No-confidence motion against Serranía de Ronda mayor rejected due to PSOE councillors' absence

The motion of no-confidence presented by Benaoján's four PSOE councillors and one PP councillor against the PP mayor of this small town in the Serranía de Ronda, Guillermo Becerra, was rejected at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the council held early this Wednesday afternoon. Neither the socialist representatives nor the 'turncoat' councillor were in attendance. The motion was rejected with the four votes of the current governing team, made up of the PP and the local, independent party of Agrupación Progresista de Benaoján (APB), so the PP gets to hold onto its mayor in this corner of the Serranía de Ronda.

The EGM was held in Knittlingen square in Benaoján, so named for being twinned with the German town of that name. The session lasted barely three minutes, mostly due to the limited number of attendees allowed in for security reasons. The municipal secretary took the floor to remind all attending that the motion was presented on 16th July last, signed by the absolute majority of the four socialist councillors and the PP councillor José Antonio García Delgado, against whom the PP has opened an expulsion procedure. This Wednesday morning, the local PSOE group presented a letter withdrawing the motion and its candidacy for mayor, Soraya García Mesa.

Given this situation, Gómez explained that it was up to the most senior by age of those present at the meeting to decide whether or not to continue with the debate on the motion of censure. This is in accordance with the need for such a meeting to be chaired by the oldest councillor, in this case, former mayor and APB leader Francisco Gómez. He stated that the meeting should still go ahead because he "is not above the law and the law says that the plenary is called and duly held."

Following this declaration and given the non-appearance of the socialist councillors, to whom Gómez was unable to give the floor, a vote was taken on the motion of no-confidence. No votes were cast in favour and four votes against, resulting in its rejection. Guillermo Becerra was subsequently proclaimed as continuing in the post of mayor and the session was adjourned.

Becerra was surrounded by support from his party, including Andalusian MPs Francisco Oblaré and Daniel Castilla, provincial deputy Mari Carmen Martínez and neighbouring PP mayors Pedro Godino (Gaucín), Silvestre Barroso (Benarrabá), Diego Sánchez (Montejaque), Francisco Lozano (Júzcar), María Dolores Bullón (Alpandeire), Isabel María Jiménez (Cartajima) and José María Rodríguez (Yunquera).

For her part, Soraya Garcia Mesa said that the PSOE is considering taking the vote on the motion to court, believing that it should not have been held because the requirements were not met, given that the socialists had withdrawn it and were not presenting their candidacy for the mayor's office.

Based on this and on the fact that they wanted to prioritise and protect the health and well-being of the PP councillor who had supported PSOE's motion (the socialists claimed he had been "pressured"), she justified her absence from the EGM.

Guillermo Becerra told SUR that these past few days have been "very bad" and have been "unpleasant days, because there was no reason to get into this situation and to talk about Benaoján for these reasons." He added: "Tonight I will be able to sleep peacefully."

As to what will happen with PP councillor José Antonio García Delgado, Becerra announced that they will reach out to him because "everyone has the right to make mistakes." He continued: "He was in the wrong, but we will talk to him and then decide based on whatever he decides. It's no good beating a dead horse."

The mayor of Benaoján did not want to comment on the absence of the socialist councillors who initially presented the motion and then requested its withdrawal. "I'm not going to comment on that, it's a matter for them," he stated, adding that if the PSOE takes the EGM to court, he will attend court with his own legal counsel.

"Starting today, we will continue with what we have been doing for the last two years," said the mayor.