The JEC defends the freedom of Sánchez to ask for the vote before the campaign
The Central Electoral Board has defended in a recent resolution “freedom of expression” of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to request the vote before the electoral campaign officially starts. The JEC rejects an appeal presented by the PP and does not find it reproachable for requesting from Dos Hermanas just a few days ago that “everyone” voted for the socialist ballot. He assures that he does not observe a violation of the electoral law and specifies that the petition is protected by article 20 of the Constitution.
The popular ones went to the JEC after the president launched this phrase during a public act in the municipal booth of the Seville town where he went to intervene in front of militants of the socialist party. It was the starting signal for the race on July 23 and he was chosen for his symbolic weight since it was there that, in January 2017, he announced that he would run in the primaries to recover the General Secretariat of the PSOE.
The PP considered that this strategy skirted the limits of article 53 of the Loreg, which establishes in its last paragraph that, from the calling of the elections until the legal start of the campaign, “it is prohibited to carry out advertising or electoral propaganda through posters , commercial supports or insertions in the press, radio or other digital media, and said actions cannot be justified by the exercise of the ordinary activities of the parties, coalitions or federations”.
The Electoral Board explains that the wording of this paragraph is the result of the reform introduced by Organic Law 2/2011, of January 28, and that to understand its scope it is necessary to go to the preamble, where it is highlighted that said reform “purses reduce advertising and electoral propaganda during the electoral period”, that is, limit the money that the parties spend on this matter, trying to limit it to the strict period of 15 campaign days.
There was no publicity
It emphasizes that, in view of the documentation examined, it does not appear that there was either a contract for insertions in the media, or any other type of contract for the dissemination of electoral propaganda in which the vote was expressly requested. Therefore, the precept cannot be considered violated, quite the contrary.. Sánchez's interventions were made in an act of his political party, as general secretary of the same, and are protected by his freedom of expression.
The conduct would only be punishable if it were proven that the PSOE carried out some type of contract for advertising dissemination to achieve a greater spread of the message issued by Sánchez.
“I have more strength than ever, more desire than ever, to win the elections. Because this trip does not end here, the social majority of this country does not deserve it. For workers, youth, women, families. We are going to continue fighting and guaranteeing,” the president launched in front of 3,000 people, advancing that he is not willing “for this trip to end on July 23.”. “What is going to be the next victory of the PSOE is starting up,” he indicated in his first pre-campaign act.