The Central Electoral Board has approved this afternoon to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Félix Tezanos, the president of the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), for not having previously informed, even by the urgent procedure, that this public body dependent on the Ministry of the Presidency intended to carry out a survey on the period of reflection that the president, Pedro Sánchez, took regarding his continuity in the face of the harassment suffered by his wife, Begoña Gómez. The case and possible sanctions, which could range from 3,000 to 30,000 euros, are not for conducting the survey or the type of questions asked, which have been highly criticized.
The JEC agreed last January, unanimously among its members, to draft an instruction following a previous complaint from the PP to clarify the behavior that the CIS, and other public opinion research institutes located in some autonomous communities, should adopt regarding the preparation of surveys, especially regarding the disclosure of their results during election campaigns. The JEC immediately ordered, a measure that was already implemented during the elections in Galicia, that all these organizations and public opinion research institutes must inform them when they conduct electoral surveys and provide the data from these coveted surveys to any party that requests them, even during the campaign period.
The current case against Tezanos is based on the modified stipulation in article 69.8 of the organic law of the electoral regime (LOREG), which in the case of surveys raises possible sanctions to a range between 3,000 and 30,000 euros. The case has now begun and has three months to be completed, with the affected party being able to file an appeal or admit guilt, in which case the sanction could be reduced by up to 40%. The 12 present members of the JEC (excluding the absent president who was traveling) unanimously accepted the infringement against Tezanos, although there were abstentions regarding the need to open a case.
Additionally, the JEC has also accepted another complaint from the PP, ERC, and Ciudadanos against the interview conducted with President Pedro Sánchez on Monday night on the news program, demanding that RTVE compensate other parties and candidates in the Catalan elections who request an interview in a similar format and time slot. This decision has been urgently communicated to RTVE due to the timing of the election campaign entering its final phase, with parties deciding which candidates will participate in the interview.
The JEC has dismissed the appeal filed by the PP and ERC against the institutional statement made by Pedro Sánchez last Monday, in which he announced that he will continue to lead the government following his period of reflection. The CIS has issued a statement claiming they were not notified about the content of the proceedings and defending themselves by stating that the survey did not include questions about the upcoming elections in Catalonia on May 12th or the European elections on June 9th, therefore not violating electoral legislation. They argue that the survey was conducted due to the “special situation” of Sánchez’s announcement, which they consider to be of significant political and social relevance.
