Alliance dismisses its candidate in Figueres for maintaining a romantic relationship with a 16-year-old student

BarcelonaThe governing committee of Aliança Catalana has unanimously agreed this Sunday, in a meeting held at ten in the morning, to "withdraw confidence" in Arnau Liesa as the party's candidate for Figueres City Council and to initiate the procedures for his expulsion from the formation. As reported by the party in a statement, the decision was made after learning of a "personal situation" which, it asserts, had not been previously communicated and which it considers "incompatible with the foundational principles" of the political project. The committee adds that, once the decision was communicated, Liesa "has opted to voluntarily disassociate himself from the party," a fact that the party "appreciates".

Shortly after the political party's official statement was made public, Liesa himself broke his silence through a letter he published on his social networks, in which he explains his version of events. The former candidate, born in 1995 and thirty years old, explains that a few months ago, while working as a teacher, he met a student with whom he ended up establishing "a very special personal relationship".

In his statement, Liesa emphasizes that the young woman is "over sixteen years old", a detail of vital legal importance since she is an adult who is practically half his age. With this clarification, he avoids the offense punishable by the Penal Code, which stipulates that "whoever commits acts of a sexual nature with a minor under sixteen years of age shall be punished with imprisonment from two to six years". Likewise, Liesa assures that, before formally initiating any romantic relationship, he decided to "voluntarily resign" from his job as a teacher "before the start of the second semester" to act with "coherence and responsibility".

The former candidate details that he has maintained this relationship since the end of January, that it has been public in his closest circle, and openly defines it as: "The love story of my life". However, Liesa admits that he made a mistake by hiding it from the party leadership: "I did not inform the party. I did not sufficiently appreciate that this circumstance could end up affecting its public image and cause harm to an organization".

For all these reasons, accepting the resolution adopted by the committee, Liesa has announced his resignation from the Figueres candidacy and from all his organic positions within the party. Finally, he thanked them for their trust during this time and emphasized that, despite the political and personal cost it has entailed, if he had to choose again, he "would make exactly the same decision" regarding his partner.