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Date Published: 23/05/2023

Nine arrested in Melilla for vote rigging ahead of May 28 elections

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The criminal operation purchased postal votes in the Spanish autonomous city

People in Spain will head to the polls on Sunday May 28 to elect more than 8,000 local councils and 12 regional governments and as the fateful day draws near, the dodgy dealings have already begun.

In the autonomous city of Melilla, which borders Morocco in northern Africa, police arrested at least nine people and searched 11 properties at dawn on Tuesday May 23 in relation to vote tampering. According to National Police sources, the criminal gang had targeted vulnerable and low-income individuals and paid them for their postal votes.

In Melilla, the Electoral Law does not require personal identification when casting votes at a Post Office so, if it had been successful, the plot would likely have seriously altered the outcome of the election.

During the raids, officers uncovered large amounts of cash and numerous electoral documents ready to be cast at the Post Office.

So far, none of the detainees are political figures or directly involved in the municipal elections; all of the arrested suspects are members of various criminal gangs dedicated to trafficking drugs. Most are from Melilla although a few of the operators are Moroccan.

In addition to Tuesday’s arrests, two weeks ago at least five assaults on postmen were reported, with the attackers trying to steal electoral papers. As a result, the Electoral Board wanted to demand identity documents from postal voters but the measure was opposed by leader of the Coalición por Melilla (CpM) party, Mustafá Aberchán, who in the past was convicted of irregular practices.

Nevertheless, the proposal was implemented, which forced the criminal gangs to travel to mainland Spain to try and deposit their fraudulent votes. Since then, Post Offices are required to ask for ID if the destination of the deposited postal vote is a Melilla polling station.

In other news: Low Emission Zones put on hold until after Spanish elections

Image: Pixabay

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