The alleged vote-buying plot uncovered in Albudeite would have offered money, drugs and other effects to residents of the municipality to gain an advantage at the polls, according to sources close to the case. The Court of First Instance and Instruction number 1 of Mula received, on the morning of this Friday, the report that the Civil Guard made of this case that, for the moment, leaves fifteen investigated.
Among them is the socialist candidate for mayor in the upcoming elections, Isabel de los Dolores Peñalver, who was summoned to testify as a detainee along with her husband and son – although, apparently, she chose not to do so. There is also another member of the municipal list: number 6, Lorena Navarro, who would have been arrested along with her brother, as explained by sources close to the case.
The case would also have affected the general secretary of the PSOE in the town, Héctor Antonio Martínez, who is also secretary of Training of the Regional Executive and is in number 19 of the candidacy for the Assembly headed by Vélez.
The socialist mayoral candidate, arrested along with her husband and son, refused to testify
The Muleño court has already transferred a letter to the zone electoral board to warn it of the existence of a procedure for alleged electoral crime that, initially, according to judicial sources, is limited to the municipality of Albudeite. The magistrate chose to initiate this procedure after, in an investigation for alleged drug trafficking, the existence of an alleged purchase of votes was noticed. The Civil Guard agents controlled three ‘tapped’ telephones when, in some conversations, the alarm went off. The voters, according to sources close to the case, were allegedly captured with offers of money, some objects and even, on some occasions, small amounts of drugs.
After going off the alarms in this investigation for drugs, the Civil Guard arrested seven people this Thursday related to this alleged electoral fraud, to which another six were added. Among them is the socialist candidate for mayor and her number 6 along with two relatives, as confirmed by sources close to the case. Three other detainees also passed through the barracks and are also being investigated for alleged drug trafficking. All of them were released with charges, according to judicial sources. Two other people also appeared as being investigated.
The magistrate agreed this Friday to cease the telephone “pricks” and decided to lift the secrecy of the proceedings opened for alleged electoral fraud.
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