Applicants are seeking the cancellation of a high-value practical question that they claim fell outside the published examination rules
At least three candidates in Torrevieja City Council’s recruitment process for traffic officers have filed, or are preparing to file, appeals over an alleged irregularity in the practical examination.
The dispute centres on a street-navigation question worth five of the ten available marks—half of the entire practical test score.
According to the candidates challenging the results, detailed knowledge of Torrevieja’s street map was included in the syllabus for the multiple-choice theory examination, but was not specified as part of the practical assessment.
They argue that including such a heavily weighted mapping question in the practical test may have unfairly influenced the provisional results.
Question worth half the test
Candidates were asked to identify the location of the barrier preventing vehicle access to Acequión School and explain the procedure and route they would recommend to a driver. The proposed route had to include Avenida de la Estación and Calle Bergantín.
Those contesting the question say it required an exceptionally detailed knowledge of Torrevieja’s complex road network, which includes numerous residential developments, repeated street names and roads without official names.
The scoring appears to have had a significant effect on the rankings. A number of applicants reportedly achieved five marks by successfully completing the other two practical scenarios, each worth 2.5 points. Another group scored nine after also answering the disputed question.
The appeals request that the five-point question be annulled and that candidates be assessed solely on their responses to the remaining two exercises.
Temporary pool intended to fill 20 posts
The recruitment process was approved at the end of 2025 to create a temporary employment pool for 20 traffic officers and a coordinator.
The officers will be responsible for directing and managing urban traffic, installing signs, responding to incidents, supporting the Local Police and operating municipal vehicles.
Their duties may include issuing traffic citations, arranging vehicle removals and assisting emergency and law-enforcement services during accidents, demonstrations and other incidents affecting traffic.
The selection process attracted more than 150 applications and consisted of three compulsory elimination stages: physical fitness tests, a 50-question multiple-choice examination and a written practical assessment based on the duties of the post.
Candidates had to obtain at least five out of ten in both the theory and practical examinations.
Questions over provisional appointments
The provisional list includes a City Hall adviser assigned to the Festivals Department, as well as other candidates with personal or professional links to municipal employees or officials.
However, those connections do not in themselves establish wrongdoing, and all candidates who met the published requirements were entitled to participate in the open process.
The recruitment panel included senior municipal officials and Local Police commanders, supported by additional council staff.
The council’s Security Department said it had not yet been formally notified of any appeals and would need to determine whether challenges, once submitted, would delay the appointments.
The municipality had hoped to deploy the new traffic officers during the summer, although the beginning of the school year in September is now considered a more realistic timetable.
No evidence of criminal fraud has been established. The current dispute concerns whether the practical examination complied with the published recruitment rules and whether the contested question should remain valid.
