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In the US election aftermath ...

Published:Thursday | November 8, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Students hold a poster of United States President Barack Obama yesterday as they watch the US election vote counting at SDN 01 Menteng elementary school where Obama studied in Jakarta, Indonesia. Obama attended the school when he was a child living in the Southeast Asian nation.-AP

Pro-statehood governor ousted

SAN JUAN (AP):Puerto Ricans have endorsed United States statehood for the Caribbean island but also ousted the pro-statehood governor in a close election.

Governor Luis Fortuno conceded defeat yesterday to his main challenger after concluding there were not enough outstanding ballots to close the gap with his main challenger, Alejandro Garcia Padilla. The margin in Tuesday's vote was less than one per cent.

"Now it's time for us to come together as one people. The campaign is over," Fortuno said in a news conference.

Fortuno, as a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, said he was pleased that 61 per cent of voters endorsed becoming a US state, though critics said the two-part ballot was confusing to many and would not be enough to persuade the Congress to accept Puerto Rico into the union.