Local Elections in May 2011 for Arona & Adeje in Tenerife

Make your mark and vote on 22^nd May 2011

Canarian President Paulino Rivero has signed the formal announcement for the local elections that are to take place on 22^nd May 2011. As an Expat and citizen of the European Union you have the right to vote in Spain…If you haven’t already registered to vote, here is what to do:

Get registered:

Drop into your local Municipality. Ask for an Empadronado, as completing this will officially register you locally in your town. Once you have registered you should automatically receive a voting document through the post…on voting day take this, along with Identification to the polling station as they will both be required to vote. (There is a small fee for a Padron…you may already hold one of these but they do run out of date so be sure it’s up to date with your current address)

Procedure:

If you haven’t voted here before, once you enter your local polling station, you will need to go to the official’s desk…produce your voting card and ID. They will look up your name, mark that you have voted…then they will either give you the candidate slips or they will direct you to a booth where you collect the candidates slips inside. You will then go back to the Officials desk and drop your completed slips into the voting box…that’s all there is to it! (Some stations may vary slightly on systems of voting)

Your local Polling station will be indicated on your voting card although normally the local school or college is used for the days voting…The list of polling stations and polling station officials in each province will also be published from the 12 May 2011 in the respective town councils.

Postal Votes:

If you are going away and therefore expect to be off the island and unable to vote, you can still vote by post up until the 12^th May: Firstly, go to your local Postal Office… you will need to be registered, show your ID, NIE or Passport, then the staff will check you are on the list. Once confirmed you will sign a form and you will be sent voting documents through the post to complete.

Parties:

In Tenerife, there are small local parties to compete with the nationally represented socialist PSOE and the conservative PP, such as the UCD, CDS & CC.

The current Mayors of Arona and Adeje:

CC Party Arona - Mayor - José Alberto González Reverón - Place of Residence: Buzanada. A Lawyer in Geography and History. Previously: Director of a Banking Organization

PSOE Party Adeje – Mayor - José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga - Born 1947 in Vilaflor. He is married and he has three children. Now resides in Adeje.

You can check in Arona and Adeje if you are on the census and where you need to go to vote:

http://www.ayuntamientodeadeje.es/consultacenso2011.asp

http://www.arona.org/portal/fdes_d4_v1.jsp?contenido=34160&tipo=6&nivel=1400

According to the Institute of National Statistics in Spain: The number of foreign voters registered to vote in Adeje and Arona for the municipal elections of 22 May 2011 are:

ADEJE	1,686
ARONA	4,074

The elections are your opportunity to have your say in who makes the decisions about public services in your area, and an opportunity for non-Spanish residents to take part in the democratic process. Because there are so many expats with a right to vote living here in Tenerife, you are in a majority and your vote really can make a difference!

The current President of the Canary Islands: Paulino Rivero Baute (born 11 February 1952; El Sauzal, Tenerife, Spain) is a Spanish politician and teacher. A member of the Canarian Coalition, he is the current President of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Prior to his career in politics, Rivero was a primary school teacher; he received his diploma from the University of La Laguna.

Did you know:

• In Spain there are 8,112 mayors, 65,896 councillors, 1,206 autonomous members of parliament, 1,301 provincial deputies, 650 deputies and senators and 139 persons with responsibilities to a Cabildo and/or insular councils.

• Politicians fined by the Dirección del Tráfico for infringements of the Code are permitted to use public money for payment of the fine.

• Rodríguez Zapatero is the only president within the EU permitted to charge his holiday expenses to the public purse. He travels with a suite of 100 persons, for 3 weeks

Adeje Facts:

Adeje was one of the last territories to be incorporated into the crown of Castilla in 1496. It became an important centre for the early Spanish colonialists, and there are numerous historic buildings in the town dating as far back as 1555.

Arona Facts:

The borough covers an area of 81.79 square kilometres comprising 4% of the island's area. The economy until the twentieth century was based on fishing and agriculture including cochineal, bananas and cattle. There was also a small quarry in the fishing village of Los Cristianos in the nineteenth century.