"On January 2, while I was waiting for the new governor Rafael Hernández Colón to pick me up, I felt a deep sadness because defeats always go against sensitivity. I stood there staring at the executive mansion... and I understood that this was not my home or anyone else's home, but the home of the democracy of our people... I have spent my life fighting for democracy and at that moment I had to prove my convictions. I understood that I had to leave it with the same freedom of spirit with which I arrived there." Luis A. Ferré

My grandfather's farewell words to La Fortaleza, remind me that many Puerto Ricans have devoted their lives to fighting for the rights guaranteed by our democracy. And that many have lost their lives defending it.

However, many have also trampled on and ignored the value of democracy. They take it for granted, not understanding that their power stems directly from the mandate of the people who are protected by the Constitution. This delegation of power to another person lasts only for a certain period. That power belongs to only the people.

Last Sunday, democratic values were severely undermined in Puerto Rico. And, to the horror of everyone, the attack came from institutions called upon to protect democracy while the ruling class did not come to their rescue.

That Sunday at 2:00 p.m., amid an already delayed primary election, three individuals decided to take away that right from the people who, despite the fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, left their homes to cast their vote and elect those they want to be the new leaders of the parties that represent them. And, without consulting to anyone, those three people, two of the candidates with personal interests, decided to curb the right of all Puerto Ricans to vote.

Is it arrogance or ignorance? Or is it that playing political games is more important for them than Puerto Rico? Last Sunday, we Puerto Ricans were trampled on, insulted, degraded, and worse yet, our right to vote was violated.

State Elections Commission President Juan Dávila Rivera did not even dare to face the people to explain the inexplicable. He was busy. How busy can he be not to explain to those of us who pay his salary why he left didn´t allow us to vote?

At 7:00 p.m., candidate Wanda Vázquez Garced came before us, not the Commonwealth governor who promised to defend the Constitution and the laws of Puerto Rico when she was sworn in as governor following to the constitutional succession order after the previous governor stepped down following protests by the people rejecting insults and abuses of power.

The candidate demanded an explanation. But, was an explanation possible when it was precisely the governor who signed the electoral law that dismantled the SEC leadership allowing to concentrate all the power on an individual whose little voting experience speaks for itself?

She is the same governor who, amid the pandemic, while experts begged her not to sign a law that put the upcoming electoral processes at risk signed it. They told her that there was no time, no money, and no consensus. But the law authored by Thomas Rivera Schatz -who seeks to renew his seat in the Senate and who decided to stop primary elections- was imposed. That day we knew that democracy in Puerto Rico was in danger.

And this Sunday we saw the result of what many of us said: Puerto Rico's democracy was seriously damaged by these officials and we the voters were discarded as if we were nobody.

Thus, before our horrified eyes and the wounded hearts of Puerto Ricans, our fundamental right to vote has been seriously violated with the arbitrary and opportunistic suspension of last Sunday's primaries, and the Executive Branch failed to respond to such a dire precedent. It is up to the Supreme Court, in line with its conscience and to the legal and constitutional framework that protects the vote, to grant the proper remedies to the people that have been deeply hurt.

We trust that the highest court, as the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, will design the remedies for the serious damage inflicted on the confidence in the electoral system as an institution with the responsibility to make possible both the exercise and the protection of the vote. Puerto Ricans also count on the Supreme Court to ensure that each of the votes cast last Sunday will be counted and that any voter who was unable to vote due to the negligence by the State Elections Commission and the political parties participating in the primary elections will also be able to exercise his or her vote freely, secretly and without influence.

In the summer of 2019, the Supreme Court proved its high institutional values when ruling the order of succession after the former governor resigned, forced by the demands of our people, who decided not to accept that elected officials damage the island's institutions.

That demand sounds even stronger now in the face of the biggest affront to democracy in Puerto Rico after the New Progressive and Popular Democratic Party primary elections were suspended.

As a result, our people suffered irreparable damage because the SEC's, under the presidency of Dávila Rivera, along with the island´s main parties presidents, Tomás Rivera Schatz, and Aníbal José Torres, have blatantly damaged the process to choose the candidates that would compete in general elections. They have jeopardized not only the primary process but also future elections.

Puerto Rico's constitutional framework is now at stake and, in particular, the fundamental right to vote. The governor must stop her attitude of not holding herself accountable and act with the dignity that the people deserve, assuming her fundamental duty to ensure that this primary vote is soon completed without risking its integrity.

The principles of our democracy set forth in the constitutions of Puerto Rico and the United States, mandate government institutions to protect and enforce every vote cast last Sunday.