Alberto Rodríguez asks Batet to restore the act of deputy after completing his sentence

Alberto Rodríguez wants to regain his seat. When it seemed that the battle he fought with Congress and that ended with his abandonment of institutional politics was left behind, the former member of the United We Can petition this Tuesday to the president of Congress, Meritxell Batet, the restitution of the parliamentary act once his term is over. sentence. Official sources of the Chamber indicate that the request will be rejected. The Supreme Court imposed on Rodríguez on October 7 a sentence of 45 days in jail (replaced by a fine) and disqualification from the right to passive suffrage for having kicked a policeman during a demonstration in La Laguna in 2014. Days Later, and in the midst of a strong controversy over the interpretation of the sentence, the president of the Lower House decided to withdraw his seat,that to date remains empty as it has not been assumed by any of the following candidates on the list.

As the former deputy has made public in a statement, on December 23 the Supreme Court informed Rodríguez (after a consultation with him) that his sentence had ended on the 5th of this month.

He did so "20 days late and just before Christmas Eve," says the former secretary of the Podemos Organization.

As a result of that notification, the Canarian deputy has sent a letter to Batet requesting the "immediate restitution of his seat."

More information

United We Can celebrates a month with the empty seat of Alberto Rodríguez in Congress

In his communication to the president of Congress, Rodríguez points out that both the Central Electoral Board (JEC) and the Supreme Court, “that they had something to say and decide on the conviction” have determined, “on the one hand, what the sentence consisted of. and its effects, and on the other hand, that it has already been extinguished ”. The former parliamentarian insists that it is an "unjustly imposed" sentence and tells Batet that bearing in mind the end of the sentence, as well as "the absence of any legal or constitutional norm" that "enables" the president to "deprive him of "Of the position," please, without delay ", restore the seat.

Sources from the presidency of Congress confirmed that they have received the record of the ex-deputy's writing, but they anticipate that his request will be rejected. They argue that the loss of the seat that is coupled with the main penalty, that of jail, is still in force. And they add that, once the record is withdrawn, it cannot be returned, since the JEC has already issued the next one on the list (even though it has not taken possession).

As confirmed by sources in the defense of Rodríguez, who runs the office of Gonzalo Boye - the lawyer of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont - the former deputy will go to the Constitutional Court against the Supreme Court ruling and also against Batet's decision to strip him of the seat. In the latter case, the appeal could be filed next week. The strategy would be to raise the protection to the European Court of Human Rights, for which it is necessary to exhaust all previous judicial channels beforehand.

The withdrawal of the act from Rodríguez on October 22 triggered a political earthquake within the government coalition, with United We can announce a lawsuit against the president of Congress that finally Rodríguez himself resigned. Batet's decision came after days of uncertainty about how to proceed after conviction. A first report from the Chamber's lawyers interpreted that the sentence did not imply depriving him of his status as a deputy, since the "special disqualification due to loss of the right to passive suffrage" was associated with that of jail and this in turn had been replaced for the fine. The Supreme Court replied to this interpretation in a first letter, in which it did not expressly request that Rodríguez's seat be removed and only referred to his disqualification.Batet then decided to go to the court to ask for clarification and in the response sent by the president of the Criminal Chamber, Manuel Marchena, the magistrate stated that his function was not to “advise” other bodies, but warned him that he had than disqualify Rodríguez.

After the withdrawal of the act, in addition to the complaint, Podemos requested Batet's resignation two days later. In the middle of all the soap opera and in the middle of the weekend, Rodríguez had returned to the Canary Islands and upon landing at the airport announced that he was leaving Podemos, a decision that surprised the party leadership. The former leader also stated that he had verified the "limits" of the policy practiced in Madrid. Already in November and in an interview in La Sexta, the former deputy charged against the formation, stating that "it could have done much more" for him.

Speaking to EL PAÍS this Wednesday, the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, has avoided ruling on whether the former deputy has the right to regain the seat.

“I am not the lawyer or the lawyer who handles this matter.

I do not know the specific file and, therefore, I am prudent, "said Díaz, who, however, has reiterated that" Alberto Rodríguez, like any citizen, must defend his rights. "

More than two months later, his seat remains empty in Congress.

Until now, the organization in the archipelago has requested "respect for the times" of the candidates to replace him, without publicly transferring a decision in this regard.

The request for the restitution of the seat brings a new perspective and raises other questions.

With information from

.