Álava appoints the acting secretary-intervenor of Lagrán and Valle de Arana

The Provincial Council of Álava has appointed Marta Sendiu Zulaica as an interim to hold the position of secretary-intervention of the Grouping of Municipalities of Lagrán and Valle de Arana, a vacancy that remained unfilled as no civil servant with national qualification applied. The decision is formalized through Provincial Order 519/2026, dated October 28, published in the Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA) number 129, dated November 9, 2026, within section I, under the official reference 2026_129_03165. The appointment is effective from October 23, 2026.

The proceedings began on October 20, 2026, when the president of the grouping requested the interim appointment in writing to the Provincial Council. The order was signed in Vitoria-Gasteiz on October 28, 2026, by the Provincial Deputy for Territorial Balance and Land Use Planning, Laura Pérez Borinaga, and the Director of Territorial Balance, Javier Gorbeña García, from the Department of Territorial Balance and Land Use Planning.

The legal framework invoked is Article 53 of Royal Decree 128/2018, of March 16, which regulates the legal regime of local administration civil servants with national qualification, together with the third additional provision of the same text and Article 24 of Provincial Norm 10/2023, on the Government, Organization, and Legal Regime of the Provincial Council of Álava.

A position that no one claimed

The ordinary filling of the position was first attempted through the channels reserved for civil servants with national qualification. The announcement was published in BOTHA number 109, dated September 23, 2026, to fill the vacancy through provisional appointment, service commission, or accumulation.

As certified by a diligence dated October 1, 2026, no applications were received from career civil servants during the application period. Once that route was exhausted, the grouping turned to its current job bank.

The job bank as an emergency route

According to the text of the order, the job bank was processed in compliance with the principles of equality, merit, capacity, publicity, and speed. Its members were contacted, and the first candidate in list order who expressed availability was Marta Sendiu Zulaica, who submitted the supporting documentation for the requirements demanded for access to the position.

Article 53 of Royal Decree 128/2018 allows local corporations to propose to the autonomous community the appointment of an interim civil servant when filling the position with nationally qualified civil servants is not possible, provided that the appointee holds the qualification required for subgroup A1.

Duration, termination, and notifications

The appointment extends «until its legal provision». Article 54 of Royal Decree 128/2018 establishes that the definitive filling of the position or a provisional appointment, in a service commission or accumulation, shall automatically determine the cessation of whoever was performing it. Furthermore, article 10.4 of Royal Legislative Decree 5/2015, of October 30, sets a three-year limit for the interim relationship from the date of appointment.

The order provides for the notification of the resolution to three recipients:

• The City Council of Lagrán.
• The City Council of Valle de Arana.
• The Directorate of Relations with Local Administrations and Administrative Registries of the Basque Government.

It also orders its publication in the BOTHA. Against the provincial order, which is final in the administrative route, a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the Contentious-Administrative Jurisdiction within two months from the day following its receipt, pursuant to article 46 of Law 29/1998, of July 13, without prejudice to the optional prior request.

The impact is twofold for the residents of both Alavese municipalities: the secretary-intervention position is the one that provides legal, accounting, and budgetary support to the plenaries, accounts, and procurement files, so its filling unlocks the ordinary management of two small city councils that lack their own technical structure. The designation, however, is provisional: it will cease to be effective as soon as the position is filled through the ordinary channels of the local civil service.

Source: Official Gazette of the Historical Territory of Álava (BOTHA), number 129, of November 9, 2026, section I, General Assemblies of Álava and Provincial Administration (official reference: 2026_129_03165).