The Valencian Ombudsman has issued a stringent ruling in response to Valencia’s new municipal government. The document urges a revision of rules that cut both the number of information commissions and the seats allocated to participants. Signed in connection with a complaint from the Socialist Party, the message is clear: reducing commissions and limiting how many questions each member can ask makes oversight, monitoring, and accountability harder for the city administration.
socialist grievance
The Socialist Group filed its complaint last summer, soon after the new commissions regulation was approved by the general assembly. The new government team cut the number of information commissions from six to four and reduced participant seats from nine to seven. In practical terms, this means 28 of the 33 council members can take part in some commissions. Within the council, four opposition members and three PSPV members are affected, prompting the complaint to the Ombudsman. They argue that the reduction infringes the right to participate in municipal affairs on equal terms and that it particularly harms four councilors from opposition groups who lose access to these commissions.
The Ombudsman’s response is emphatic. When elected representatives face obstacles to perform their duties, it not only violates their fundamental rights to public service, but it also undermines the citizen’s right to participate in governance, a cornerstone of the democratic system (Ombudsman statement, 2024). The message is unmistakable: participation in public affairs must remain feasible and meaningful.
The authority of the general assembly can only be exercised without violating the Constitution
The Ombudsman acknowledges the plenary body’s authority to organize commissions but stresses that arrangement cannot be arbitrary. It is guided by constitutional norms, including Article 9.3, which secures equal and fair participation. A steeper reduction in commissions and tighter member-question limits would, in the Ombudsman’s view, complicate participation, oversight, and supervision of municipal affairs (Constitutional principle cited in the ruling).
As a remedy, the Ombudsman recommends amending the agreement that establishes ordinary standing commissions and adopting all necessary measures with the consensus of all municipal groups. The goal is to adjust the Organic Regulations of the General Assembly in a way that preserves the right to participate and strengthens transparency, oversight, and accountability in public governance (Ombudsman guidance, 2024).
Valencia City Council has to respond within a month, indicating its position on this ruling and outlining how it will address the concerns raised about participation, oversight, and constitutional compliance (Ombudsman notice, 2024).