The PSOE of Tenerife announced on Wednesday the opening of an expulsion file against the two socialist councillors who signed the motion of no confidence presented by the PP in Güímar. The party has warned that this was supported without the backing of any body within the party. The councillors in question are José Miguel Hernández Fernández and Patricia Encinoso Pestano.
Last Monday, the nine councillors of the Popular Party (PP) in this eastern Tenerife council, along with another councillor from Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (Carlos Pablo Llarena González) and the two from PSOE, registered a motion of no confidence against the mayor of Coalición Canaria, Gustavo Pérez, who governs precisely with PSOE and Unidas se Puede.
The motion of no confidence was justified by the presenting councillors due to the “evident lack of action and leadership” from the mayor. To replace him, they propose the former PP mayor, Carmen Luisa Castro, who held the position between 2013 and 2015 and in the 2015-2019 term.
In the statement released on Wednesday, the PSOE of Tenerife reproached its members in Güímar for endorsing a motion of no confidence to install the PP candidate as mayor, breaking the governing pact signed with Coalición Canaria “and explicitly disregarding” the guidelines from both the island leadership and the local party group.
The motion of no confidence was presented without the support of any PSOE body, which has not promoted any motion of no confidence in the island of Tenerife during this term, despite attempts from Coalición Canaria and the Popular Party to dispute control of various mayoralties, the party has stated.
“The PSOE has acted at all times with responsibility, considering the interests of the citizens and improving their living conditions, not in the exchange of pawns or in opportunistic operations,” declared the Secretary of Organisation of PSOE Tenerife, Óscar Olave.
Olave announced that, according to the Law of Municipalities of the Canary Islands, the councillors will become non-attached councillors, which entails “important legal limitations” as they will not be able to receive compensation for full-time or part-time dedication, nor will they be able to hold positions or areas of government in the municipal corporation with financial remuneration.
“The regional legal framework clearly establishes that no non-attached councillor can be part of the government with paid dedication, nor hold executive positions. The law precisely seeks to avoid situations of institutional transhumance, such as that which has occurred in Güímar,” explained Olave.
The PSOE of Tenerife reiterates its support for the socialist group in Güímar, which has “clearly” defended the maintenance of the municipal governing pact and rejected any formula that implies a breach of the agreements reached at the beginning of the term.
Furthermore, the PSOE hopes that the situation can be redirected and that the involved councillors respond to the party’s discipline “respecting the commitments made to the citizens under the banners with which they were elected.”
