A community of some 30,000 mainly British and Spanish nationals in Orihuela Costa is demanding independence from the municipality of Orihuela and has even formed its own political party – the Orihuela Costa Independence Party (PIOC).
Orihuela Costa lies around 30 kilometres from the main centre of Orihuela, and over the years has developed into a large, almost separate community, one of the biggest in the Alicante province at 443 square kilometres.
The Orihuela Costa Independence Party (PIOC) communicates in both Spanish and English and already has a clear set of grievances and goals set out, including independence from Orihuela municipality.
READ ALSO: The towns in Spain where foreigners outnumber Spaniards
“Orihuela Costa pays more and receives less”, the party’s website states. “PIOC was created to defend the residents and decide how our money is invested”.
This is the principal pillar upon which the party stands.
According to the party, they pay millions in taxes, have poor services without enough schools or health centre or culture and don’t have decision-making capacity.
By gaining independence and becoming a separate municipality in their own right, they want to decide where their money goes, have decent and balanced public services, have transparent and efficient administration and be able to plan for the future.
READ ALSO: The reasons why Brits are buying far fewer homes in Spain
“PIOC represents the citizens of Orihuela Costa who want to build a more autonomous, prosperous and better-managed future. For too long, decisions affecting our community have been made in Orihuela, without taking into account the specific needs of Orihuela Costa, PIOC president Román Jiménez wrote in an online petition on Change.org.
“We believe that independence is necessary to achieve a more local and efficient administration, capable of managing our resources and setting our own priorities”, it added.
PIOC is preparing an independence dossier, supported by technical reports which demonstrate the viability of an independent municipality and hopes to gain the support of local residents in order to do this.
Currently the petition has 2,253 signatures, but the party has a target of 20,000.
The party is campaigning for local residents to register on the padrón with their town hall, so they can meet the requirements to vote in the local elections next year.
“To vote, you must be registered on the electoral roll for the municipal elections. To do so, you must be registered as a resident in your municipality of habitual residence, have expressed your intention to vote in the municipal elections in Spain and be 18 years of age or older on election day,” they state on their website.
They are encouraging non-EU citizens to vote as well, including British and Norwegian residents.
The website states that citizens of these two countries can vote in the May 2027 elections if they’re registered on the padrón at their town hall, have had residence for three years before applying to vote and apply to vote from December 1st 2026 to January 15th 2027.
They are also encouraging those from Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Ecuador, Iceland, Mali, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela to register and try to vote in the 2027 local elections.
