As the crucial date of November 5, when the residents of Puerto Rico are called upon to elect a new government, approaches inexorably, the need to fine-tune the process once and for all and dispel, without further delay, the worrisome problems that continue to arise becomes more urgent.

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Lee este artículo en español.

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Today, Sunday, there are exactly 22 days left for the elections, which means that, for all intents and purposes, the process has arrived. For example, the Electoral Registry has already closed, the first advance votes should be being processed and in recent days the canvassing machines were tested.

However, within the State Elections Commission (CEE) there are still disputes among commissioners, technical difficulties and delays in critical processes, which, of course, is totally unacceptable and adds to the very important event a component of anxiety that is neither healthy nor necessary.

We urge the CEE, its leadership and commissioners and the leaders of the five parties to lay down their arms now, work together towards the goal of an orderly and transparent election that we deserve and give the country the peace of mind that on November 5 it will be able to vote and receive the results without setbacks or shadows.

The news coming out of the CEE in recent days is truly alarming. Double shipment of early voting ballots and anticipation of lack of personnel to process them, delays in the printing of ballots and delays, already unacceptable at this point, in the validation of dozens of electoral transactions made through the Electronic Voters Registry (eRE) are some of the difficulties that continue to cloud the road to the all-important November 5.

It is time, we insist, to put an end to disputes, to walk all towards the same goal and to work with the urgency necessary to give the country the process it deserves. We do not need another unusual suspension like the 2020 primary, nor more contests that end in lawsuits, nor uncertainty that extends beyond the natural waiting period for an electoral result.

From the prevailing atmosphere in the CEE, which, shamefully, has even included physical altercations between officials, it would seem that the people in charge of the process are not entirely clear about what is at stake here, despite repeated calls for consensus previously stated in this space, as well as in various forums throughout the country.

The vote is the supreme instrument available to citizens in a democracy. In Puerto Rico, during the 76 years that we have been allowed to vote for our own government, we have used that instrument with great commitment and civility. There is no one in Puerto Rico considering non-democratic ways to solve our problems, nor would the country, whose democratic vocation is unquestionable, accept it.

That unwavering commitment to the vote and to democracy that we, the residents of Puerto Rico, have demonstrated must be cared for and valued as a precious stone by the officials who are charged with making the process of casting and counting the votes viable. Further setbacks and difficulties on the part of the CEE presidency and the election commissioners are not acceptable.

We demand a stop to the disputes, work without pause to fine tune all the processes that are still pending and, above all, respect for the voters and for the country, who are eager to participate once again in the democratic party and do not ask, at the end of the day, for much; only to be able to vote and to have their vote counted and their will respected.

It is time to put the country first and give them the certainty that, regardless of who wins, their vote was counted and their will respected.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.