Authentcity of electroral register called into question

 

Spanish newspaper, EL Pais, has reported how the Communidad Valencia is currently experiencing a problem with managing it's electoral role.

In some areas local political candidates are filing complaints with the Electoral Role Office, challenging the authenticity of the new registrations that have recently been made.

"They have refused to give us the municipal roll list on three occasions," said Vicente Martínez, the spokesman for the PSPV in Finestrat. He said that party members have gone door to door to check on these newly registered voters, but "none of them actually live in the municipality."

"Some of these places have inhumane living conditions and have been padlocked for many years. Most of the houses in which these people have registered are owned by the mayor [Honorato Algado, of the Popular Party], as well as other executive members of the PP in Finestrat," he said.

The Popular Party has denied the allegations and is defending the authenticity of the electoral role, attributing the increase in voters to the Town's organic growth over recent years.

However, the PSPV certainly seem to have done their homework. They claim that in one case three people have registered to vote from a property without electricity, with four others to a ruin. Three more are registered to a building that was previously the headquarters of the PP. A further 17 previously unregistered voters come from five houses that are separated by just 100 meters from three families linked to the local PP in the Town.

The also question the registration of a further 17 people in an apartment block used for Tourist lets, which are rented out during the high season.

"We believe this data may just be the tip of the iceberg of a manipulated roll," Martínez added, sayting how they may take legal action to disqualify these questionable voters. "We've done town hall's work, which is simply checking the accuracy of the rolls. But of course, coincidentally, all of these correspond to homes belonging to people with connections to the PP," he continued.

The Socialist PSPV party believes that many of these registrations are related to a procurement bid offered by the local government last year, suggesting that those applying for the tender were obliged to register on certain municipal registers beforehand.