Puerto Rico candidate raps U.S. for meddling in vote
Sunday, December 5, 2004 at 12:44AM
TheSpook
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá says a judge's decision about the election for governor was wrong.
The candidate narrowly leading Puerto Rico's still-unsettled race for
governor is charging the U.S. government with acting as a colonial
ruler for seizing control of ballot counting in the protracted
election. A U.S. District Court judge's decision to step in and
overrule Puerto Rico's Supreme Court on how to run the recount
"tortures the island's residents and holds them hostage," said Aníbal
Acevedo Vilá, the Popular Democratic Party candidate who held a narrow
lead in the election when ballot counting was suspended Nov. 2. Since
then, efforts to complete that tabulation and get a recount under way
have become mired in legal wrangling and worker walkouts as the
commonwealth's three political parties try to sort through
approximately 2 million ballots cast in the election. Federal
involvement in the election has ignited passions on the island, with
supporters of two of the three major parties decrying it as unwarranted
and unwanted meddling in local affairs. [more]
Acevedo Vila criticizes judge for delay in deciding case [more]
Puerto Rico Status Bill Will Need House GOP Majority Under New Rule [more]
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