Vote Buying and PSOE: Suspicion Clouds the End of Campaigning

Vote Buying and PSOE: The Suspicion Shaking Up the Campaign

The buying of votes is a crime. And, in the absence of firm judgments, this final stretch of the electoral campaign is being decided on the ground of suspicion. In recent hours, allegations have circulated regarding alleged payments and irregular collection of votes, with mail-in voting at the epicenter of the noise. Against this backdrop, a sentiment has emerged that summarizes the anger of part of the electorate: outlawing the PSOE.

## What is being alleged regarding mail-in voting?

The substantive accusation is vote buying, allegedly channeled through envelopes and cash payments, with postal voting as the vehicle. It is important to be precise: these are allegations and suspicions, not proven facts. No one has yet presented a firm judicial resolution confirming an organized scheme.

The discontent grows through comparison. Some recall that, in similar episodes, other formations faced charges of constituting a incivil group. This leads to the most repeated argument: if this were done by someone else, they would already be indicted. This is a political comparison, not a judicial fact, and must be read as such.

## Does the opposition serve any purpose during a campaign?

The question runs through much of the conversation. One sector holds that the opposition is not there to win debates, but simply not to cause trouble: not to heat things up, not to muddy the waters, and to let events unfold. Another responds that political parties know exactly what they are doing, and their inaction is also a calculated strategy.

The most uncomfortable criticism relates to the division of roles. When the same party is in government and, in practice, sets the tone for parliamentary oversight, the scrutiny session ceases to be a check. This feeling fuels the 'they are all the same' sentiment, which is simultaneously disempowering and infuriating.

## From the Specific Case to the 78 Framework

The leap is common: from alleged electoral fraud to questioning the entire regime. This is where distrust emerges toward the captive vote of the elderly and dependents, toward the mail system, and even toward a supposed plan to push electronic voting.

Beneath this narrative lies a real problem of institutional credibility, and another regarding expectations: if the electoral punishment anticipated by many does not occur on Sunday, the interpretive framework will break down somewhere. It remains to be seen where.