David Bondia imposes himself on Gemma Calvet in the vote of the Barcelona Ombudsman

BarcelonaThere is now a popular verdict. The Barcelona City Council made public this Wednesday at noon the results of the citizen votes to choose the future ombudsman of the Catalan capital, in which 2,707 people participated. David Bondia won with 2,064 votes (76%), ahead of Gemma Calvet, who obtained 643 (24%). Regarding entity adhesions, Bondia had the endorsement of 25 (81%) and Calvet that of six (19%).

With these results, and barring any unforeseen plot twist, Bondia will repeat as ombudsman for a second five-year term after first being elected in 2021. Despite the voting result, the City Council's plenary session will have the final say, and will have to ratify the appointment this July. However, it is highly unlikely that the municipal groups will alter the result of the participatory process, in which all Barcelona residents registered in the city and over sixteen years of age who wished to have been able to participate. To be ratified by the plenary session, Bondia's candidacy must obtain a qualified majority of two-thirds of the councilors.

Despite being appointed by the municipal plenary, the chosen person exercises the position with independence and has the mission of supervising the actions of the City Council, attending to citizens' complaints, and formulating recommendations to improve the functioning of municipal services. The term is five years, and the regulations provide for a maximum of two consecutive appointments. This is the second time that the process of choosing the ombudsman begins with a citizen vote.

The challenge of mediation

In this way, Bondia – who is a professor of international law and an expert in human rights – will complete his second and final term at the head of the Ombudsman's Office. On the table he has the challenge of culminating some of the mediations he has open – such as those of the Papallona block and the Sant Agustí block, where a fund wants to create co-housing – and giving substance to what has been his main slogan during the campaign: the right to live well in Barcelona.

In a statement, Bondia defended that the results show support "for the work done in recent years at the head of the Ombudsman's Office". "I receive this support as a clear endorsement to continue working for an institution that is close, useful and committed to proximity human rights," he adds. Furthermore, he makes himself available to the municipal groups to meet as soon as possible to continue with the re-election process.

During the campaign debates, Calvet had opted for a change of air at the head of the institution. In his interventions, he had called for "renewing" the institution so that it would be "alive". Calvet, who is a lawyer specializing in human rights, a former deputy in the Parliament and was director of the Transparency area of the AMB for ten years, had also criticized Bondia for not sufficiently addressing the challenges of gender-based violence, equality, and linguistic rights to guarantee Catalan.