 | ||
| ||
| Do you agree that Puerto Rico should continue to have its present form of territorial status? | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regardless of your selection in the first question, please mark which of the following non-territorial options you would prefer. | ||
A referendum on the political status of Puerto Rico was held in Puerto Rico on November 6, 2012. It was the fourth referendum on status to be held in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been an unincorporated territory of the United States since the Spanish–American War in 1898.
Puerto Rican voters were asked two questions: firstly whether they agreed to continue with Puerto Rico's territorial status and secondly to indicate the political status they preferred from three possibilities: statehood, independence, or a sovereign nation in free association with the United States.[1] 970,910 (53.97%) voted "No" on the first question, expressing themselves against maintaining the current political status, and 828,077 (46.03%) voted "Yes", to maintain the current political status. Of those who answered on the second question 834,191 (61.16%) chose statehood, 454,768 (33.34%) chose free association, and 74,895 (5.49%) chose independence.[2][3]
The governor-elect Alejandro García Padilla of the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and several other leaders who favor the present status had recommended voting "Yes" to the first question, and leaving the second question blank as a protest to what they said was "an anti-democratic process" and "a trap".[4]
Puerto Rico's nonvoting Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, has said that he will "defend the people's decision" in Washington, D.C. He plans to introduce legislation in Congress to admit Puerto Rico to the Union.[5][6] Although García Padilla questioned the validity of the results, he stated that he planned to go forward with what President Barack Obama had suggested, and convene a constituent assembly to resolve the status issue.[7] Such an assembly was not ultimately held under García Padilla's governorship.
Previous referendums had been held on the island to decide on the political status of Puerto Rico, most recently in 1998.[8][9][10]
- ^ "Papeleta Modelo Plebiscito 2012" (PDF). CEEPUR. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ "CEE Event - CONDICIÓN POLÍTICA TERRITORIAL ACTUAL - Resumen". Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico. November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
- ^ "CEE Event - OPCIONES NO TERRITORIALES - Resumen". Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico. November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
- ^ "García Padilla exhorta a dejar la segunda pregunta en blanco: El candidato por la gobernación del PPD también pide que voten sí en la primera pregunta del plebiscito". El Nuevo Día. November 2, 2012.
- ^ Pierluisi, Pedro (February 17, 2012). "Puerto Rico Status Referendum is Historic". JURIST. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
- ^ Del Valle, Sara (November 8, 2012). "Intenso debate sobre triunfo de la estadidad". El Nuevo Día. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
nohaytiempowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission: Official Results for the 1967 Political-Status Plebiscite". Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "Puerto Rico State Electoral Commission: Official Results for the 1993 Political-Status Plebiscite". Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ "Elecciones en Puerto Rico: Consulta de Resultados". Eleccionespuertorico.org. Retrieved November 7, 2012.