The Plenary of the Cortes of Castilla y León has ratified this Wednesday the continuity of Tomás Quintana at the head of the institution of the Ombudsman, a position he has been holding in an interim situation for almost four years. The designation has prospered thanks to the agreement reached between PP and PSOE, which supported the candidacy in the vote, while the representatives of Vox and the Mixed Group opted for abstention.
The election has been carried out by secret ballot, by calling and depositing ballots in a box, although the parties had already previously announced what the direction of their vote would be. In practice, only PP and PSOE have backed the proposal, while the rest of the parliamentary groups have abstained.
With this decision, a period of almost four years in which Quintana has served with the expired mandate is closed, as the qualified majority of three-fifths of the Chamber has now been reached, as established by the Regulations of the Cortes. The candidacy has obtained 61 favorable votes and 18 abstentions.
After the result, the president of the Cortes, Francisco Vázquez, indicated that the process will culminate with the publication of the appointment of Tomás Quintana as Ombudsman for the next four years in the Official Bulletin of Castilla y León.
Tomás Quintana assumed the position of Ombudsman on October 23, 2018, in replacement of Javier Amoedo, and was formally dismissed on November 2, 2022, after exhausting the four-year mandate for which he had been elected. Since then he has remained in office awaiting a new consensus among the groups, finally reached on September 30 between PP and PSOE.