Más Madrid Abandons Assembly's Contracting Oversight Committee

The political group denounces a "veto" by the Popular Party and a "dereliction of duty" by the Chamber's Bureau due to the lack of a presidency.

Generic image of a microphone on a podium in an empty parliamentary chamber.
IA

Generic image of a microphone on a podium in an empty parliamentary chamber.

The political group Más Madrid has announced its withdrawal from the Contracting Oversight Committee of the Assembly of Madrid, citing the absence of a president since the resignation of Vox deputy Ana Cuartero in February 2024.

The decision was communicated during the session by deputy Raquel Huerta, who criticized that her group has been trying for six months to include the election of a new head on the agenda. Huerta accused the Popular Party of exercising a "veto" and the Chamber's Bureau of "dereliction of duty" for not complying with the parliamentary Regulations.

"We have been trying for six months to include the election of a new head of the committee on the agenda."

Raquel Huerta · Más Madrid Deputy
Following this protest, Más Madrid has declared that it will not participate in the committee until a new presidency is appointed, a situation they consider to have been blocked for months. The response from the Popular Party came through its spokesperson, Carlos Díaz-Pache, who recalled that the vacancy occurred after Vox left the committee's presidency.
Díaz-Pache cited Article 65.5 of the Chamber's Regulations, which states that vacancies on committee bureaus must be filled by agreement of the committee itself, at the proposal of the group to which the outgoing member belonged. He explained that the replacement will be resolved when Vox proposes a new representative and noted that the presidency of this committee, like others such as the Budget Committee, usually falls to opposition groups through parliamentary agreements.
For her part, Más Madrid spokesperson Manuela Bergerot defended her group's decision, insisting that they will not return to the committee until the PP "unblocks" the appointment of a new presidency, a situation that, according to her, the Popular Party "has been boycotting since October last year".

"The Popular Party fears that our formation will take over the leadership of the body and has tried to prevent the normal functioning of the committee."

Manuela Bergerot · Más Madrid Spokesperson
Bergerot added that the Popular Party fears Más Madrid taking over the leadership of the body and accused them of trying to impede the normal functioning of the committee, highlighting that her group has previously helped uncover various cases of alleged corruption in education and public procurement. The committee was left without a presidency after Ana Cuartero's resignation, who had for months reported difficulties in overseeing the regional Government.