Alex Trelinski
ORIHUELA mayor, Emilio Bascuñana, will not be testifying tomorrow(April 30) over accusations that he embezzled over €200,000 of public money over a non-existent job.
That leaves him free to try to fight-off tomorrow’s resignation vote in the Orihuela council chamber.
Bascuñana was due to give evidence before an Orihuela court but the hearing has been postponed.
No reason has been given for the delay and no new date has been announced.
The Anti-corruption Prosecutor’s Office has denounced Bascuñana, of the Partido Popular, who has been mayor since 2015.
The charge concerns his previous job as a doctor.
Prosecutors say that Bascuñana worked as a health inspector for the regional health department from November 2007.
A year later they claim that there was no record of him doing any work in spite of him getting paid.
They allege that he pocketed €202,170 for doing nothing for five years.
Despite the court postponement, Friday will still be a key day for Bascuñana as he faces a resignation vote at a full meeting of Orihuela council.
The motion calling on him to quit has been proposed by the PSOE and Cambiemos Orihuela parties.
If the Ciudadanos councillors break ranks with their Partido Popular coalition partners, then Bascuñana will be ousted as mayor.
Earlier this month. Ciudadanos spokesman, Jose Aix, said: “If the allegations are true, it would be very bad news for Orihuela and we would ask for the mayor to take responsibility.”
Bascuñana has strongly denied any wrong doing and he’s said that he is the victim of a smear campaign.
