ILLNESS FORCES SÁNCHEZ WITHDRAWAL

The local Executive of the PSOE, which met on 1st February, unanimously elected Fuensanta Lima as the Mayoral Candidate for the forthcoming municipal elections in 2011, Sanchez will continue as Mayor until the end of the legislature.

The leader of the PSOE in Mijas, Antonio Sánchez Pacheco announced officially that he will no longer head the list of candidates to become Mayor of Mijas at the upcoming municipal elections due to medical advice because of a congenital heart condition. Above all he thanked the people from Mijas who supported him when he took over the government of the Town Hall, his fellow party members, employees at the Town Hall and added “being Mayor is a fascinating task and it has been a pride and an honour to be Mayor of Mijas, Málaga’s third largest city.”

Sanchez was accompanied and supported by a large number of members of the PSOE in Mijas and councillors at Mijas Town Hall. He pointed out that he is resigning from being the candidate because “of the responsibility I owe to my family and myself” and of course, “nobody is indispensable in politics” though, he announced that he will continue being Mayor until the end of the term, “as I assumed the commitment at the time, and I intend to honour that commitment”.

He will continue as the Local PSOE leader in Mijas. Sanchez also wanted to clarify that it would be unfair to Mijas for him to resign after winning the upcoming elections. Sánchez added “to be fair and honest with the citizens is to be sincere and face the situation, tell the truth and be honest with what you do, so I resign as candidate so that Fuensanta Lima will have the support of the people of Mijas in the May elections.”

He stated that he had considered being the candidate until the last moment, but “we must be honest and I consider no one is essential in politics, so I thought it was time to step back.”Mijas needs a Mayor who is at 150 percent, and I will carry on working like that until June, but I cannot risk my health much longer,” he said.

In the same way, Sánchez pointed out that the new candidate Fuensanta Lima, who is a current municipal councillor, has the courage and values needed for this post, but also because she has contributed to making Mijas a reference in the Costa del Sol. He added “Fuensanta Lima can do better than me as Mayor, and will be the first woman in this post in our city because I am sure she will win the election.”

He described Lima as a “honest, hardworking, modest, sensitive and committed person, but also she knows what the city needs and will bring freshness and innovation to Mijas” he reiterated the importance of being the first woman to run Mijas because she has also demonstrated her great capacity for work and her personality.”

He recalled that the candidacy of Fuensanta Lima was approved by the Local Executive unanimously, and the PSOE at the provincial level has totally agreed with her selection. He also noted that, on February 7th, the PSOE General Assembly will finally approve the list , on the basis of which PSOE Mijas will take part in the forthcoming municipal elections on May 22nd.

Finally, he said he will continue working to make Mijas is a city of progress, “while my health allows me to do so.” Antonio Sánchez received a warm ovation from those attending the press conference.