By The newspaper
May 1, 2024, 17:45 PM EDT
The Electoral Commission of Elections (CEE) of Puerto Rico certified this Wednesday that US President Joe Biden won with 89.30% of the votes in the Democratic primaries held on the island.
Of the total votes cast in the electoral event last Sunday, April 28, a total of 3,296 voters favored Biden, according to the official statement.
Voters on the island cannot vote for the president of the United States in the general election but can participate in the primaries of the two main parties, Democratic and Republican, and send delegates to the national conventions this summer.
Puerto Rican voters gave retired Democratic candidates Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson 6.23% and 4.47% of the votes, respectively.
As the figure does not reach or exceed the 15% necessary to be able to accredit delegates, the total of 65 members of the Puerto Rican delegation are committed to Biden’s presidential nomination, explained Mr. Charlie Rodríguez, president of the Democratic Party on the island.
Rodríguez insisted that the president has been “a loyal friend” of Puerto Ricans and has been very attentive to moving the federal apparatus to address pressing needs of the territory, which is a Commonwealth of the United States.
“The Democratic voter who went to the polls knew that the message we wanted to convey through the primary was the gratitude of our people for all the positive actions and great social impact that the president has generously offered,” he said.
government program
From now on, the most important function that the Puerto Rican delegation will have at the National Convention in the City of Chicago, next August, is to approve the Democratic Government Program for the next four years.
“We will promote the extension to Puerto Rico of supplemental social security (SSI), parity in Medicare, and that a status consultation be carried out that is binding on the federal government. Equality is the most important thing,” Rodríguez stated.
The authorities of Puerto Rico are waiting for Washington to approve a binding referendum for the island to decide between three options: statehood (annexation to the United States), independence or sovereignty in free association.
On March 13, Biden and Republican Donald Trump already reached the number of delegates necessary to mathematically declare themselves the candidates of their parties for the general elections to the White House.
With information from EFE.
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