The situation of several members of the municipal corporation of Santa Lucía de Tirajana remains in limbo. A recent report from the Vice-Ministry of Administrations and Transparency of the Government of the Canary Islands, received this Monday, has generated new controversy by contradicting the possibility of the mayor and five other councilors acquiring unattached status.
In light of this document, the municipal secretary has issued a certification stating the impossibility of unequivocally or irrefutably determining a change in the corporate situation of those affected. This conclusion is based on the fact that neither his previous report nor the current one are binding, and since they come from different administrations, it is not possible to establish which one prevails. The secretary has clarified that his duties do not include resolving such legal disputes.
“"It cannot be unequivocally or irrefutably established that there has been an alteration in the corporate situation of those affected."
The new ruling from Public Function contradicts the initial criterion issued by the General Secretariat, which considered that the councilors should become unattached after leaving Nueva Canarias to join Primero Canarias. The autonomous report, specifically requested for the Santa Lucía case, argues that it is not appropriate to modify the status of the councilors, as they remain affiliated with the Bloque Nacionalista Rural (BNR), a party that was part of the electoral coalition with which they ran in the municipal elections of 2023.
According to Public Function, regulations allow mobility between parties within the same electoral coalition without implying the loss of affiliation to the municipal group. Furthermore, it warns that a contrary interpretation could violate the fundamental right to exercise public office, as established by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. The ruling also emphasizes that current legislation expressly excludes electoral coalitions from the provisions related to political defection.
However, this report differs from a judicial decision on March 6, which denied precautionary measures to Primero Canarias and indicated that the coalition agreement does not foresee voluntary abandonment, which could constitute a fraud of law. The situation will be addressed in the ordinary plenary session of April, convened for this Thursday, where the situation of the corporate members will be reported in light of this new pronouncement.
