The Seville City Council approves the project for the large mosque in Polígono Sur. Vox reacts by suspending the budget pact monitoring committee and threatens to sever ties with José Luis Sanz's government.
The monitoring committee of the budget pact between the Popular Party and Vox in the Seville City Council, scheduled for this Wednesday, has been suspended. The decision comes a day after the Urban Planning Management gave the green light to the project by the Mosque Foundation of Seville to build a large Islamic temple in Polígono Sur.
Vox has announced the suspension of all relations with the local government of Mayor José Luis Sanz, although it has not definitively broken them. The far-right party claims to have lost trust in the Popular Party and announces the filing of an appeal against the Urban Planning resolution, a preliminary step before going to court through the contentious-administrative route.
The mosque project, promoted by the Mosque Foundation of Seville, has been approved after rejecting the urban planning objections presented by Vox. The technical and legal reports from Urban Planning conclude that the administration is obliged to grant the license as all requirements are met, and it lacks discretion to deny it.
The tension between the two parties is set against a backdrop of electoral competition for the same voter segment, with municipal and general elections scheduled for 2027. The recent alliance between the PP and Vox in the Junta de Andalucía contrasts with the deterioration of relations in the Seville City Council.
Vox insists on halting construction by any means, describing it as the first step towards Islamising Seville. The party had requested a new report on the license from the mayor, this time from the municipal legal services, but their request was not addressed.
The Vox spokesperson in the City Council, Gonzalo García de Polavieja, has stated that the suspension of the committee is a sign of their dissatisfaction and that they are considering new measures. Meanwhile, the local PP government defends that the Urban Planning decision is in accordance with the law and that there was no room to deny the permit.
The mosque, whose project has been promoted by a private foundation, will be built on a plot in Polígono Sur. The initiative has generated intense political and social debate in the city, with opposing positions among parties and community groups.
The budget pact monitoring committee was the agreed mechanism for the PP and Vox to oversee compliance with the agreements that allowed the approval of the municipal budgets for 2025 and 2026. Its suspension marks a new episode of disagreement between the two partners.
For now, Vox has not specified whether it will maintain its support for Sanz's government in future plenary votes. The party has conditioned any progress on the PP rectifying the mosque issue, something the government team dismisses as it has already been approved.
The appeal that Vox is preparing must be resolved in the coming months. If it is dismissed, the contentious-administrative route could prolong the judicial process for years, while the construction of the mosque proceeds according to the schedule set by the promoting foundation.
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