There is general apathy amongst the international community when it comes to voting in Spanish Local Elections, with many residents failing to ensure that their name is entered in the town hall on the list of electors. As such many individuals do not exercise their right to vote on Election Day.
The effect of this is a failure of the Orihuela Costa to be represented in the Ayuntamiento with the result that we continue to suffer an appalling level of services.
An EU national can register to vote at the town hall at any time, but non EU residents, which includes the British community, can only register from the 1st of December to the 15th of January. To be eligible to do this you must be entered on the padron and you must also be a resident.
Orihuela Costa has a population exceeding 33,000 people. It is almost as large as the other 26 Districts combined, but of the twenty-five councillors sitting on the Orihuela Council there are none representing the coast, when we should be returning at least 8 or 9.
The effect is that we are denied essential amenities and services in spite of being the major contributor to the revenue of the Orihuela Municipality. This situation could so easily change if more residents from the international community actually made the effort to vote.
None of the main political parties, PSOE, PP, Ciudadanos, Cambiemos, Podemos, Vox, have offices on the coast, hence there are no political meetings, no constituent surgeries, so is it any wonder that the lists of candidates offered by these parties rarely include anyone living on the coast.
But we want to change all that with your help so if it is your intention to vote watch out for our special events around the Orihuela Costa explaining the registration process. In the meantime you should check that your padron is correct, especially your address
Orihuela Costa must ensure that they return a sufficient number of councillors who will actually work toward providing services and resources for the coast.
All residents with the right to vote must ensure that their voice is heard and that they work toward ending the blatant discrimination from which we all currently suffer.
PIOC – Partido Independencia Orihuela Costa
