Luis Fortuño is elected new governor of Puerto Rico

Sunday, November 9, 2008

The candidate of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, was elected the new governor of Puerto Rico in the general elections held on November 4, 2008. Fortuño obtained more than 52% of the votes.

The other candidates were the current governor of Puerto Rico, Anibal Acevedo Vilá of the Popular Democratic Party, Edwin Irizarry Mora — the Puerto Rican Independence Party, and Rogelio Figueroa — the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party.

In addition to obtaining the governor position, the New Progressive Party retained the position of resident commissioner of Puerto Rico and won a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. The Puerto Rican Independence Party lost its franchise as a political party because it received less than 3% of the votes, the level required by the electoral law. The results also indicate that the Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party may have lost its franchise too.