Orihuela´s councillor for Internal Affairs, Víctor Ruiz, has announced the findings of the padrón cleanup operation carried out by the Institute of National Statistics.
Collectively, Orihuela has last 8,000 residents as a result of the audit, mostly British nationals, resulting in both a significant decline in the population, and confirmation of the numbers of ex-pats who have left the area.
In August of last year the town hall received notification of the facts that an audit was to be carried out, in order to correct registrations for residents who may have moved away, or had simply not renewed their status. A campaign was then launched to encourage residents to both check and confirm their status in Orihuela, which was duly done by many residents.
The process of confirmation continued through the rest of the year, including during the electoral registration period, with the findings of the report now confirming that the 8,000 people being taken off the population figure are as a result of that cleanup operation.
However, despite the obvious concerns that the figure presents, the initial estimate was that some 17,000 to 18,000 residents may have had to be removed, around 15% of the population. With over 9,000 people having confirmed their questionable status, the remaining figure of 8,000 to be removed was reached.
As the data reflects the ex-pat British population most, it is also believed that the biggest portion of those would be on the Orihuela Costa, a favoured location for foreign immigrants to reside.
The figure could well cause a problem for the amount of revenue received from the government, it will also have a direct impact on the entire canvas that has made the Orihuela Costa what it is today, not only in terms of how businesses reach out to the international resident market, but also how the political framework will develop in the run up to the next elections in May, for which it now seems even more important than ever for the ex-pat resident to confirm an intention to vote, to ensure that the voice of the seemingly reducing population is heard and represented.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/43853/
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