Foreign vote will help integration

JOSÉ William Vega, head of the United Colombia Association in the Balearics, expressed satisfaction at the proposal to let non-European Union residents vote in the municipal elections next year. He said the proposal would benefit not only the new voters but also the politicians, as they would get more votes.
The move will benefit more than 63'000 people in the Balearics.
Vega said it would give foreigners equal rights to Spaniards and would make Mayors pay more attention to their needs. He added that the foreign vote could tip the balance of power in some areas. But, he pointed out, the proposal was rejected when presented by the Partido Popular some months ago, thanks to the opposition of the socialists and United Left, who are now promoting it. He claimed that some parties on the Peninsula are already seeking foreign candidates in order to capture the foreign vote, but he did not think this would happen here because of “the politicians' lack of interest.” Jorge Mandado, chairman of the Casa Argentina Federation in the Balearics, said that his association was “not interested” in the party which proposed the initiative, but in the vote itself, as it would give foreigners equal rights “and that will bring about integration.” The foreign vote would make politicians more aware of the needs of non-EU residents, he added.