The Andalusian Electoral Board (JEA) has urged the PSOE-A candidate for the Presidency of the Junta, María Jesús Montero, to cease any express request for votes until the official start of the electoral campaign, after partially upholding a complaint filed by the Andalusian PP.
The resolution comes after the electoral body concluded that Montero has violated current regulations by requesting the vote before the permitted period, in a public act held on April 10 in Cádiz and subsequently disseminated on social networks and official channels of the PSOE-A.
A complaint from the PP and an act under electoral scrutiny
The complaint was filed by the general secretary of the Andalusian PP, Antonio Repullo, who accused the socialists of having disseminated statements in which the candidate made an “express request for a vote”, which would be prohibited by the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime.
According to the writing, the content was also broadcast live through the party's website and on platforms like YouTube and X, which, in the opinion of the PP, amplified the infringement.
The JEA notes violation of the electoral regulations
In its resolution, the Electoral Board considers that Montero's words constitute an explicit request for electoral support, something prohibited outside the campaign period.
The body reminds that the law allows ordinary political activity, but establishes a clear limitation: the vote cannot be directly requested before the official start of the campaign, scheduled for May 1.
The JEA also emphasizes that the dissemination of the act on social media reinforces the scope of the infringement, since the content was reproduced entirely by the party.
Without sanction, but with clear warning
Despite acknowledging the infraction, the Electoral Board has ruled out opening disciplinary proceedings, considering that the expressions were brief within a longer event and that there are no recent precedents that guide a harsher sanction.
However, the body does order the PSOE-A to remove the fragments of the video in which the vote is requested, or, failing that, to delete the complete recording from its digital platforms.
The resolution also includes an explicit warning to Montero to refrain from making new requests for votes outside the legal period, recalling the obligation to respect the rules of electoral neutrality until the formal start of the campaign.
The PSOE-A may appeal the decision before the Central Electoral Board within a period of 24 hours.