The Central Electoral Board (JEC) has decided to open a file on the Minister Spokesperson of the Government, Isabel Rodríguez, for repeatedly exceeding institutional neutrality in the press conferences after the Council of Ministers.

As we are in the run-up to the regional and municipal elections of May 28, the legislation establishes that institutions cannot make electoral uses in their demonstrations. Previously, the JEC had twice warned the minister spokesperson for her latest interventions in the press room of La Moncloa and, as EL MUNDO has learned, the PP will present a new complaint for the press conference after the Council of Ministers yesterday, Wednesday.

This Wednesday, in fact, from Genoa the minister spokesperson was already urged to rectify her repeated use of the press room table in an electoralist way throughout recent times. Now, in addition, the popular will go to this body to denounce the different manifestations of Rodríguez.

It is not the first time that the Central Electoral Board, which is the body responsible for ensuring neutrality and compliance with the regulations that guarantee transparency in electoral processes in our country, warns or gives a wake-up call to members of the Government of Pedro Sánchez. It already did so in 2019 with the then Minister of Education and spokesperson, Isabel Celaá, whom the Board urged to avoid making "political assessments with electoralist connotations" in terrain close to the passage through the ballot boxes.

Fine to Sánchez

That same year, the JEC expedientó the head of the Executive himself for making an "electoralist" use of La Moncloa by granting an interview on television from the headquarters of the Government. A file that, despite being appealed, resulted in a fine of 500 euros to Sánchez.

In that case, the file came after the president used the facilities of La Moncloa for the realization of a televised interview on October 25, 2019, as a socialist candidate for the generals, and on the occasion of the exhumation of Francisco Franco and his transfer out of the Valley of the Fallen a few days for the celebration of the last elections at the national level.

In addition, the JEC has also agreed to the withdrawal of the seat of the former president of the Parliament Laura Borràs, after last March 30 the Catalan Court of Justice determined a sentence of four and a half years in prison and 13 years of disqualification for crimes of falsification of official documents and another of prevarication.

Thus, its regional seat must be occupied by the next candidate on the list of Junts per Catalunya, Antoni Castellà. The JEC thus responds to the application of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, which establishes that those convicted by sentence, even if it is not firm, for crimes against the Public Administration, as is the case of Borràs, are "ineligible".

  • Isabel Rodriguez Garcia
  • Government of Spain
  • Council of Ministers

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