The PNV is trying to turn the page in Santurtzi (Bizkaia, 46,000 inhabitants) with the arrival of a new mayor. For months now, the seaside town has been an uncomfortable focus for training after alleged irregularities became known in opposition to the Local Police. As the case has gained political and media dimension, the nationalists have been forced to take the matter to the Prosecutor’s Office. The case has already been brought before the Councilor for Security and the mayor of .
The plenary session of this municipality on the left bank of the Nervión estuary elected its new councilor, Itziar Carrocera (PNV), this Thursday. He did it solely with the votes of his group. The candidate raised the baton thanks to the abstention of the socialists, who have sought a balance between not blocking the PNV mayoralty – adhering to the framework agreement between the two formations to govern all Basque institutions – and not showing explicit support for their candidate. EH Bildu, Elkarrekin Podemos and the Popular Party have voted against.
The disagreements in the plenary session come from the beginning of the legislature. Governing Santurtzi is not being easy for its minority Executive. Criticism of his management has come from all over the municipality, so much so that the town has had budget extensions for two years. The last straw came after suspicions of a leak in a Local Police OPE in the second half of 2025. The City Council approved the creation of an investigation commission.
Suspicions in the Local Police
The doubts arose during an internal promotion process within the force to fill several non-commissioned officer positions and to which ten agents applied. As the days went by, suspicions began to circulate among some members of the police itself that the theoretical exam could have been leaked before it was held. The reason was that one of the candidates who obtained a position was a person close to the then Councilor for Security and political leader of the Local Police, Sonia López. Specifically, it would be his partner, although that romantic relationship had not been officially communicated.
It was a few months later when the previous mayor, Karmele Tubilla, made the first political decision in relation to this matter. He decided to dismiss López under the argument of “loss of confidence” due to the alleged irregularities. “I cannot prove that there was a leak, but I can prove that a trust that I had has been broken and that we have not acted ethically,” Mayor Tubilla stated. The mayor assured that “the exam questions arrived in Sonia’s email and [esta] hid relevant information”, in reference to the relationship she had with one of the opponents. However, before this dismissal was made official, the councilor went on medical leave, a circumstance that led her to “condition her dismissal” until she returned.
The political crisis took a new turn at the beginning of February, when the councilor was going to testify at the investigation commission. That same day, the first mayor announced that she was leaving office. Tubilla alleged in the statement “personal, family and political reasons.” “I am convinced that I am being used by the rest of the political parties to damage the image of the Basque Nationalist Party in Santurtzi. And I cannot allow that to happen,” she argued before leaving her position in the ordinary plenary session at the end of February.
Crossed accusations
The former councilor responded in that body to the accusations of the first mayor when she was dismissed. “I have been accused without any evidence of something I have not done. I have never had access to the exam nor have I favored anyone,” he defended, as confirmed to EL PAÍS by several witnesses present at that session held behind closed doors. In his speech, he denounced “political pressures” to prioritize profiles of candidates more related to the PNV, something to which he did not agree. “This cost me my job,” he confessed.
This hasty exit 15 months before the next local elections has given more prominence to the rest of the groups. EH Bildu, as leader of the opposition, has presented its own candidate, who was ultimately not inaugurated as she did not obtain the necessary absolute majority. Miren Matanzas complained that the framework agreement between the PNV and the PSE-EE is placed above the people. “They have put the interests of their respective parties before what the neighbors truly need. They have made decisions about Santurtzi in offices located outside the municipality,” he stated in the plenary session.
Santurtzi is the second conflictive focus for the PNV in Bizkaia, the Basque territory where it remains strongest. At this time, in parallel, another scandal was brewing in Getxo, one of them, reserved for two Jeltzal councilors. This matter, in this town located right in front of Santurtzi, has led to the resignation of three councilors and the registration by the Ertzaintza of several municipal offices. A judge is also investigating the case.
