The last plenary session of the year in the Cortes of Castilla y León was almost over and not even this one could be calm. The shortlist of judges for the Superior Court of Justice has been approved at the proposal of the PP (Isabel Durán Seco, Luis Gonzaga Serrano de Toledo and Germán Carreño Álvarez) despite the fact that there have been fewer votes in favor than against in a vote of the that Vox has been absent.
The regional parliament had planned to vote on the shortlist proposed by the Popular Party to fill a position as a judge in the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSJ, the only shortlist had been put on the table. It was not even very clear how the vote was going to be.
The second vice president of the Cortes Board, Ana Sánchez (of the Socialist Party), has asked to confirm whether a simple majority was sufficient; while the president of the Cortes of Castilla y León, Carlos Pollán, from Vox, responds that the vote will be secret and that the shortlist with the most votes will be elected. The deputy spokesperson for the Socialist Group Rosa Rubio has asked that the shortlist should go forward at least with a simple majority and has cited a similar case from 1999. “Just because there is only one shortlist does not mean that the simple majority does not have to be applied,” has stated.
Then, Pollán has assured that they would proceed “as has been agreed upon by the Board of Spokespersons and approved by the Board.” Rubio wanted to know what type of majority was necessary: simple, absolute, qualified, three-fifths… A debate that Pollán has settled with a “favorable vote.”
35 against, 31 in favor and Vox, absent
Then the spokesperson for the Popular Group, Ricardo Gavilanes, took the floor. “The vote will be secret, with the most complete shortlist being chosen. A quorum of any kind is not required, because it does not require it,” he stated. The voting has begun – after technical difficulties and chaos in the chamber because some did not know if they had voted or not – which resulted in 66 votes from the 81 attorneys in parliament: 35 against and 31 in favor. And Carlos Pollán states: “It is approved in accordance with the provisions…”, at which point the Podemos attorney, Pablo Fernández, interrupts him, asking for “order and good sense.”
The president of the Cortes takes the floor again and speaks of a “mistake” that has been committed “by submitting a closed vote when we should not have used this and it should have been a show of hands.” “My Lords, it is clear,” he tried to silence the rest of the attorneys, who made gestures of incomprehension.
“He cannot contradict himself twice. He just said that the vote is by majority and secret; If it is secret, it cannot be done by show of hands,” recalled Pablo Fernández, who asked not to give “such a regrettable image.”
In the midst of the hubbub, Carlos Pollán has insisted that it was “clear” what “the mistake” was. “You know it just like I do —“No, no,” Fernández responded. Therefore, that’s it, really,” concluded Pollán, who refused to “enter into that debate” when Rosa Rubio reminded him that 31 attorneys are less than 35.
Finally, Carlos Pollán has approved the matter and has said that his Presidency will send the shortlist to the General Council of the Judiciary. This was the only shortlist of judges, so they understood that, even if it lost the vote, it was the shortlist with the most votes and therefore, it was elected.
The PSOE will register a document and legally study the matter
Upon leaving the chamber, the spokesperson for the Socialist Group, Luis Tudanca, described this episode as “absolute political and democratic institutional deterioration.” “They have committed an unprecedented cacicada”, he has disfigured before the media, before whom he has stated that the group is going to legally study the matter and present an appeal before the Mesa de las Corrtes and the president of the regional parliament. Tudanca has considered the decision of the president of parliament “intolerable”: “He is incurring very serious political responsibilities and we will also see if they are legal.”
The opposition leader has joked about whether Carlos Pollán missed an episode of Sesame Street, has reiterated that “in no democracy is 31 more than 35” and has insinuated that the PP has “dark interests” in “getting to this point.” . Luis Tudanca has also regretted that the “good name” of the judges who were part of the shortlist is being “dragged” and has demanded that Carlos Pollán “immediately rectify it.”
The general secretary of the PSOE has pointed out that his group did not present a shortlist unilaterally because he considers that these decisions must be made “from consensus” to “guarantee the prestige and solidity of all institutions.”
For his part, the former regional vice president and attorney for the Mixed Group, Francisco Igea, has assured that “they have made a mistake because they changed the regulations only for senators—those appointed by parliament—and not for this shortlist.” “It hasn’t come out, this is prevarication,” he asserted.
In the case of the designated senators referred to by Igea, PP and Vox agreed on a new “single and secret ballot” voting system that allowed the proposed senators to be appointed regardless of the number of valid votes they obtained, even if there was no consensus. However, this voting method has not been applied either, which has been secret but not by ballot, but through the computer system.
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