Around 27,000 foreigners eligible to vote in Malaga’s municipal elections

According to official data from the Electoral Census Office, about 27,000 foreigners residing in the province of Malaga will be eligible to vote in the municipal elections this Sunday, May 28.

An estimated total of 1,204,000 people will be able to exercise their right to vote according to data consulted by Europa Press and reported by malagahoy.es.

Specifically, 1,177,451 citizens can participate in tomorrow’s polls to elect their municipal representatives in Malaga. That represents an increase of 2.32 per cent compared to the last local elections held in 2019. Of this number, 1,177,451 are Spanish residents in the province.

Of the 26,750 foreigners eligible to vote, 26,329 are EU citizens. The remaining 421 belong to eleven countries that have a reciprocal agreement with Spain. These include Iceland, Norway, Cape Verde, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and New Zealand.

With this number of foreign voters entitled to vote in municipal elections, the province of Malaga leads the regional ranking, followed by Almería, with 12,844, and Huelva, with 6,879.

Between them, they will be able to play a part in electing 1,215 councillors in 103 municipalities from among the 400 proclaimed candidacies.

A total of 65,068 will be able to exercise their right to vote for the first time in a municipal election because they have turned 18 years old since the previous vote on 26 May 2019.

The 103 municipalities of Malaga will have a total of 600 polling stations this Sunday where there will be 1,734 polling stations made up of 5,202 members.

In order to guarantee the security of citizens and democratic normality during election day, an operation made up of 3,548 policemen will be deployed in the province of Malaga.

Specifically, this will include 1,807 members of the National Police Force, 1,506 Guardia Civil, and 235 from the Local Police.

Voters can identify themselves at the polling stations tomorrow for the first time by using the digital version of their driving licence, through the ‘app’ called ‘MiDGT’.

Other valid identification documents are the DNI, passport, physical driving licence, residence card (in the case of EU citizens), and foreign identity card for nationals of countries with reciprocity treaties.

A new pilot system of accessible signage has also been incorporated into these elections to guarantee the exercise of the right to vote for citizens with some type of cognitive disability.

New accessible signage has been added to the existing polling stations and local signage, which includes polling station models, electoral roll, timetable, steps to vote, polling booth and its use, along with information on how to show your ID at the polling station and exit.

It is completed with a guide to the installation of easy-to-read signs and a leaflet with advice on how to guarantee accessibility, as well as maintaining the easy-to-read adaptation of the polling station manual.

Blind or visually impaired people can use the accessible voting procedure using the so-called ‘Braille kit’ which includes all the necessary material to guarantee these people total confidentiality in voting.