The Electoral Board sides with the Barcelona City Council against Junts

The Barcelona Electoral Board has dismissed the two complaints from Junts against actions by the Barcelona City Council. The body found no infringement regarding the opening of a sports centre in Sagrera or the remote management of street lighting.

The body that oversees electoral regulations has rejected the two complaints filed by Junts against the Barcelona City Council for events held during the electoral call of November 29. The post-convergence party argued that the municipal initiatives concealed institutional advertising, which is expressly prohibited by Article 50 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime.

The first complaint referred to the opening of a sports centre in Sagrera, in the Sant Andreu district. The City Council had scheduled its inauguration for October 5, but the event was cancelled and instead an open day was organised with the presence of the mayor, Jaume Collboni. Junts claimed that this was a way to disguise the inauguration.

The Barcelona Electoral Board considers that it cannot preliminarily ascertain the existence of an infringement of Article 50.

The body concludes that the centre opened its doors, but there were no references to the achievements of the authorities nor was there any direct or indirect inducement to vote. It also saw no electoral connotations in the event, which had the facility very close to the Rodalies tracks and the high-speed line.

The second complaint concerned the completion of the remote management of street lighting, which the City Council claims will allow for more agile responses to breakdowns. In this case, the Board validates purely informative actions regarding the completion of a public work or the launch of a public service, as long as they do not carry electoral connotations. This circumstance, according to the same body, is not substantiated in the complaint from Junts.

For the residents of Barcelona, the outcome means that the City Council can continue to inform about works and services during the campaign, as long as the message is informative and not electoral. The two decisions resolve the cases opened by Junts, with no sanctions for the City Council.