Ara Més-Broad Front denounces the Council before the Electoral Board for three posts on Instagram

PalmaNow MÉS-Front Ampli has reported to the Provincial Electoral Board of the Balearic Islands three Instagram posts related to visits by the president of the Council of Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, to various facilities and works. The coalition considers that these contents may violate article 50 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG), which regulates the neutrality of the Administration during the electoral period.

In one of the reported posts, the president of the Council of Mallorca can be seen with the mayor of Sant Llorenç, also from the People's Party, in a photo report in the middle of the construction works of the bypass of this town in the Llevant region, which refers to the effects that the infrastructure will have in the face of possible heavy rains. Another of the reported posts is a video of the visit of President Galmés and the vice-president of the island institution, Antònia Roca, who is also a candidate for the PP to the Congress of Deputies. In the video, they appear surrounded by people during a visit to the Maritime Museum, with representatives of social entities and employment services. The third complaint is another video in which the president and the vice-president of the Council are at the hotel where the institution organizes stays for the elderly, with numerous senior citizens doing various activities.

The coalition maintains that these publications may contain allusions to actions or objectives achieved by public authorities, something that article 50 of the LOREG prohibits from the calling of the election until the polling day. Therefore, it asks the Electoral Board to act “as soon as possible” to guarantee the neutrality of the island Administration.

Immediate precedents

It should be remembered that a similar precedent has occurred in Menorca. The Electoral Board has asked the Council of Menorca to remove from social media a promotional video for the Bons Menorca, starring President Adolfo Vilafranca and the Minister of Economy, Maria Antònia Taltavull. Despite acknowledging its informative purpose, the Board considers that the way it was published could indirectly contribute to shaping the voting intention of some electors.

The Electoral Board also ordered last week the Government of the Balearic Islands to withdraw a press release published on the government website in which the achievements reached by President Marga Prohens during the general policy debate were collected, following a complaint from the PSIB. The resolution, however, did not uphold the socialists' request to open a sanctioning procedure against Prohens.