Balaguer’s ERC wants to revalidate the absolute majority achieved four years ago with Jordi Ignasi Vidal as head of the list. The formation swept the 2019 elections in the capital of La Noguera and achieved the first absolute majority in the city since 1979, going from 5 to 9 councilors. This allowed them to leave behind a mandate that began in 2015 with the PSC and Ara SÃ and that four years later ended in a minority due to the expulsion of the Socialists as a result of the application of 155.
The worst political battle was taken by the Junts group, which went from 5 to 3 councilors. The bad results led to the resignation of the leader of the list and former mayor of the city, Josep Maria Roigé, as well as his number 2, Miquel Vendrell, and Núria Giné, who was in fifth place. Guifré Ricart took over as spokesperson for the party, accompanied by Laia Vilardell and Mireya Planes.
However, in mid-2022, the three councilors decided to leave Junts due to “internal discrepancies”, after the party chose Gemma Trilla as the new head of the list. Now, facing the 28-M, they present themselves with the new candidacy Treballem per Balaguer-Ara Pacte Local, headed by Ricart.
Among the outstanding actions of this mandate is the renovation of a section of Barcelona street, the extension of the new cemetery and the improvement of the accesses to the Campllong industrial estate with the suppression of two level crossings and the north access from the C-13, pending construction.
Other notable projects that are underway and that will be completed during the next term are the expansion of the Escola Mont-roig, the work of which is expected to begin towards the end of 2023, and the fitting out of a municipal hostel from the old Molà de l’Esquerà . La Paeria is also making progress on the project to convert the train on the Lleida-La Pobla de Segur line into a tram as it passes through the city.
Other actions carried out have been the creation of its own stock market with 50 public homes and the management of 90 private homes, the increase in active occupation policies or the creation of the Energy Hub Lab, as well as the preparation of a strategic culture plan, the increase in the percentage of recycling after regrouping the containers in islands and the increase in the number of the Guà rdia Urbana. In addition, during the mandate the ERC consistory has had to face complaints about the possible closure of the Àngel Guimerà school.
Among the pending projects is the construction of a new sports center in the Secà neighbourhood, the expansion of the industrial estate and a project to recover the old Comtal cinema.
A total of 8 candidacies are presented in the municipal elections of 28-M in Balaguer; ERC-AM, PSC-CP, Together for Balaguer-CM, CUP-Amunt, Balaguer Ara SÃ-Confluència, Vox, PP and Treballem per Balaguer-Ara PL. The 18 councilors who will form the Paeria will emerge from the election results.
Jordi Ignasi Vidal (ERC) aspires to revalidate a third term as head of the Balaguer City Council. He is joined again in second and third place on the list by the current councilors Ester Guarné and Kevin Bruque, respectively. Also in the top positions are the members of the City Council Gemma Vilarasau and Amà lia Castellarnau, while the Councilor for Culture, Tourism and Communication, Arnau Torrente, went from number 7 to almost closing the list in penultimate position.
For its part, Junts per Balaguer presents a completely renewed list headed by the lawyer Gemma Trilla. After losing representation in the consistory last summer due to disagreements with the three councilors, the party seeks to enter the City Council again.
The former councilors of Junts have mounted the candidacy Treballem per Balaguer-Ara Pacte Local led by Guifré Ricart, while Laia Vilardell and Mireya Planes occupy places 3 and 5, respectively. The new party hopes to benefit from the visibility that the councilors have had during these last 4 years in the opposition of the council and be decisive in the formation of the future municipal government.
The PSC, with three councilors, bets on Lorena González as head of the list with the aim of improving the results of the previous elections. The senator and until now number 2 of the Balaguer consistory also presents a renewed list with a large number of independent names, among which appears as number two, Montserrat Rosells. The list closes Miquel Aguilar, who was mayor of Balaguer from 1983 to 1991 and from 1995 to 2011, and who in the 2015 elections also closed the list as number 17.
The CUP candidacy is headed by Maria del Carmen Núñez, followed by Juan Molins and Eudald Colea. Josep Maria Colea, who led the list in 2019 and the only councilor of the party in Paeria, closes the candidacy at number 17.
In Balaguer Ara SÃ, with a councilor in the Town Hall, Joan Pla and Enrique Izquierdo repeat as number 1 and 2, respectively. They are followed in the first positions by Jose Ferrer, Maria Baiget and Ainoa Carreres.
For its part, the Popular Party list is once again headed by Daniel Barrios, with the intention of recovering the representation lost in 2015. Vox is also repeating the candidate for the second time in a row with Juan José Fernández. On the other hand, the Ciutadans group, which presented a candidacy in 2019, does not present a list in the city.
The lack of a strong industry that attracts new companies is one of the highlights of the electoral programs. And it is that Balaguer leads the ranking of unemployed among the capitals of Ponent with 14%. The ERC government defends the procedures that are being carried out to improve and expand the Campllong industrial estate, as well as the connection that is planned to be built between the industrial space and the C-13. For its part, the PSC also defends the expansion of the industrial estate, while Treballem per Balaguer agrees to work to create a more favorable environment for business that attracts “leading†companies in the city.
Safety and cleanliness is another of the main electoral axes of the main parties. Junts proposes more police force, also at night, as well as a roadmap that contributes to improving social cohesion. While the PSC also proposes to expand the number of local police officers that is currently “below the ratio”. In the same way, Treballem per Balaguer says that it will double the number of troops and is also committed to installing security cameras in various streets.
