socialist deputy in the Madrid Assembly, has seen the criminal case opened against her for the alleged commission of an electoral crime provisionally archived, after having published a message on the social network Facebook asking to vote for the PSOE on June 9, 2024, the day on which the last elections were held. The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has concluded that the events do not reach the necessary seriousness to have criminal relevance, although it has sent the file to the Central Electoral Board to assess whether there could have been an administrative infraction.
The resolution puts an end, at least through criminal means, to a case that has been surrounded by controversy since its beginning. In September, the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSJM accepted a complaint against Morales for an alleged electoral crime, despite the express opposition of the Prosecutor’s Office, which considered that the reported conduct lacked sufficient substance and should be treated, where appropriate, as an administrative offense within the jurisdiction of the electoral authority.
This controversy begins on June 9, 2024, when the socialist deputy posted an image on her Facebook profile in which she was seen voting. “Today,” he wrote next to the photograph, “#VotaPSOE.” The case has generated debate. First, due to the existence of a similar incident carried out by the PP counselor. That same day, she also published on the social network
Second, because the Prosecutor’s Office defended from the beginning that no criminal case should be opened. Third, because in September one of the judges issued a dissenting vote supporting that position. And, finally, because the notification to Morales was delivered visibly at the entrance to the Assembly, an unusual procedure, since normally it would have been received by his attorney.
The socialist deputy received in November 2024 in the regional Parliament, just before the beginning of the plenary session, the communication that the TSJM was initiating proceedings that affected her after accepting a complaint for the alleged commission of an electoral crime. The complaint maintained that this message constituted an act of propaganda prohibited by the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (Loreg), as it was disseminated outside the legal campaign period.
“I am very happy, I feel very relieved. I have always trusted in justice, I think that the TSJM has much more relevant cases than mine. This procedure, which has been quite long, has meant pain and anguish for my family, especially for my parents. It is not pleasant to appear in the media as an accused,” Morales expresses after thanking the Prosecutor’s Office for its position. He claims to have felt vulnerable. “The PP counselor did not have any type of reproach,” he insists. Now, she is willing to abide by what the Central Electoral Board deems appropriate. “An administrative sanction is not the same as a crime,” he says after addressing the importance of being able to close a chapter that has marked his life in recent months.
That Morales’ case has reached the courts while Albert’s has not is due to the fact that the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSJM decided to admit the complaint against the socialist policy, which has stood out for its complaints about the poor quality of the food in these centers, for processing. When the case was admitted for processing, the majority of the court argued that, “due to its content, the condition of the sending subject and the medium used”, the message could have the potential to capture the vote that made it impossible to rule out from the outset its possible criminal relevance.
“There is not the slightest doubt that we are facing the most prototypical act of electoral propaganda,” that order stated. For this reason, the TSJM asked the Civil Guard to certify the veracity of the publication of Morales’ message on Facebook, and to determine “its sender, dissemination and content, as well as the functionality of the hashtags or labels that appear linked.” However, after the investigation, the court has ended up assuming the criteria of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which from the beginning maintained that the publication lacked the real capacity to force or seriously divert the will of the voters, a key requirement for it to exist.
The court emphasizes that criminal law should be reserved for the most serious conduct and that, in this case, the dissemination of the message on a social network was not sufficient to significantly affect the electoral process. Finally, the TSJM has agreed to the provisional dismissal of the criminal proceedings and has ordered the file to be sent to the Central Electoral Board, which will be in charge of determining whether the facts may constitute a crime, punishable by a fine.
