2016 Puerto Rican general election

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government that will serve from January 2017 to January 2021, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico. Rossello was elected Governor of Puerto Rico with the second lowest percentage of votes. The election also resulted in a historic 23% drop in turnout. 2016's participation was the lowest voter turnout in Puerto Rican history. Rossello would go on to serve a 2 year term, having to resign after historic protests as a result of Telegramgate scandal. Wanda Vázquez Garced succeeded Rossello.

2016 Puerto Rican general election

8 November 2016
Turnout55.45% 22.74pp
 
Nominee Ricardo Rosselló David Bernier
Party New Progressive Popular Democratic
Alliance Democratic Democratic
Popular vote 660,510 614,190
Percentage 41.80% 38.87%

 
Nominee Alexandra Lúgaro Manuel Cidre
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote 175,831 90,494
Percentage 11.13% 5.73%

Election results map. Blue denotes municipalities won by Rosselló, and Red denotes those won by Bernier.

Governor before election

Alejandro García Padilla
Popular Democratic

Elected Governor

Ricardo Rosselló
New Progressive

Governor of Puerto Rico

Nominations

Before the election year, the Constitution of Puerto Rico provides for any qualified person to present their candidacy for a specific position. If two or more candidates from the same party present their candidacy for the same position, and they can't reach an agreement within the party, a primary election is held. This election is held within the inscribed members of each party, to select which of the candidates will represent the party in the general election.

Both of the main parties: New Progressive Party (PNP) and Popular Democratic Party (PPD), held primaries for several positions on June 5, 2016.

New Progressive Party (PNP)

The primaries were held on June 5, 2016 to determine candidates for Governor of Puerto Rico, the Senate, House of Representatives, and others.

The primaries were held on June 5, 2016 to determine several candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives, and others.

Minor parties

Two minor parties officialized their gubernatorial candidates. The Working People's Party (PPT) nominated Rafael Bernabe once again.[1] The Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) nominated María de Lourdes Santiago.

Independents

As of November 2015, two independent candidates expressed their interest in running for Governor:

Final candidates

Governor

The official candidates for the position of Governor of Puerto Rico are:

Resident Commissioner

The official candidates for the position of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico are:

At-large

The ballot featured sixteen (16) candidates from four different parties and one independent candidate (bold denotes incumbent candidates)

District

At-large

The ballot featured sixteen (16) candidates from four different parties (bold denotes incumbent candidates)

Results

Governor

Candidate Party Votes %
Ricky RossellóNew Progressive Party660,51041.80
David BernierPopular Democratic Party614,19038.87
Alexandra LúgaroIndependent175,83111.13
Manuel CidreIndependent90,4945.73
María de Lourdes SantiagoPuerto Rican Independence Party33,7292.13
Rafael Bernabe RiefkohlWorking People's Party5,4300.34
Invalid/blank votes9,807
Total1,589,991100
Registered voters/turnout2,867,55755.45
Source: CEEPUR

The candidate from the New Progressive Party (PNP) Ricky Rosselló beat the candidate from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) David Bernier obtaining 41.76% of the votes against 38.92% for Bernier. Most notably, the two independent candidates – Alexandra Lúgaro and Manuel Cidre – managed to arrive in third and fourth place with 11.12% and 5.73% respectively. For the fourth election in a row, the candidate of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) failed to receive the required 3% of the votes to remain registered. The same result happened to Rafael Bernabe from the Working People's Party (PPT) for the second election in a row.

Senate

Summary of the 8 November 2016 Puerto Rican Senate election

 
Parties District At-large Total seats Composition ±
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
New Progressive Party (PNP) 1,440,050 50.4 15 664,553 45.3 6 21
21 / 30
13
Popular Democratic Party (PPD) 1,210,903 42.4 1 503,630 34.3 6 7
7 / 30
11
Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) 150,904 5.3 0 130,583 8.9 1 1
1 / 30
1
Working People's Party (PPT) 53,335 1.9 0 9,957 0.7 0 0
0 / 30
0
Independents 0 0.0 0 157,788 10.8 1 1
1 / 30
1
Total 2,855,192 100.0 16 1,466,511 100.0 14 30
Source: CEEPUR

The numbers of legislators in this senate increased from 27 to 30, because the New Progressive Party (PNP) won 21 of the 27 seats in contention, surpassing the two-thirds limit (18 seats). This automatically triggered Article Three of the Constitution of Puerto Rico which mandates that in such case new seats must be open for minority legislators. These new seats account for the number of seats the majority party surpassed (3 seats in this election).

House of Representatives

Summary of the 8 November 2016 Puerto Rican House of Representatives election

 
Parties District At-large Total seats Composition ±
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
New Progressive Party (PNP) 750,840 50.3 28 705,753 48.6 6 34
34 / 51
11
Popular Democratic Party (PPD) 644,316 43.2 12 605,887 41.7 4 16
16 / 51
12
Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) 71,442 4.8 0 121,066 8.3 1 1
1 / 51
1
Working People's Party (PPT) 22,169 1.5 0 19,537 1.3 0 0
0 / 51
0
Independents 3,697 0.2 0 0 0 0 0
0 / 51
0
Total 1,492,464 100.0 40 1,452,243 100.0 11 51
Source: CEEPUR

Resident Commissioner

Candidate Party Votes %
Jenniffer GonzálezNew Progressive Party713,60548.77
Héctor FerrerPopular Democratic Party691,41947.25
Hugo RodríguezPuerto Rican Independence Party39,3952.69
Mariana NogalesWorking People's Party of Puerto Rico18,8711.29
Invalid/blank votes116,359
Total1,579,649100
Registered voters/turnout2,867,55755.08
Source: CEEPUR

Mayoral

PPD PNP PIP PPT Total
45330078
Source: CEEPUR

Despite losing most of the Senate and the House, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) managed to win a majority of the mayoralty races in the island, with a total of 45 out of 78 municipalities. The New Progressive Party (PNP) won a total of 33.[4]

See also

References

  1. "Bernabe aspirará nuevamente a la gobernación por el PPT". El Nuevo Día. October 25, 2015. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  2. Figueroa, Alex (March 17, 2015). "Abogada Alexandra Lúgaro oficializa su candidatura independiente para la gobernación". Primera Hora. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  3. "Manuel Cidre oficializa candidatura independiente a la gobernación". Metro. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  4. "Informe Estadistico EG2016 - Parte1" (PDF). Comisión Estatal de Elecciones Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 June 2020.
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