The main government party in Melilla, the Coalition for Melilla (CPM), denounced this Tuesday that its headquarters located on the Hidum highway had been set on fire last morning.
In statements to journalists, his candidate for the Presidency of the autonomous city, Dunia Almansouri Umpiérrez, has stated that it is “a totally repulsive and despicable act, and it is very significant that this event occurred after the statements made this Monday by CPM requesting the paralysis of the elections until the situation of voting by mail is clarified.
Almansouri has stated that since its formation they hope that there will be a condemnation “by all political parties that consider themselves democratic” because, in his opinion, “it would be a deficit for democracy if an act of these characteristics were not condemned.” “Above all, ask the competent authorities and the security forces and bodies to be extremely vigilant after this attempted burning, which thank God there have been no victims,” he added.
The current first vice president of the Assembly and Minister of Finance, Employment and Commerce in the Executive that they share with PSOE and Grupo Mixto has explained that the headquarters were closed at the hours at which it occurred.
Dunia Almansouri has admitted that they do not know who could have caused the fire, which has only resulted in material damage, because they were able to notice the fire because at dawn “someone passed by, saw it and called the fire brigade”. The flames, he explained, managed to burn the shutters of the windows and the door.
Almansouri added that they will wait for the investigation by the State Security Forces and Corps to find out “who is behind the burning of our headquarters.”
They had asked to suspend the elections for “vote buying”
The Coalition for Melilla announced this Monday that it was going to ask the Contentious-Administrative Court to suspend the elections on May 28 in the autonomous city due to an alleged “massive fraud” in the form of “vote buying” after doubling the vote in these elections by mail and due to the robberies suffered by the Post Office postmen who distribute the electoral documentation in the city.
At a press conference, the president of the formation, Mustafa Aberchán, assured that vote by mail to date has reached 15% of the electoral roll, but that it could reach 20% if this projection continues until May 18, the date on which the one that ends the term to request it. The national average is 2.1%.
Aberchán, who was accompanied by the candidate for the Presidency of Melilla because of his formation, denounced that “voting by mail in Melilla is being prostituted” by pointing out that different perks are being offered in exchange for the vote and he assures that they have evidence, such as audios and screenshots, which will be delivered to the Police Headquarters and the court. “In addition, it is being done in a daring way and without qualms about hiding anything,” said the political leader.
“Thinking that one, two or three deputies (out of a total of 25 that make up the Melilla Assembly) can be achieved with the purchase of votes by mail, could prostitute the process and the representation of the Melilla citizens,” he lamented.
Marlaska: “These are very serious facts if they are true”
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has described this Tuesday as “very serious events” if the alleged fraud of voting by mail in Melilla is proven true, and has defended waiting to “clarify” what happened “under the direction of the judicial authority”.
“These are very serious facts, if proven to be true, and in this sense our maximum dedication to clarify these facts under the direction of the judicial authority,” the minister said in statements to the media in the corridors of the Senate.
