against MadridThe labour law reform has been approved in Parliament with an added touch of poetry and confusion. In fact, the Bureau is studying an PP MP's vote to establish whether an error occurred during the count. Topping the intrigue of the last few days, during the vote all alarms went off. Speaker Meritxell Batet announced that the decree had been repealed, despite announcing a very tight vote of 175 votes in favour to 174 against. The faces of president Pedro Sánchez and vice-presidents Nadia Calviño and Yolanda Díaz were an absolute sight. The right-wing benches celebrated, but moments later Batet corrected herself: "The chamber's services inform me that the royal decree is validated". The session was adjourned with shouts of "it's been rigged!" from the right-wing bench.
Controversial approval of the labour reform
The labour law reform has been approved with the support of Cs, PDECat and other minority parties. One of them was meant to be Unión del Pueblo Navarro, but its two MPs, Carlos García Adanero and Sergio Sayas, went against the whip. Knowing that the balance was theoretically 176 to 173 –this Wednesday the president of the party announced that UPN would vote favourably–, they have sought to defeat the bill. The fact that it has finally been approved means that a member of parliament who theoretically had to vote against it changed their vote. This was PP MP Alberto Casero. PP spokeswoman in Parliament, Cuca Gamarra, asked to speak to inform Batet that before the vote was transferred to the Bureau a "computer error" occurred, but the Speaker did not grant her the floor. Casero voted telematically and it was definitive.
However, the PP complains that, in reality, Casero had voted against the reform and yet the voting certificate showed a favourable vote. The parliamentary group has brought "the anomaly" to the attention of the Bureau and Nureau member Ana Pastor informed Batet. She was informed prior to the start of the presential vote, the PP specifies. "[The Speaker] was aware that there was an anomaly with the vote cast by a member of the chamber. And it has decided to go ahead with the vote," denounced the spokeswoman for the conservatives, Cuca Gamarra, in an appearance before the media.
Gamarra has also explained that Casero went to the lower house and was prevented from entering. The PP is going to appeal to the Supreme Court to reppeal the bill.
UPN asks the two critical deputies to return the deed
The two dissenting Unión del Pueblo Navarro (UPN) MPs Sergio Sayas and Carlos García, who ended up voting against the labour law, will be thrown out of the party, because of "taking a decision contrary to party bodies," the party leadership said in a statement Thursday. "Among the values [of the party] is not to break one's word," says UPN, which labels the attitude of Sayas and Garcia of "disloyal to voters, affiliates and party bodies."
Sayas and García announced their decision via Twitter and at the exit of the vote have defended that they have "strictly complied" with the party statutes and that they did not fear future sanctions. "We have not breached the mandate of the Executive Committee," Sayas reiterated. UPN decided to vote in favour of the reform after reaching an agreement with the socialist municipal group of the City Council of Pamplona (Navarra) not to reprove mayor Enrique Maya (Navarra Suma) for his statements regarding alleged crimes of unaccompanied minors. Núria Rius Montaner reports.
