The investiture session began at midday sharp in the council chamber of Manilva Town Hall and, as we announced yesterday, the forecasts proved correct: José Manuel Fernández of the Partido Popular has been proclaimed mayor for the next 4 years. He obtained 9 votes: those of his 4 councillors, together with councillor Antonio Marín of VOX and the 4 votes of the Izquierda Unida councillors, gave Fernández the majority over the other candidate, Mario Jiménez of Compromiso, who finished on 8 votes, made up of his 5 councillors plus the 3 from the PSOE, which kept to the agreement it signed last week until the last moment.
In front of a packed chamber, the council meeting began with the reading of the proclamation record of the elected councillors, followed by the formation of an Age Committee made up of the oldest and youngest councillors. The president of the committee, as the oldest councillor, was the mayor-elect José Manuel Fernández himself, with Gema María Zotano Galán as the youngest.
All the councillors who make up the municipal Corporation promised or swore to faithfully fulfil the duties of their office, with loyalty to the King, and to uphold and ensure respect for the Constitution as the Fundamental Law of the State.
Next, after two candidates put themselves forward (José Manuel Fernández for the PP and Mario Jiménez for Compromiso), a vote was held by show of hands. The council meeting gave the majority to Fernández, who took possession of the symbols of office and again swore before the Constitution to faithfully fulfil the duties of his office, now as mayor, with loyalty to the King, and to uphold and ensure respect for the Constitution as the Fundamental Law of the State.
The governing team will be made up of the councillors, until now of Izquierda Unida, Gema Zotano, Agustín Vargas, Rogelio Pascual and Juan Carlos Morejón, together with the PP councillors Noelia Muñoz, Dean Tyler, Josefa Gómez and José Manuel Fernández himself. According to information obtained by this newsroom, the VOX candidate will not join the governing team, and will remain in opposition, but is willing to back with his vote any project or matter that brings prosperity and benefits the interests of the municipality.
Immediately afterwards, Fernández, now as mayor, thanked his family, his colleagues and the councillors whose votes have placed him in the mayor’s office, and went on to outline his working objectives, extending a hand to the remaining councillors who will now form the opposition, made up of Francisco Becerra, Alba Jiménez, Diego José Jiménez, Eva Galindo, Daniel Muñoz, Pilar Zúñiga, Marcos Ruiz and Mario Jiménez.
