http___www.jutarnji.hr_vijesti_svijet_siri-se-amerika-cak-97-posto-gradana-poznate-turisticke-zemlje-na-referendumu-odlucilo-postat-cemo-51-drzava-sad-a_6225566__1.xml
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Governor to demand decolonization of Puerto Rico SAN JUAN – After the State Elections Commission (CEE) reported that “statehood” triumphed in the status referendum, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló celebrated the results and assured they are a “strong and clear” message to the U.S. government that the island demands its decolonization. In the referendum, which was not endorsed by the U.S. Department of Justice, the free association / independence status option obtained 1.5% of the votes, while the current commonwealth status received 1.32%. The electoral event saw the participation of 508,744 voters, or 23%. “As of today, the federal government will not be able to ignore the majority call of the American citizens in Puerto Rico. It would be a great contradiction to demand democracy in other parts of the world without responding to the legitimate right to political self-determination that occurred today in Puerto Rico,” the governor declared in a brief televised message at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Rosselló said that the vote ratifies the results of the last status referendum in 2012, surpassing “the percentage of votes in favor of the incorporation of Puerto Rico as the 51st state of the United States.” In 2012, 53.97% (970,910) of voters expressed they did not favor the current status, while 61.16% (834,191) selected statehood as their preferred status formula. Although leaders of Popular Democratic (PDP) and Puerto Rican Independence (PIP) parties called their boycott of Sunday’s referendum a victory because of the low voter low turnout, the governor said that “in a democracy, the expression of the majority who participates in the electoral processes prevails. Puerto Rico voted for statehood.” “As governor, I have the responsibility to assert the results of the plebiscite. I will soon be designating the members of the Equality Commission, who will perform their duties before the federal House and Senate. In that effort, we also count on the leadership of our resident commissioner, Jenniffer González,” the governor said. The Equality Commission will be composed of five representatives and two senators who will demand the admission of Puerto Rico as a state in the U.S. Congress in a process similar to that used by Tennessee. These members of Congress will be first appointed by the governor, but are expected to eventually be elected by the people. “It is up to this generation of Puerto Ricans to call for and demand in Washington the end of the undignified colonial relationship, and to begin a transition process for the incorporation of Puerto Rico as the new state of the union,” the governor said, adding that the “historic election” was overseen by national and international observers. The governor was participating in the celebration at New Progressive Party headquarters in Hato Rey. The Puerto Rico State Elections Commission results as of 7:15 p.m. Sunday: You must be logged in to post a comment Login
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SAN JUAN - Na referendumu na kojem su se u nedjelju birači izjašnjavali o ideji da američki otočni teritorij Portoriko, koji je u teškoj ekonomskoj krizi, postane 51. država SAD-a, zabilježen je vrlo nizak odaziv, a velika većina izašlih Portorikanaca poduprla je prijedlog da njihov otok doda još jednu zvijezdu na američkoj zastavi. Vladina internetska stranica za neobvezujući referendum pokazuje da je samo 23 posto od 2,2 milijuna birača s pravom glasa sudjelovalo na glasovanju, a od njih je 97 posto podržalo ideju o 51. američkoj državi. Guverner Portorika Ricardo Rossello vodio je kampanju za državnost kao najbolji put za poboljšanje gospodarskog stanja na karipskom otoku s dugom od 70 milijardi dolara, stopom siromaštva od 45 posto, uništenim školstvom i gotovo bankrotiranim mirovinskim i zdravstvenim sustavom. "Od danas savezna Vlada više neće moći ignorirati glas većine američkih građana u Portoriku", poručio je Rossello u priopćenju. Pristaše državnosti nadaju se da bi novi status omogućio teritoriju ravnopravnost s 50 američkih država, što znači i pristup saveznim fondovima i pravo glasa za američkog predsjednika. Prema sadašnjem sustavu, 3,5 milijuna američkih građana Portorika ne plaća savezne poreze, ne glasa na predsjedničkim izborima i ne prima proporcionalno savezno financiranje programa poput Medicaid sustava zdravstvenog osiguranja za siromašne. Američka Vlada na portorikanskom teritoriju nadgleda područja poput infrastrukture, obrane i trgovine. Rossello će tražiti od Kongresa da poštuje rezultat referenduma, ali problemi Portorika u Washingtonu imaju nizak prioritet. Dvije glavne oporbene stranke bojkotirale su glasovanje, na kojem su se Portorikanci mogli odlučiti između triju opcija - postati američkom državom, ostati u statusu teritorija ili postati neovisnom državom. Umjesto da odu na birališta, oko 500 Portorikanaca marširalo je ulicama San Juana i tražilo neovisnost, mašući zastavom Portorika i paleći američku zastavu. "Ovo je lažni plebiscit, naša je budućnost neovisnost, moramo sami odlučiti o svojoj sudbini", rekla je jedna od organizatorica prosvjeda Liliana Laboy. Prosvjednici su također bili ljuti zbog organiziranja skupog referenduma u vrijeme kada je zatvoreno više od 400 škola, a mnogi Portorikanci se bore kako bi spojili kraj s krajem.