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By Mason Edwards
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Vol. 3 Issue 55 www.theolivepress.es May 24nd - June 6th 2019
We’ve got the power! Expats fill up the ballot lists for vital local elections - in which FINALLY foreigners count!
expats - local elections are vital. The poll this Sunday (May 26) is the ONLY vote, apart from the European elections, in which expat residents can take part. The expat vote has proved key in previous Balearic elections, especially in Calvia, where expat voters are well into their thousands. In total, 56,000 foreigners are registered to vote in Mallorca this weekend
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DOZENS of expats are joining gypsies and Down syndrome candidates in the most diverse local elections in Spanish history. Across the Balearics and peninsular, Brits, Scandinavians and other northern Europeans have thrown their hats in the ring in the hope of representing the important international community at a local level. Hundreds of foreigners have been included on the various political party lists in a bid to become councillors. In a country - where up to 50% of many coastal towns and the islands comprise
with key areas for expats including Deia, Santanyi and Pollenca. Some 14,700 British voters can hit the ballot box, joined by 18,000 German voters, which is a shocking drop from 33,200 registered in the last election. Italians make up the biggest number of expat voters, rising from 14,100 to 18,000 in just four years. Expat candidate Dolina Reynolds, from Glasgow, has successfully run
PLUS...
WHY ARE BEES BUZZING OFF? Find out on page 16
After a rare Velazquez was discovered in New York, the Olive Press explores Spain’s most pricey paintings
WHAT’S SPAIN’S RITZIEST RESORT? See Painting by numbers, page 10 Untitled-1.pdf 1 16/06/2017 15:36 Holiday special, page 18
the Foreigner´s Department for the past four years. The PSOE councillor said this week: “Remember how important it is to make the effort to go and vote on Sunday, 26th May. “The future of our municipality for the next four years depends on it!” Olive Press columnist Bill Anderson, who is running for the PP party, in Mijas, in Malaga, agreed. “Foreigners can actually make a difference in this election,” he insisted this week. “You mustn’t waste your role.” The former UK government advisor is running in a campaign to restore cleanliness to the town’s streets, as well as encourage transparency. Running against him is Brit Anne Hernandez, a well known figure through her group Brexpats in Spain, who will stand for the Movimiento Vecinal Mijeño party. In Manilva, where nearly 50% of the population is foreign, it is no surprise to find a Belgian Kaat Buelens battling against British expat Dean Tyler Shelton. In Alicante meanwhile, Brit Terence Curran, who is standing for the PP in Javea, said: “If we leave the EU, this election will be our last chance to have a say in our futures.” Running against him with Podemos is Andrew Shaw, who moved over from
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Britain 27 years ago, while Candida Wright is running for the PP in Denia and two British women, Dawn Watkins and Linda Gimeno, are running with Ciudadanos, in Moraira. Other expats running this year include Elizabeth Morrison and Paul Knight for Izquierda Unida in Sedella, Chris Cluderay for Ciudadanos in Alcaucin and Darren Sands, in Marbella. In what is believed to be the most diverse elections in Spanish history, four young adults with Down syndrome are standing in Valencia, Extremadura, Sevilla and Murcia. “I want my city to be a pioneer in working with people with disabilities and for us to truly have a voice and a vote,” Sevilla candidate Lopez-Saez de Riba explained. The employee at the Barceló Renacimiento Hotel says ‘people like him’ can offer ‘so much more than people think, including a fresh outlook and a different point of view’. It comes after four gypsies were elected to congress in April’s general elections in a Spain first. The PP, PSOE, Cs and Podemos each brought one gypsy to the country’s house of representatives from Sevilla, Madrid and Tarragona. They have all vowed to chip away at the xenophobia and systemic discrimination affecting gypsies across Spain. Many other gypsies are standing in the local elections around the country. Opinion, pg 6 Vote for change