Elections Suspended for Unidad del Pueblo Canario Candidates in Las Palmas
The Provincial Electoral Board has suspended ballot papers for Unidad del Pueblo Canario (UPC) for the upcoming elections on 29 November. This decision is pending a judicial review to determine if the party’s name could confuse voters with Unión del Pueblo Canario, which has been active since 1979.
The Board has ordered a postponement of ballot preparation for both Congress and Senate seats in Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote. This action affects all political parties due to the open-list system in place.
This resolution follows a legal challenge from the Drago Canarias party, which claims UPC’s name could mislead voters and infringe on the established political branding in the Canary Islands. Drago Canarias argues that UPC’s use of historical party initials contravenes Article 46.4 of the LOREG, stipulating that candidate names, initials, or symbols must not confuse voters about other legally recognised parties.
Drago contended that UPC’s affiliation with Nueva Canarias, Podemos, Izquierda Unida, and Movimiento Sumar could lead to voter deception by usurping historically significant party identifiers.
