The Barcelona Electoral Board considers that neither of the two reported acts violates the LOREG. Nevertheless, it reminds the City Council of its obligation to comply with Article 50 and leaves the door open for an appeal.
The Barcelona Electoral Board has dismissed the two complaints filed by Junts per Barcelona against the municipal government for allegedly violating electoral regulations. According to agreements five and six, dated October 19, no infringement of Article 50 of the LOREG, which prohibits the inauguration of public works and services once elections have been called, is evident.
The first complaint, filed on October 13, referred to an open day at the Municipal Sports Centre (CEM) la Sagrera, held on October 9. The mayor, Jaume Collboni, attended this event, which, according to municipal legal services, involved an inspection of a service that had just started operating. The City Council maintains that the planned inauguration was expressly suspended following the announcement of elections by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and that the visit did not involve a press call or public statements.
The second complaint, filed a day earlier, pointed to the new remote management system for turning streetlights on and off throughout the city, which has been operational since the summer. Municipal allegations explain that it was not a convened institutional event but a technical session that the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, attended at the request of the journalists present. According to the City Council, there was no electoral message in those responses.
“No infringement can be inferred,” states the Electoral Board in its resolutions.
Despite dismissing the infringement, both resolutions remind the Barcelona City Council of its obligation to scrupulously observe the content of Article 50 of the LOREG. Junts has time to file an appeal against both decisions, meaning the matter could continue in the electoral arena if the party chooses to appeal.
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