After hours of discussion, it has finally been accepted that the citizen’s card will be the means for allowing people to vote in the “referendum” on the terraces along Palma’s Born avenue. A yes or no to their staying as they are will be voted on between 9 and 16 December. Anyone who doesn’t have a card will be able to obtain one at the places where voting will take place: the identity card will be needed in order to get one. In addition, Casal Solleric, which is on the Born, will be open on weekdays between 5pm and 8pm.
Residents of Palma who are over 16 will be able to vote via the town hall’s website or in specific locations, which are yet to be decided, where local officials will be on hand to assist. Aurora Jhardi, the councillor for public services, says that there are some 365,000 residents who will be eligible, of whom 80% already have the citizen’s card.
The referendum, or public consultation, will be in two parts. The first question, an answer to which is mandatory, will be: do you want terraces on the Born, yes or no? The second part will be voluntary and depend on the vote for the first question, namely: is it preferable for the terraces to remain where they are or to be moved to the pedestrianised way to the side? Jhardi points out that the consultation is not legally binding but that “we will listen to the citizens”.
The spokesperson for the restaurant owners, Joan Miquel Ferrer, says that “having to put the future of seventy workers to a survey is very hard”. The restaurants have already embarked on a yes-vote campaign.