axarquía
José Luis Navas was given a year in prison and a nine-year ban on holding office for an illegal licence
11.12.09 - 17:32 -
After last week’s planning corruption conviction, the mayor of Sayalonga, José Luis Navas (PSOE), announced that he would be standing down from his position even though the sentence is not yet final. However, after two demonstrations in his favour by the local people and even a general strike in the village Navas announced on Tuesday that he would consider staying at the helm of the Town Hall at least for the time being.
“I cannot let down, or underestimate, the voice of my neighbours”, he said on Monday after 500 people downed tools to show their support for their mayor and ask him not to go.
The Malaga court found Navas guilty of planning corruption for granting permission for the construction of an illegal property in a rural area. He was sentenced to a year in prison and a nine-year ban on holding public office. The sentence will not be final, however, until his appeal has been heard.
Navas claimed that he was “totally overwhelmed” by the events of the last week. “The most important thing for me is my family, my wife and my 16 year old son, who have asked me to give up now”, he told SUR, admitting that if he did stay on it would be “just for a few days or a few months at the most”.
Nevertheless the local people clearly don’t want to see him go, waving placards that read everything from “Our mayor is not corrupt” to “This is not Marbella”. Other mayors from the Axarquía district took part in Monday’s demonstration. They were mainly from Navas’s own party, the PSOE, as well as the PP mayor of Canillas de Albaida.
Navas pointed out that the rest of the local councillors (six PSOE, one PP and one PA) had even considered giving up their seats on the council as a demonstration of solidarity, leaving the Town Hall is the hands of a commission.
A new demonstration has been called for Monday, November 23rd.
