Las Cuerlas leaves the Open Council and will be governed by a City Council

The Government of Aragon has authorized the municipality of Las Cuerlas (Zaragoza) to cease being governed by the Open Council regime and transition to functioning via a City Council, a change that will take effect in the next local elections to be called. The decision is detailed in Decree 162/2026, of September 9, published in the Official Gazette of Aragon number 180, of September 16, 2026, in section III of Other Provisions and Agreements (official reference BOA20260916014).

The decree, signed by the president of the Aragonese Executive, Jorge Azcón Navarro, and by the Councilor for Housing, Public Works, Logistics, and Territorial Cohesion, Octavio López Rodríguez, is based on article 17 of Law 9/2009, of December 22, regulating Open Councils. This regulation, developed under article 82.2 of the Statute of Autonomy of Aragon, allows municipalities with more than 40 inhabitants that operate under the Open Council regime to request authorization to be governed by a City Council when circumstances make it advisable.

A procedure processed by the Neighborhood Assembly

The municipality of Las Cuerlas, with a population exceeding 40 inhabitants and currently operating under the Open Council regime, met all the requirements and followed the procedure provided by law. The process began with a provisional agreement adopted by the Neighborhood Assembly by absolute majority in an extraordinary session held on April 20, 2026, in which authorization for the change of regime was requested from the Government of Aragon.

The agreement was subject to public consultation for one month, via an announcement published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Zaragoza number 126, of June 5, 2026, and on the municipal notice board. Once the period ended, the Secretary-Intervention issued a certificate on July 10, 2026, accrediting the absence of allegations or claims, and the Neighborhood Assembly made the agreement final in an ordinary session on July 27, 2026.

Advantages of the representative regime

The justifying memorandum incorporated into the file proves the advantages of implementing the representative regime compared to the Open Council:

• Improvement of municipal governability.
• Greater agility in administrative management.
• More appropriate distribution of functions and responsibilities.
• Increase in legal certainty and institutional stability.

Article 17.4 of Law 9/2009 required the Government of Aragon to resolve the matter within three months via a reasoned decree, a deadline that was met with the Executive’s deliberation in its meeting on September 9, 2026.

Effects and conditions of the change

The decree establishes that the authorization will take effect in the next local elections to be called. Additionally, it sets a reversibility condition: the municipality of Las Cuerlas may not opt for the Open Council regime again until its population is fewer than 40 inhabitants.

With this decision, Las Cuerlas joins the small Aragonese municipalities transitioning from the assembly model of the Open Council to the representative regime of the City Council, a change that seeks to strengthen administrative management and institutional stability in localities with small populations.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 180, September 16, 2026, section III. Other Provisions and Agreements (official reference: BOA20260916014).