50 of the island’s 78 municipalities opened following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that stated a second round of voting would take place at centers that never opened on Aug. 9 or did not remain open the required eight hours.
The opening of at least one voting center in the north coastal town of Loíza was delayed by more than one hour as dozens of voters grumbled about having to stand in the heat with masks over their faces.
“We expected that there wouldn’t be any problems,” said Santiago Jiménez, a 68-year-old retiree, adding that some people left.
Jannette Ledoux, coordinator for the unit where the voting center was located, told The Associated Press that the problem was a result of four volunteers quitting late Saturday, delaying the required ballot counting before the doors opened.
Once voting got underway, one elderly woman emerged after casting her ballot and yelled to those waiting, “Come on! Come on! Let’s vote! Let’s vote!”
But not everyone could participate in Sunday’s second round.
The Supreme Court’s ruling permanently left out voters like Eldy Correa, a 67-year-old retiree who went to her voting center in the southwest town of Cabo Rojo three times last Sunday and desisted only to find out later that it opened late. Keep Reading>>
