One in four foreigners register to vote in May

ONLY a quarter of foreigners living in Alicante Province eligible to vote at the May 22 local and regional elections have registered to do so. Across the Valencia Region, 112,966 foreigners will be able to vote at the May elections, 107,121 of them from the EU. The majority of these, 73,713, are in Alicante Province, which represents about a quarter of the total number eligible to vote, Valencia Regional Government figures show.

Regardless of what some parties see as low registration figures, political parties in the province have begun to make a concerted effort to canvass the support of foreign voters.

There are 11 municipalities in the Vega Baja area where foreigners represent more than 20 per cent of the population, according to Popular Party figures.

These include towns like San Fulgencio, Algorfa or Rojales. In the Marina Alta there are similar figures.

In total there are 62 municipalities in Alicante Province where foreign residents account for more than 19 per cent of the population, many of whom are from the EU.

According to the National Statistics Institute’s January 2010 census figures out of the 1.926.285 people registered in Alicante Province, 15 per cent (290.662) are European Residents, out of which 45 per cent (130.302) are British and 13 per cent (36.543) are German.

If one adds the Non European Residents to this, 24 per cent of the population in Alicante Province are non Spanish residents.

In a bid to secure foreign votes, the Popular Party for Alicante Province launched a new English and German version of their website (www.alicantepp.es), the party said in a statement.

This information is to be found at the link ‘Residentes Europeos.’

According to PP vice secretary for Alicante Miguel Ortiz, “there is a large number of European Residents in the Province and it is essential that they have all the information and that we can share with them our ideas and proposals”.