一周內換三人！波多黎各新總督上任 聯合 20190808

【Comment】

Ricardo Rossello督下台，並無權力指定繼任者或代理者，那是有法律規定的，並且要兩院通過。所以，雖然指定Pedro Pierluisi作為州務卿接任，但只要眾院通過，參院被晾在一邊。參院提告，Pedro Pierluisi被判程序不合法，由次順位的法務部長繼任總督。

值得注意的是：此處宣誓是最後一道程序，程序走過了就是走過了，有瑕疵也不能回頭補正。

波多黎各：總督與總統的信任

一周內換三人！波多黎各新總督上任    聯合 20190808

波多黎各總督羅塞洛（Ricardo Rossello）本月2日下台，離職前任命前駐美國國會代表皮爾路易斯（Pedro Pierluisi）擔任邦務卿並接任總督，但他上台不到一周，最高法院判決該項任命案程序不合法，改由法務部長嘉塞德（Wanda Vazquez Garced）就任總督，是波多黎各短短一周內的第三位總督。

CNN報導，皮爾路易斯上任才兩天，波多黎各參議會就提出訴訟，挑戰他的合法性。最高法院7日判決出爐，認定皮爾路易斯就任程序違憲，因此宣判無效。

許多波多黎各民眾表示，不希望嘉塞德擔任總督，但最高法院的決定已無法上訴，預計會引發騷動和新一波示威活動。

皮爾路易斯在嘉塞德宣誓就任前一刻宣布下台。他說，「鑑於波多黎各最高法院的判決，我必須放棄，並支持波多黎各的法務部長」。

皮爾路易斯補充說：「這是我們大家把黨派、意識型態或個人考量拋開，並團結一致效忠波多黎各的時刻。」

他表示，團結一致是為了波多黎各，「好讓人民有機會在明年的選舉中，選出未來的領導人」。

嘉塞德當地7日下午5時就任總督，她也在推特發聲明表示，尊重法院判決，因為「波多黎各需要安定與穩定」。

Top court overturns Pedro Pierluisi as new Puerto Rico governor    Aljazeera 20190807

After days of uncertainty, Supreme Court rules Pedro Pierluisi is not the legitimate governor of the island.

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has ruled that Pedro Pierluisi is not the legitimate governor of the US territory, despite being sworn in on Friday, in a decision that prolongs the self-governing island's political crisis.

The court's unanimous ruling on Wednesday means Justice Secretary Wanda Vazquez is next in line to take the post.

If Vazquez does take over the governorship, more protests are expected as many in Puerto Rico see her as being too close to Ricardo Rossello, the disgraced governor who resigned last week following two weeks of demonstrations sparked by a scandal involving leaked chat messages.

Shortly before leaving office, Rossello appointed Pierluisi to secretary of state, a move that put the lawyer and former representative in the US Congress next in line to become governor, according to the island's constitution.

The rushed nomination was only approved by one chamber of Puerto Rico's congress, the House, as legislators were in recess at the time.

Pierluisi was then sworn in as governor on Friday when Rossello formally resigned.

In response, Puerto Rico's senate sued, saying Pierluisi's nomination was illegitimate without their approval. On Wednesday, Supreme Court judges ruled in favour of the Senate, requiring Pierluisi to resign.

When previously asked by Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo if he would resign if the Supreme Court ruled against him, Pierluisi responded, "I guess I'll have to ... The Supreme Court will decide, I trust them, and they'll do the right thing for Puerto Rico."

Several top legislators had previously opposed Pierluisi's nomination because, as a private lawyer, he represents the federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico's finances, which they say is a conflict of interest.

'The constitution should be respected!'

The court's decision clears the path for Vazquez, the justice minister, to become governor.  The 59-year-old former prosecutor has publicly said she does not want the job, even though she has also indicated that she would be ready to assume the governorship if there was no other candidate for the position.

Some legal experts say she could assume the role, appoint a secretary of state to succeed her, and then step down.

The ruling is expected to lead to more protests as many view Vazquez as too close to former governor Rossello.

"If she takes over, it could mean more protests in the coming days," Al Jazeera's Elizondo said.  "The justice minister is, quite frankly, not very well liked by many people on the street who took part in these protests," he added.

Two weeks of protests

Protesters took to the streets of the capital, San Juan, after offensive chat messages between Rossello and other government officials were leaked.  In those messages, Rossello called a female politician a "whore", disparaged Hurricane Maria victims, and made fun of an obese man with whom he posed in a photo.

Corruption charges against several former government officials and a 13-year recession made worse by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017 also fuelled the unrest.

More than two dozen officials resigned in the wake of the leak, including former Secretary of State Luis Rivera Marín.

The Senate president hailed the Supreme Court decision.

"Now is when that detestable group from the chat that lied, mocked, machinated, conspired, violated the law and betrayed Puerto Rico is truly ended and will leave government," Rivera Schatz said.

Puerto Rico resident Jose Gonzalez, who is from the town of Ponce, told The Associated Press news agency he hoped the political turmoil would be resolved soon.

"I think it was a clear and just decision based on the rights we have here as a nation," Gonzalez said.  "All this is still in process and it affects the economy.  People are really destroyed.  Politics is stagnating economy in Puerto Rico."