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Ana Irma Rivera Lassén, who serves as the General Coordinator of the Citizen Victory Movement (MVC, in Spanish), has urged Juan Dalmau Ramírez, President of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP), to allocate legislative seats for the MVC if the Minority Law is enacted to enhance minority representation in both legislative chambers.
According to the minority law, should more than two-thirds of the members in either chamber be elected from a single political party or ticket during a general election, candidates from minority parties who secure over 3% of the votes for their gubernatorial candidates may receive additional seats.
The law stipulates that the size of the Senate or the House of Representatives, or both, will be expanded by officially electing enough candidates from the minority party or parties to meet a total of nine members in the Senate and 17 members in the House of Representatives.
Activation of the Minority Law takes place following the counting or recounting of votes.
Rivera Lassén stated she formally requested the PIP to allocate some seats potentially gained by the MVC in the Legislature.
“What would the arrangement look like? That is a conversation we need to have with the PIP,” the senator remarked during an interview on Radio Isla. “I believe it’s a valuable discussion. It’s a topic that will likely be explored in various legal articles, regardless of the outcome.”
Per Article 1014 of the Electoral Code, the State Election Commission (SEC) is mandated to first certify the 11 at-large senators and 11 at-large representatives, in addition to two senators per senatorial district and one representative per House district, after the general scrutiny.
After this process, the SEC will identify the number and names of additional candidates from minority parties who must be declared elected.
Rivera Lassén recognized that distributing seats among the PIP-MVC Alliance “is a challenge.” Dalmau finished second in the gubernatorial voting during the November election.
“From a legal standpoint, I can say that while it may be complicated, it’s achievable,” she noted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up in court, either. Nonetheless, our history in Victoria Ciudadana [Citizen Victory] has frequently involved legal matters, primarily because we take positions and actions that challenge institutional norms. We often find ourselves in court, or we initiate legal actions.”
