The Central Electoral Board (JEC) has imposed two fines for a total value of 4,700 euros on Minister Isabel Rodríguez, government spokesperson, for "breaking" the principle of neutrality of the public powers during two press conferences after two meetings of the Council of Ministers during the pre-campaign of the regional and municipal elections of 28-M.
The Central Electoral Board has determined, in the agreements adopted by the JEC at its meeting yesterday, to impose fines of 2,500 and 2,200 euros for two files opened against it on May 3 and 10 for their statements at the press conferences of the days April 25 and May 3.
In the resolutions, the Board has determined that Rodríguez "incurred an infraction typified in article 153.1 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, for the realization of demonstrations with evaluative and electoralist content, taking advantage of the public means available to him, in his capacity as Government Spokesperson Minister.
In both agreements, the JEC has ruled that Isabel Rodríguez broke the principle of neutrality by having issued "evaluative allusions that disqualify the policies and intentions of an opposition party", specifically the Popular Party.
At the press conference on May 3, the spokeswoman assured, among other mentions of the PP, that "the purpose of the meeting is the instrumentalization of Justice as the Popular Party has been doing during this legislature." For this infraction, the JEC has decided to sanction the Minister with a fine of 2,500 euros.
During the press conference offered after the Council of Ministers on April 25, Isabel Rodríguez criticized the electoral performance of the PP and accused it, among other things, of "only criticizing the government" and "having nothing to offer Spain". . This second resolution implies a penalty of 2,200 euros to the minister spokesperson.
The Board has warned that the minister "has already been warned repeatedly on similar occasions" and that "making value assessments with an electoral connotation could be legitimate in the course of a campaign act or in the ordinary exercise of freedom of expression, but not in the performance of the institutional activity of a public authority”.
Carrying out assessments of the performance or program of other political parties, making use of public resources, during institutional acts violates article 50.2 of the LOREG, which prohibits making allusions and evaluative assessments with an electoral connotation during an election season.
After learning of the resolution of the JEC, the minister spokesperson has filed an appeal this morning to the sentences before the Supreme Court. In her writing, it is clear that in all the statements she made, she relied on freedom of expression and the citizen's right to information, recognized by the Constitution, and that it is especially transcendental in the framework of an electoral process.
