The Central Electoral Board (JEC) decided this Thursday not to initiate a new sanctioning file against the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, for the statements he made on October 15 and 16 during the European Council held in Brussels. The body understands that there are not sufficient elements to open a procedure, although it expressly reminds him that he must respect the duty of political neutrality throughout the electoral period prior to the general elections on November 29.
In its resolution, the JEC dismisses two complaints filed by the PP against Sánchez, in which it was requested that the violation of article 50.2 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) be declared, that the mentioned interventions be removed from institutional channels, and that a sanctioning file be initiated.
On October 15, in Brussels, the head of the Executive sent a message of "calm" to pensioners about the sustainability of the public system, reiterated the Government's willingness to revalue pensions according to the CPI before the end of the year, as established by law, and accused the PP and Vox of endangering said benefits.
On that same day, when questioned by the media about a possible joint candidacy with other leftist forces for the Senate, Sánchez stated that the PSOE was not satisfied with winning in Congress and achieving a "broader and more progressive" majority in the next legislature, but also intended to prevail in the Upper House.
In the appearance following the European Council, on October 16, Sánchez declared himself "optimistic" and "encouraged" about the upcoming elections and maintained that, "if it is not one way, then it will be another," the "path of progress" initiated by his Government eight years ago "will continue for four more years."
The JEC sees expressions at the limit but without sanction
According to the resolution reported by Europa Press, the JEC appreciates that the statements made on October 15 went beyond a mere objective exposition of the issues discussed at the European Council. However, it takes into account that they occurred in an informal meeting with journalists and that it has not been sufficiently proven that it was an act organized or funded by public authorities.
For this reason, although the agency understands that some of these expressions are "hardly reconcilable with the demands of institutional neutrality," it concludes that it is not appropriate to initiate a sanctioning file in this case.
Regarding the statements made on the 16th, the JEC admits that the press conference at the headquarters of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the European Union had an institutional character and was conducted with public resources. During that appearance, Sánchez defended the results of his migration policy, criticized the positions of the far-right, and stated that it was "very necessary" to have a "progressive government in Spain."
The electoral arbiter considers that this last statement is "on the edge of what is acceptable" from the perspective of institutional neutrality, as it introduces judgments of a partisan nature in an official appearance with public media. Despite this, it believes that the set of statements lacks sufficient substance to justify the opening of a sanctioning procedure.
Consequently, the JEC agrees to archive the two complaints from the PP, but takes the opportunity to remind Sánchez that he must "observe the duty of political neutrality required of public authorities and refrain from making statements contrary to article 50.2 of the LOREG in institutional acts."
Background and other archived complaints
A week ago, the JEC had already agreed to initiate a file that could lead to a sanction for the press conference that Sánchez held at Moncloa on October 6, after the Council of Ministers approved two housing decree laws that Congress had repealed days earlier.
The agency has been consolidating a doctrine, based on article 50 of the LOREG, that obliges public authorities to maintain neutrality during electoral periods, from the call for elections to the voting day, and that prohibits the use of institutional resources to disseminate propaganda or messages of a partisan nature. In this context, the president already has five sanctioning files from the JEC, four of which have resulted in fines.
In the same session, the JEC decided to archive a complaint from Vox against the PSOE for a message disseminated from the Moncloa account on the social network X, in which the measures of the housing law decree were detailed. In the opinion of the body, "it is not possible to appreciate, as a whole, the electoralist connotations that characterize the prohibition of article 50.2 of the LOREG, since the published message does not exceed the scope of the objective exposition of the agreements adopted by the Council of Ministers and does not imply a reference to the achievements of governmental action".
In another resolution, the JEC partially upholds a complaint from the PP against the socialist deputy Víctor Ruiz de Diego and orders him to remove from his social networks a message in which he modified the slogan of the 'popular' and attributed to Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party measures such as the cut in pensions. However, also in this case, the body rejects opening a sanctioning file against him.