Mallorcans at the voting poll last weekend

Mallorcans at the voting poll last weekend for Spanish elections. | R.F.

Richie PriorPalma28/07/2023 11:05
TW
0

My eligibility to vote in the UK came when I was 18 years old. I’d just left home to become a Butlins Redcoat so the opportunity passed me by. Four years later I arrived here in Mallorca and politics wasn’t really something I was interested in apart from seeing it on the news or reading about it in the papers. Now like most people the older I’ve got the more interested I’ve become in it both here in Spain and back in the UK.

But there is a problem because right now I am not able to vote in the UK, in Spain and even in the local elections here in Mallorca. The rules are as follows:

The UK government website says….

You can register as an overseas voter if you:

  • are a British or eligible Irish citizen
  • were registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years (or in some cases, if you were too young to have registered when you left the UK)

So I lose out there because I wasn’t registered to vote in the last 15 years.
Here in Spain I am told that, unfortunately, if you are a foreigner in Spain, you will not be able to vote in the general elections as only Spanish citizens are eligible to do so.

And lastly here in Mallorca. I have voted a couple of times here in the local elections so like most people I was prepared to rock up and register my vote on May 28th. But new rules had been put in place because of Brexit, which meant that I along with all the other ex-pats had to re-register my right to vote. However nobody really told you this particularly the government who were in power. All the other parties were out canvassing people saying that you only had from December 1st until January 15th to do so.

The rules were…

  • Be in possession of a residence permit in Spain.
  • Have resided in Spain, legally and uninterruptedly, for at least five years prior to their application for registration on the electoral roll.
  • Be registered on the electoral roll in the municipality of their habitual residence, which is where you may exercise your right to vote.

I believe that the PP who won the election where I live in Calvia did so because of the foreign vote. I’m sure it would have been by more if people were made aware and given more time to register. Why was the registration time just six weeks and why did it have to be four and a half months before the elections took place?

I think that as a resident who has lived here for 33 years and pays taxes here in Spain but does not want to give up my British citizenship I should be able to vote. With voting finishing in Spain last Sunday, neither of the main parties got enough votes to govern. Meaning they would need to go into a coalition with other parties but that may prove very difficult as neither party it seems will get enough to pass the threshold of 176 seats. I would imagine another election maybe called in December like in 2019 when the same thing happened. In the meantime the country will limp along with the current coalition regime not able to do too much. When you look at the political map of Spain and the islands you have to seriously doubt how the Socialists can claim a victory.

Just a thought, give the ex-pat population the chance to vote next time. You may actually then get a result.

Take care everybody and enjoy your weekend!