PHOTOS: Natascha González
To the cry of "¡Somos Lanzarote, Somos Lanzarote, Somos Lanzarote, oé, oé, oé!". Thus, in a plethoric atmosphere, the candidacy of popular unity Somos Lanzarote, which has been one of the great winners of this election night, closed the night. The party that includes Alternativa Ciudadana and other left-wing formations on the island has managed to overcome the polls and has obtained 2 councilors in the Cabildo, becoming one of the surprises of this 24-M.
The joy has been more contained at the Podemos meeting point in Arrecife, where the candidates were late, although there was no shortage of hugs and congratulations. In fact, they had reasons to celebrate, since the party has become the third force on the island, both in the votes to the Cabildo and to the Parliament of the Canary Islands (in the archipelago as a whole it has remained as the fourth force). The pull that Ciudadanos seemed to have, however, has deflated. And it is that although in Lanzarote it has achieved representation in the Cabildo and in Arrecife, it has been left out of the Regional Chamber.
The biggest party was experienced at the headquarters of Alternativa Ciudadana in Arrecife, which has become throughout the night an incessant trickle of candidates, militants and supporters of Somos Lanzarote, who were received with cheers by their colleagues upon arrival. The night has been 'in crescendo' for the formation, as they were obtaining councilors. Each new information was received with emotion. And in addition to the two councilors in the Cabildo (the last survey predicted one and the previous ones did not even grant them representation), they have obtained 3 councilors in Arrecife (compared to the 2 that AC held in the recently completed legislature), another 2 in San Bartolomé (where AC did not obtain representation in 2011), 2 in Haría (nor had they obtained representation there) and 2 councilors in Teguise (where they also did not occupy any seat in the Plenary).
"We posed these elections as a challenge and we have overcome it with flying colors," commented Borja Rubio, head of the list of the formation to the City Council of Arrecife. Along with him, Coralia Lobato and Andrés Medina will also be councilors in the capital Consistory. In the Cabildo, Tomás López will be this legislature and also Mary Paz Cabrera, who has already been a councilor throughout this term under the acronym of AC.
The candidate for San Bartolomé, Paula Corujo, could not contain her tears when she was cheered by all her party colleagues upon arriving at the headquarters. There was also no shortage of chants when Omayra Díaz, head of the list for Teguise, and Ayoze Callero, her number two, entered. "We have grown in almost all the municipalities in which we have presented ourselves; and that is a great achievement," summarized Borja Rubio.
Precisely in these two municipalities, where Ganemos Lanzarote did not compete, there has been another surprise. This is Izquierda Unida, which in these elections was presented as the Canarias Decide coalition and which in both San Bartolomé and Teguise has achieved a councilor. The formation did not have representation during this legislature in any of these consistories and, in fact, it does not usually obtain representatives on the island.
Podemos, third force on the island and fourth in the Canary Islands
In the case of Podemos, euphoria was also palpable in the environment. With more than 12 percent of the votes to the Cabildo, this formation that crystallized just a year ago has become the third political force in Lanzarote. Podemos has achieved 3 councilors, reaching almost 5,700 votes. It has only been surpassed by Coalición Canaria and the Socialist Party, but it has prevailed over the Partido Popular. In addition, the head of the list for Lanzarote to the Parliament of the Canary Islands, María del Río, has also been elected.
In light of these data, when the head of the list to the Corporation Carlos Meca arrived at the Porcus bar in Arrecife he was received with effusive hugs. The clock was already past one in the morning, but militants from the different Podemos circles on the island and also from Ganemos, the confluence with members of Podemos who aspired to three City Councils, were waiting there. "Happy, we are very happy," said Meca upon his arrival, especially emphasizing the positive result considering the short life of the party.
They have been received melting into hugs, but also absorbed in front of the screen, attentive to every detail of what was happening on the other islands. Unlike Somos Lanzarote, which is of insular scope, Podemos competed in these elections in all the islands of the archipelago and, already in the early morning, was disputing the third position in the Parliament of the Canary Islands. Finally, with more than 14.5 percent of the votes, it has been the fourth force and has achieved 7 regional deputies. Ahead was the Partido Popular, which with 18.6 percent of the votes, has won 12 parliamentarians, compared to the 15 of the socialists and the 18 of Coalición Canaria.
Ganemos and Somos Lanzarote, an alliance that could not be
One of the people who received Carlos Meca exuberantly was Leticia Padilla. She, for her part, also had reasons to celebrate. The list of Ganemos Lanzarote, which she led in Arrecife, has obtained 2 councilors in the city. It has also achieved representation in the other two Consistories to which it competed, Tías and Yaiza, with a councilor in each of them.
For Padilla, it is especially relevant that the party, which brings together members of Podemos, independent citizens and social groups, "did not exist 3 months ago" and that it competed alone and with a very low budget. "If I'm honest, I was happy with one (councilor)!" she said surprised.
The fact of having gone alone has been precisely one of the issues commented on in the party headquarters this election night. Somos Lanzarote and Ganemos held conversations with the hope of allying, but, according to Padilla herself, "it could not be". "If we had gone together, we would have swept," several Somos supporters affirmed in a huddle at the door of their headquarters. The head of the Ganemos list later gave them the reason. "It's true. Of course, now you look at it in perspective and think that perhaps we shouldn't have been so tough with the red lines, etcetera. But it's over. Now we have to look at how we can work together; and I'm sure we will."
Ciudadanos enters the Cabildo, but is left out of Parliament
Another of the promises for these municipal and autonomous elections was Ciudadanos. The polls predicted that Albert Rivera's formation would have a councilor in Lanzarote, where he presented candidacies to the Cabildo, the Parliament and the City Council of Arrecife. Finally, the party has managed to get a councilor in the Cabildo and, with 5.3 percent of the votes, Benjamín Perdomo will become part of the new Corporation. The party will also have representation in the City Council of Arrecife, where it has obtained 2 councilors with more than 1,000 votes in its favor and about 6 percent of the votes.
But the surveys also predicted for the Catalan formation between 5 and 6 regional deputies, with between 9 and 10 percent of the votes. However, and despite obtaining 53,000 votes, Ciudadanos has been left without representation in the Parliament of the Canary Islands and neither Melisa Rodríguez nor any of those who were on her list to the Regional Chamber will finally become parliamentarians. That bucket of cold water is probably the reason why in the party headquarters in Arrecife there was more stillness and long faces at the end of the intense vote count.
