PIOC has asked the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the closure of a temporary voting college and the actions of the Zone Electoral Board for possible prevarication by omission, for electoral crime.

In the Orihuela Court on 19 July the Independent Party of the Orihuela Costa (PIOC) has submitted a formal request for the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the partial closure of the Ramblas Golf voting centre in Orihuela Costa during the last municipal elections on May 28.

PIOC, which provides the written testimony of three witnesses, states that this pollingoffice was closed from 2:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. on that day, which prevented several residents from voting, and raises doubts about the custody of the ballot boxes.

In the opinion of the president of the Independent Party, Román Jiménez, this is a very serious matter that must be investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office to rule out the commission of an electoral crime.

Likewise, it is requested that the Electoral Board be investigated for possible prevarication by omission, after not investigating the case in depth themselves, despite the complaints filed by PIOC.

According to the testimonies provided, during the 20 minutes in which access was not possible, three men and one woman remained inside without allowing access to voters, and as can be read in the letter to the Prosecutor’s Office, PIOC wonders if it can be sure that no votes were exchanged during that time, if by preventing access it may have been illegal due to an electoral crime or if we can be sure that there is a real and effective democracy with events like this.

“No one can assure us that during the time in which the free exercise of the vote was prevented and the access doors to the Las Ramblas Golf polling centre were closed, no votes were manipulated that would have meant a change in the results. In any case, it is a serious irregularity to prevent voting during authorized hours. For this reason, we ask that a thorough investigation be carried out, summoning the witnesses and requesting the appropriate explanations”, concludes the representative of the Orihuela Costa Independent Party.

Likewise, and despite the 3 testimonies provided, only one telephone call has been investigated without specifying who called whom or when, and whether the testimonies provided have been assessed. For this reason we think that the electoral board of the zone has prevaricated by omission or at least has acted without due diligence in the case.

Roman Jiménez President of PIOC