Election Commission disqualifies four candidates

In a letter to House Speaker Antonio Bells, Floor Leader Sabino Anastacio, Del. Mario Gulibert the commission said that based on election laws the four candidates are ineligible to run for office.The four delegates said that they will seek legal relief and will file a lawsuit in court this week.Santos Borja, Election Commission chairman said that on Aug. 14, the commission have received a formal protest to the candidates nominating petitions on the grounds that they have served three terms to the OEK thus are barred from seeking office for an additional term.“We have reviewed the grounds of the protest to your candidacy and have determined that the protest has merit,” Borja said.The commission based their decision on the constitutional amendment limiting the terms of office for a delegate of OEK.The amendment stated that “no person shall serve as a member of the OEK for more than three terms.”It further added that “any delegate serving a term at the time of the adoption of the amendment was entitled to serve the four-year term for which he or she was elected regardless of the number of previous term served.”The commission said because the candidates have served over three terms, “your petition as a candidate to the OEK for the 2008 election is therefore, invalid.”Anastacio however said that the amendment is vague and that they need the court to clarify the ambiguity.“We are the victims of the ambiguity of the language,” Anastacio said.Ngiraiwet said that they are not challenging the amendment however it was not stated when the term limits should be applied- from the time the amendment was imposed or from the time they began serving in the OEK.Gulibert said that the amendment should not be retroactive but rather applied onwards.Anastacio will complete his third term on Dec. 31, 2008, Ngiraiwet has served four terms and Gulibert five terms.