This is the day of resignation in Elda town hall. The four councilors forming the Municipal Ciudadanos group submitted their resignations electronically late Wednesday, while making them public on Thursday.
However, the resignation will take effect sooner than expected, because the mayor of Elda, Rubén Alfaro (PSPV-PSOE), has called an extraordinary plenary session for Friday at 12 noon. There, attendees will hear about the developments and prepare for the action of the People’s Party, all led by the national secretary general in the afternoon. Cuca Gamarra, without applying the dual role that this newspaper has criticized. Loles Esteve, Cristina Juan Ortuño, Patricia Frade, and Francisco Javier Pérez Maestre, listed as members of the PP candidacy, will be joined by Paco Sánchez, a popular candidate for mayor, at a 7:00 p.m. rally with former Ciudadanos members and a clean city slate.
Confusion of PP and Cs in Elda: councilors who changed initials but stayed in the plenary for the opposing party
When the general assembly reviews the resignations, the Ciudadanos rostrum will be empty, and within a week a new phase will begin for the remaining orange ranks, with the Electoral Board handling dismissals and registrations. Sources consulted indicate the situation appears complex, as Paco Sánchez’s seat has been vacant since January.
Meanwhile, the resignation process, originally planned for the ordinary plenary at the end of April, implies a financial cut for the four councilors. According to the Transparency Portal, each will receive a proportional portion of their salary for 21 days, with a monthly gross of 2,562 euros for Loles Esteve (number three on the PP ticket) and 1,281.30 euros for the others.
Muñoz will bid farewell
The fifth resignation of the day involved Fran Muñoz, the PP’s current deputy spokesperson and former Ciudadanos member. He announced that he would postpone his departure until Friday, saying, “It would be unethical and irresponsible to run for office and also hold myself as a public official under different banners. Before this photo was taken, I chose to formalize my exit from the municipality.” Muñoz suggested he would proceed with the resignation over the weekend.
A former officer of the Elda Local Police, number 2 on the Cs ticket
The only nuance is that his resignation will not be on the agenda, due to the decision to present the initial proposal to the drafting stage at the end of the general assembly. If the mayor approves, Fran Muñoz will have the opportunity to address the company he has been part of for many years. The withdrawal will take effect at the next plenary meeting on April 28. As with previous cases, the reshuffle lies in the hands of the Election Board and the new general assembly in May.
Thus in the coming hours, the 2019 family photo will face a radical transformation. During this term, the Eldense City Council has recorded only one case of party switching, the mayor of Vox joining the unaffiliated group. The next candidates on the Cs list, according to the 2019 Official Gazette, were Ana León, Begoña Artillo, Javier Domene, Godofredo Folgado, and Fausto Ruiz. One has already expressed his intention not to keep a record.
The situation has grown so intricate that the PP’s current councilors, the three women who form the group (Lola González, Lola Francés, and Manuela Soriano), have stated that their departure would end their tenure as municipal councilors. They are not responding to any line change because it was sent by mistake yesterday. Soriano has announced he will return to his professional duties, especially as May 28 approaches. The current popular lawmakers want to step back from the noise caused by this party transfer and, to surprise, will stay in their posts until the polls dictate new results.