Spaniards abroad denounce “obstacles” to vote – El Universal (Venezuela)

Madrid .- In New York, Paris and Buenos Aires, hundreds of thousands of Spanish emigrants are called to demonstrate on Sunday May 24, day of regional elections in their country, to denounce “barriers” that prevent them from, say, participate in these elections, organizers said Tuesday.

Convened by Garnet Tide, a group of migrants who declared nonpartisan , “several funeral processions simulate the burial of universal suffrage” in front of consulates and embassies of Spain in 23 cities in Europe, America and Africa, announced in a statement, AFP reported.

Your objective:” to report administrative burdens imposed by the organic law of the general electoral system, adopted in late 2010 “under the previous socialist government

With the official order to avoid fraud, it imposed the so-called” prayed vote “, which forces migrants to apply for early voting before a certain deadline. For the elections on Sunday, seen as a test for the legislative end of the year, ended April 25.

“In practice it has served to dramatically reduce voter turnout” Garnet Tide complaint.

is “an obstacle to economic migrants and exiles, many of them young people who would like to be in our country, who want to take responsibility for the future of this country and not are left, “reported the deputy Gaspar Llamazares, of ecolo-communist United Left (IU) coalition in April requesting the intervention of the Central Electoral Board.

According to Interior Ministry data, 31.74% of Spaniards living abroad voted in the legislative elections of March 2008. In November 2011 did 4.95%.

Some 1.83 million people were registered on the electoral register of Spaniards resident abroad (CERA) in early April.

In response, the Board recognized that there are “difficulties for the effectiveness of the receipt in good time of the vote of the electors registered in the CERA” because of the deadlines set by law.

Garnet Tide nevertheless considers that the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy “is intentionally trying to discourage electoral participation of migrants” with a “restrictive interpretation”.

executive “perhaps afraid that with all the people who had to leave Spain due to the economic crisis there is a punishment vote,” said a source UI.