The Popular Party of Lanzarote and La Graciosa has demanded "responsibilities" from the island's PSOE and has publicly announced that it will request a legal report from the Cabildo de Lanzarote on the awarding of the printing framework agreement for the Centers of Art, Culture, and Tourism (CACT) in 2020, which went to a reprography company in which socialist councilor Ariagona González held a 15% stake.
This public statement comes to light the same week that it has been revealed that the party chaired by María Jesús Tovar has three public fronts open: one for the hiring of the son of the already former councilor of the Centers of Art, Culture, and Tourism Ángel Vázquez (PP) as a dishwasher in the public entity; another for the signature of the mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León (PP), in the decree that temporarily promoted his brother as an officer of the Local Police; and a third for the participation of the councilor for Human Resources of Arrecife, Eli Merino, in the hiring pool for multiple services operators in which her brother was selected.
The socialist spokesperson owns 10% of the company Distribuciones Lanzarote SL and 15% of Centro de Reprografía Lanzarote SL, as reflected in her asset declaration as an elected councilor in 2023. Furthermore, this latter company is shared with her brother and socialist party councilor in Arrecife, José Antonio González.
Said company, Centro de Reprografía Lanzarote S.L., was awarded all six lots of the framework agreement for the Centers of Art, Culture, and Tourism in 2020 - five shared with other companies and one as the sole awarded company - with the socialist Benjamín Perdomo being the CEO of the CACT and Ariagona González being a councilor in the Governing Group, with responsibilities in the areas of Energy and Industry.
The Popular Party has stated that the Cabildo de Lanzarote, currently governed by Coalición Canaria and the PP, must clarify "whether or not there was a prohibition on carrying out this contract." Furthermore, the popular party's request also extends to making public all files in which the company has participated, as well as the amounts actually invoiced and paid.
What the law says and why there might be an incompatibility
The formation chaired by María Jesús Tovar argues that the possible incompatibility lies in article 201.8 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) which sets out the incompatibility regime for Cabildo councillors. Among them, article 203, which contemplates contracts financed by the corporation or its dependent establishments. In addition to article 71.1 of the Public Sector Contracts Law, which extends the prohibition of contracting to companies in which elected officials hold shares, under the legally established terms and amounts.
Likewise, the State Public Procurement Consultative Board, in its file 44/2021 on the prohibition of contracting for public officials, clarifies that "the prohibition extends to companies or commercial entities in which they hold a stake of more than 10% or hold administrative positions", something that for the PP is "even more noteworthy" because Ariagona González held government positions between 2019 and 2023 in the Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
"Although it is true that this report refers to councilors and not specifically to island councilors, it constitutes interpretive support for arguing that Ariagona's 15% stake could determine the prohibition of the company contracting with EPEL-CACT," the party has insisted.
The report also states that it is irrelevant whether the elected official "belongs to the government or the opposition and whether another body of the corporation awards the contract". Thus, they have assured that "with the aim of clarifying what happened and without intending to make accusations without having all the information and the account provided by the councilor herself, a situation that has not occurred when the PSOE has reported some type of procedure against the Popular Party, the Lanzaroteño Popular Party demands a clear, forceful, and clarifying explanation from the PSOE".
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