The elections are over and the results are in. Only, nobody believes them.
Were there tricks? Did a few people behave badly? Were some votes lost, or miscounted, and what about the postal votes? Were some people's names dropped off the register and some others' names added? Why was the Northern European vote only 30% yet the Eastern European vote was 100%? How did the postal votes end up mixed in with the village votes, even after eight of the nine parties had complained to the local court? What happened on 'Table F' with the crossings-out on the official result? Why was there one set of results for Mojácar published in the national dailies... and now we have another set, giving Rosmari seven instead of six councillors (an absolute majority)? Is it true that many postal votes had the same handwriting on their envelopes? Were they giving out envelopes even inside the polling station?
Is over 500 postal votes out of 2800 votes a fraction high (the average across Spain is 3%)?
Were jobs offered in exchange for votes, and does a recording of an offer along these lines exist?
Here at Ciudadanos Europeos, we were surprised by the results as they referred to us. We are the only party to have held regular meetings, and we are one of only two parties with the same candidate as four years ago. We have helped and are supported by many members of the British Legion, the Club Taurino, the Anglican Church, the Dames in Spain, the English Library, the Bowlers, residents of La Paratá and others... yet our votes from 2007 to 2011 increased from 163 to 165.
Two votes.
The number of Northern Europeans who asked to vote in the local elections rose from 1000 to 1450 and the number of parties fell from thirteen to nine. Furthermore, voters from South America (all supporters of local families) could no longer vote in local elections, yet our share of the vote rose by just two votes.
So, Mojácar has once again made the news. The town was barred from its swearing-in ceremony on Saturday as an investigation takes place in Granada. Meanwhile, as the previous leader runs a caretaker government (!), we have to wait until a decision is passed down and a new government is somehow sworn in.
What a stinker.