Badajoz City Council has 24 September 2026 the resignation from the mandate of Ricardo Cabezas (PSOE) officially noted. The decision by the Plenary of the Ayuntamiento de Badajoz gives effect to the previously announced resignation, which Cabezas had declared after a judicial clarification of the Audiencia Provincial de Badajoz .
The starting point is a ruling by the Audiencia Provincial on 14 July 2026 in connection with the appointment of David Sánchez, the brother of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, to the Diputación de Badajoz. On 17 September 2026, the court clarified the wording of the sentence for an offence committed in public office and stated that Sánchez is subject to a special disqualification from holding office (inhabilitación especial). According to reports, including one by eldiario.es, this lasts nine years and applies in particular to elected posts and positions filled by free appointment.
Cabezas, who belonged to the PSOE group on the city council and also held positions in the Diputación de Badajoz, linked his move to the aim of averting political and institutional damage. The party had already set out its position internally: the PSOE in Extremadura had said that office-holders concerned would make their positions available depending on the content of the judicial clarification. The regional party secretary reaffirmed in mid-September that Ricardo Cabezas and the mayor of Castuera, Francisco Martos, would submit their resignations if the chamber confirmed the disqualification consequences.
With the Plenary's acknowledgement, Ricardo Cabezas's resignation from his mandate on the Ayuntamiento de Badajoz has formally taken effect. No decision was made after the meeting on who would replace him in the PSOE group. Those involved also initially made no comment on possible further steps in the Diputación de Badajoz. In procedural terms, appeals against the decisions of the Audiencia Provincial de Badajoz are possible in principle; whether, and to what extent, any will be lodged remained unclear on 24 September 2026.
The events are placing political and organisational strain on the Socialists in the province. In the short term, the resignation leaves a vacancy on the Badajoz city council; in the medium to long term, it could lead to a reshuffle of the group. The clarification changes nothing in the substance of the ruling, but it sets the scope of the special disqualification from holding office definitively, paving the way for the political consequences now being implemented.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).