BRITON MAKES HISTORY IN BASQUE COUNTRY ELECTIONS

Richard Lewington, Chairman of the Madrid branch of Conservatives Abroad ñ the international wing of the British Conservative Party, has been confirmed as a candidate in the upcoming municipal elections in OÒati, Guipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain, on Sunday, May 28th, 2023.

Lewington is listed as candidate number 5 on People Party (Partido Popular - PP) mayoral candidate Ricardo Guisado Balanzateguiís list for OÒati municipal council. This marks a historic moment as Lewington will be the first British citizen to run for office in Spainís autonomous Basque Country.

The 41-year-old originally from Southend on Sea, Essex is a former nurse who moved to Spain in 2007 where he lived in OÒati and worked as a freelance correspondent and English teacher.

candidacy for UNESCO world heritage status.

"I am extremely proud to be part of Ricardo Guisado Balanzategui's list and to be running for office in OÒati. As someone who has lived and worked in the town, I believe that OÒati has the potential to be a model for other towns in the region. If elected, I will work tirelessly to support our small businesses, improve public services, and promote cross-cultural understanding,î says Lewington. ìI am also eager to support the town's candidacy for UNESCO World Heritage status, as I believe that OÒati's cultural heritage and natural beauty make it a deserving candidate.

I look forward to working with the other council members to make OÒati the best it can be for all of its residents."

They are followed by Soledad RogrÌguez, Ricardo Hern·ndez and Esther Laguna.

Hurtado explained that it is a list made up of people from different areas and sectors of Torrevieja. Hard-working people with management skills and commitment to the city.

The objective is that Ciudadanos is to continue being a useful and effective contributor to the City Council, as has happened in this legislature.

ì As a resident, I know the needs of our community, and myself and my team have the experience to address the challenges we face,î he said, promising to be a committed representative and to work closely with all members of the community to build a prosperous and sustainable future for all.

Lewington's platform focuses on supporting rural businesses, enhancing public services for young people, promoting cross-cultural understanding, and supporting the townís

The municipal elections in OÒati will address critical issues facing the town, including improving local services, boosting economic development, and promoting sustainable tourism. Lewington's experience as

PSOE joins Torrevieja Election Push with New Logo

a nurse, teacher, and Chairman of Conservatives Abroad Madrid demonstrates his leadership qualities and his ability to work with people from different backgrounds. "Lewingtonís experience in OÒati, dedication to public service and his passion for making a positive impact in his community make him an excellent and enriching candidate," said Ricardo Guisado

The PSOE in Torrevieja has joined in the electoral campaign and ready to do battle for the municipality,now their list of candidates has been confirmed,with mayoral candidate Bárbara Soler presenting her campaign logo.

The local artist Israel Nicolás Torres,who has thousands of followers on social networks,wanted to contribute to the Socialist Party of Torrevieja by redesigning the logo with his distinctive style. The result is modern and fresh,respecting the original logo design,while reproducing the fist and the rose on the flag of Torrevieja.

The Socialist Party of Torrevieja wants to show its gratitude and admiration for the artist and has decided to use this version as a campaign logo as it perfectly represents what the candidacy wants to show. With this measure,Bárbara Soler wanted to show her commitment to culture and art and has pledged to support both groups and individuals with cultural concerns so that they can develop them with the support of the City Council. The socialist candidate has proposed to make the local cultural offer more dynamic,encouraging citizen involvement and the generation of new local cultural proposals.

Balanzategui, PPcandidate for OÒati mayor. "His political values are very much in line with the values of our land, and we are proud to have him on our list. We look forward to working with him to serve the people of OÒati."

For more information on Richard Lewington and his campaign, visit www.twitter.com/lewingtonrm and www.twitter.com/onatikopp.

If you would like to see more of Israel’s works,you can visit the website: https://israel-nicolas-torres.webnode.es

Torrevieja PP Revises Electoral List due to Citizenship Error

The Partido Popular (PP) in Torrevieja has published a revised electoral list, after they were informed that the documentation from Alaa Jasim Dakheel, who ranks 21st on the list, was not complete because his dual citizenship is still pending and, therefore, he cannot be part of it. For this reason, Alaa Jasim has had to be replaced from the list by Jean Paul Molero Torres, who will occupy the same position as Alaa, number 21.

JEAN PAUL MULERO

Born in Torrevieja, at the age of 4 he emi- grated with his family to Paris, where he lived until he was 26, returning to his city in 1993. Following 7 years in the French army, he studied Business Administration and Management at the UNED of Elche and speaks 5 languages (Spanish, French,

Luisa Boné and Ángel Noguera will continue in Ciudadanos top five as the party retain all five of it’s current councillors in the upcoming elections in May.

Number one on the list, and deputy mayor throughout this last legislature, José Aix, will be followed by the same four councillors that are currently serving in tgovernment:the councillor for Human Resources and Contracting, Luisa Boné, the councillor for Culture, Mar Ezcurra, the

English, German and Italian). Having worked in several Torrevieja companies he has been a member of the PP Executive since 2011. He is currently an advisor to the Mayor's Office in the Department of International Residents and manages the Office of Attention to International Residents (OARI).

Remaining candidates to No 15 - 1. Eduardo Jorge Dolón Sánchez, 2. María Rosario Martínez Chazarra, 3. Ricardo Recuero Serrano, 4. Rosa María Cañón Rodríguez, 5. Diana Box Alonso 6. Federico Alarcón Martínez 7. Inmaculada Montesinos Pérez 8. Antonio Francisco Vidal Arévalo 9. Concepción Sala Maciá 10. María Sandra Sánchez Andreu 11. José Antonio Quesada Hurtada 12. Domingo Paredes Ibáñez 13. María José Ruíz Egea 14. María Gertrudis Páez Martínez 15. Gitte Lund Thomsen recently dismissed Councillor for Infrastructures, Ángel Noguera, and, the Councillor for Police, Beaches and Festivities, Antonio Sánchez. The local leadership has decided to retain them all, including Boné and Noguera, both being investigated for two alleged crimes of prevarication, the first for the maintenance contract for green areas on the coast, and the second for the same, plus the road maintenance contract, also in Orihuela Costa.

The announcement was made on Friday evening from their new headquarters on la avenida Teodomiro.From a lectern located inside the headquarters (so as not to violate the electoral law) an exultant Aix, stuck out his chest extolling compliments to his supporters, who spilled out into the middle of the street.

As a sign of his support, the Ciudadanos deputy for Alicante, a former Orihuela councillor himself, Juan Ignacio López-Bas was present. In his speech, Aix acknowledged that this last mandate had not been easy.There were many difficulties, including a Dana, a pandemic and, most importantly, a motion of censure.

Between 2015 and 2019 Ciudadanos supported the PPgovernment but a year ago, they decided to break and ally themselves with PSOE and Cambiemos to evict the PP from the government.

This was a political move that elevated Ciudadanos to a more decisive position, with greater visibility and more powers within the government.

National PP rejects questions about Orihuela candidate for Mayor

Aspokesman for the Partido Popular in Madrid, at their Genoa headquarters, has rejected questions from DIARIO INFORMATION to rule on the PPCV's decision to retain Pepe Vegara as the candidate for mayor of Orihuela. Both the Prosecutor's Office and the Public Treasury accuse Vegara of three crimes of tax avoidance, for which they have requested prison sentences of up to 7 years.

As reported by Informacion, on Monday, before the list was presented to the electoral board, senior PP leaders in Madrid asked the regional president for an alternative candidate. Among the names, Víctor Valverde was one who was considered. However, sources from the regional leadership have denied receiving pressure of any kind to make a change.

The Party HQ responded, “the question of the appointment of candidates belongs to the regional managers and we refer to them. They have the competence and the confidence to do it."

Carlos Mazón was also asked about the matter on Wednesday morning in Ibi, but he simply repeated the answer he gave last Friday in Orihuela: "We are going to be prudent, Pepe Vegara himself has already given the appropriate explanations," he said.

Torrevieja Greens Criticise Lack Of Budget Transparency

Meanwhile, the regional secretary of Vega Baja PSPV-PSOE of Vega Baja, Joaquín Hernández, has harshly criticised the selection of Vegara.

“The Popular Party has lost a golden opportunity to clean up their politics.” He also described the choice of candidate as " an insult to the residents of Orihuela and a lack of respect for politics.” ìIt seems that we already have an answer to that question and that is that the price of the service contract is much higher than the cost of such a service, which was approved in a plenary session in January. ìThe way of acting of the current government is intolerable, which has been doing and undoing as it pleases for 4 years, with public money and spending much more than necessary on public services to favour friendly companies. From Los Verdes, we are going to continue fighting and trying to contain all these outrages, as we have been doing since Eduardo DolÛn returned to the mayor's office.

The Los Verdes in Torrevieja have raised their concerns about the ìdubious approvalî of the 2022 budget settlement in the municipality.

The spokesperson for the municipal group, Israel MuÒoz, once again puts the focus on a new irregularity carried out by the Partido Popular (PP), relying on its absolute majority. In the month of February, the Governing Board requested the cost structure of the urban transport service, without having yet resolved the appeal that we presented on February 8, 2023. And the question is: why don't they resolve it?

But it is also that the cost structure of the Costa Azul company, which is chosen for such a service, does not contain the same parameters as the valued memory, a totally irregular situation and with an inadmissible lack of transparency to which, unfortunately, they have already accustomed us in the last 4 yearsî pointed out MuÒoz.

Once again, we are going to see how a public service is awarded, in a completely opaque way to a private company, as has already happened to us with the urban cleaning service. And the worst thing is that on March 17, 2023, a cost structure is published in the BOP, to which the opposition does not have access, despite having claimed it in writing and in a meeting of spokespersons, documents that must be publicly exposed for whoever wants to consult them.

As the only group that represents a true frontal opposition against these irregularities, we will continue to do what is in our power so that, at least, citizens are aware of the type of government they currently have and of the urgency to replace itî, settled MuÒoz.

LA SIESTA BOWLS (Members Run Club) by Alan Carr

HURRICANE DIVISION The Wasps travelled to Country Bowls for their game against the Red Kites, a couple of games went very close which could have gone either way, but unfortunately, we were only able to win on two rinks courtesy of; Pauline Johnson, Ramsay Sinclair & Dave Blackie (27-10). Les Bedford, Gordon Paton & Stan Dibble (16-15). Lost 4-8 (Shots 74- 78).

HARRIER DIVISION La Siesta Hornets home game was playing against Greenland Warriors where we won on three rinks and collected a further 2 pts for the overall (Shots 83-80) to win 8-4. Winners were; Jo Elkin, Fran & Neil Cox (16-8). Ken Stringfellow, Pat Moore & Ros Stockell (19-16). Peter Ayres, June & David Whitworth (17-15).

VCLLEAGUE The Parakeets travelled to Country Bowls which resulted in the home side winning two of their disciplines, and they also picked up 2 points for the overall (Shots 82-77) to draw 6-6. The winners were; Trips: Joy Gardiner, Derek Biggs & Jean Cooper (25-10). Singles: Karen Kirk (21.6).

The Hoopoes away game was playing the Greenland Titans, which saw the team win on every rink and collected the maximum 12 points (Shots 93-56). Winners being, Singles: Judy Carroll (21-7) & Alan Mawer (21-15). Pairs: Joan Inns & Ken Barber (19-10). Trips: Mags Haines, Jim Jarvie & Mike Inns (13-11) which was a great finish by both teams as this game could have gone to either side. Rinks: Alan Carr, Tracey Paffett, Wayne Howlett & John Skipper (19-13).

Interested in joining La Siesta members run bowls club, there is George¥s Chicken and Egg, every Wednesday 1.30 for 2pm, with Mike & Grahams roll up every Saturday 9 for 9.30 am. Just pop in or call the President George 865772498 or the Captain Brian 604152834 for any further information.

San Miguel Bowls by Barry Jones

On Monday San Miguel Moors were home to Emerald Isle Vulcans, winning 8 - 4, 92 shots 72. The best winning triple were Val Touhy, Steve Parr and Lee Sinclair 22 - 12. San Miguel Christians were away to Greenlands Gladiators losing 11 - 1, 104 shots to 77. The triple who salvaged a point were Jack Jackson, Barbara Scotthern and Mike Douglas 17 shots to 17.

On Wednesday San Miguel Sheriffs were home to Emerald Isle Dukes winning 8 - 4, 87 Shots to 70. In the Ladies Singles Sandi Hannan lost 21 - 13. In the Gents Singles Allan Patterson won 21 - 8. In the pairs Ron Peters and Lee Sinclair lost 20 - 11, and in the Triples Anita Brown, Mary Whitelock and Ron Nairey won 21 - 15. In the Rinks Margaret Patterson, Sheila Booth, Dori Svansbergsson and Steve Cantley won 21 - 6. San Miguel Deputies were away to La Marina losing 10 - 2, 98 shots to 70. In the Ladies Singles Jan Farmer lost 21 - 6, In the Gents Singles Don Darby lost 21 - 8. In the pairs Stan North and Frank Scotthern won 26 - 12. In the Triples Bob Nesbitt, Barber Scotthern and bob Donnelly lost 22 - 10. In the Rinks Pat McEwan, Jack Jackson, Derek Farmer & Mike Douglas lost 22 - 20. A reminder that the Wasps sessions take place Wednesdays 1.30pm for 2.00pm - 5 for an afternoon’s bowling with shoes and bowls available to borrow. Due to the popularity of the Wasps, first time bowlers are asked to attend an initial coaching session on Tuesday afternoons, starting at 1.45pm, by appointment ONLY. To book, please call Dave or Lynn Greenland on +34 667 207 508.

We welcome all bowlers who would like to join San Miguel B.C. as we are a unique clubwe only pay owner fees and a club fee and NO LEAGUE RINK FEES.

For further information on San Miguel B.C please contact club secretary Barry Jones on 602 504 905 or club president Alan Campbell on 606 676 118

Elrancho Bowls Club

On Wednesday El Rancho were at Country Bowls playing their B team, El Rancho got off to a good start, holding the lead on three rinks. But alas despite continued good play, Country Bowls overhauled us on two of the three. But we did win the ladies singles and were very close in the pairs and rinks.

Ladies singles: Diane Yates 21-9. Mens singles: Keith Longshaw 421. Pairs: Sheila Cox and Mike Cox 14-16. Trips: Tony Abbott, Ron Greenstreet and Jim Eastwood 7-29. Rinks: Ann Abbott, Frances Johnston, Judy Foley and Bill Johnston 15-19. Bowlers of all levels are welcome at El Rancho, for further membership information contact Sheila Cox at micksheilacox@gmail.com.