28M election: three PSOE candidates arrested in Murcia for vote-buying

Three PSOE candidates in Murcia province for next Sunday’s municipal and regional elections have been arrested this Thursday in a new case of buying votes by mail. They are Isabel de los Dolores Peñalvar, candidate for mayor of the municipality of Albudeite (1,390 inhabitants); Héctor Antonio Martínez, number 19 on the socialist list for the Murcia Assembly and who is not currently a deputy; and a third person, also a member of the Albudite municipal list, whose identity has not been disclosed. The alleged plot, now destroyed, captured voters willing to sell their votes among people in a precarious economic situation, similar to other electoral fraud networks busted in recent days in Melilla and Mojacar (Almería). . In the case of the city of Murcian, investigations indicate that the plot was paid for between 100 and 200 euros.

Investigators discovered the existence of alleged election fraud through wiretaps from drug trafficking investigations. In a conversation, the negotiators talked about buying and selling votes for the 28-m elections. In total, between this Wednesday and this Thursday, 13 people have been arrested, both for ties with drug trafficking and vote-buying, without official sources having so far detailed how many are detained in each case. Some of those arrested are accused of both crimes, say sources familiar with the investigation, who say the PSOE candidate has no connection to the case opened for drug trafficking. All the detainees have been handed over to the head of Mula’s investigative court 1, who has released them on temporary release.

In a statement, the PSOE of the region of Murcia has stressed that it will not tolerate “lack of exemplary of any kind” in the party and that the formation “does not shy away from any illegal or unethical practice.” “If the facts are confirmed, appropriate measures will be taken, which in case of influencing an extremist from our organization, will result in immediate expulsion from the party and dismissal from all positions held by him,” the text continues.

The party has called for “responsibility and exemplary” from all political organizations, and demanded that “these intolerable incidents, which are affecting various organizations in our country, should not be influenced by any formation, because If so, only one really does harm.” It will be a democracy.” “We are against any behavior that does not meet the highest ethical standards, as sport has no place for those who commit illegal acts,” the statement said.

In Albudeit, the PSOE won the election in 2019 with 449 votes, although it tied for seats (4) with the PP, which received 434. In the end, it was the populares who won the mayorship thanks to an agreement with the sole Ciudadanos councilor. , in the middle of that term he left that party and went to PP. In those elections, the Socialists were only 94 votes away from snatching a councilor from the Popular Councilors and, with it, gaining an absolute majority that would have allowed them to govern.

Complaint in Alicante

The PSOE of Finestrat (Alicante, 7,909 inhabitants) accuses the PP of manipulating and changing the process of voting by mail. In a complaint filed with the Villa Joyosa Zone Electoral Board (JEZ), the Socialists point out that there is a “notorious and overwhelming” number of ballots processed from the two locations where Popular will continue to elect on 28-M, as well as the current mayor, Juan From the homes of members of the candidacy of Francisco Pérez Lorca, who also holds the position of organization secretary of the party in the province. The complainants demand that all votes managed by the PP be annulled and that even municipal and regional elections be declared illegal. In a document presented to JEZ, which was accessed by EL PAÍS, Finestrat’s PSOE accused the PP of casting bogus votes through three middlemen in an establishment, who in turn sent them to the post office, reports Rafael Burgos.