Scandal-plagued Madrid Leader Steps Down
Umer Jamshaid Published April 25, 2018 | 06:41 PM
Madrid's conservative regional president, Cristina Cifuentes, announced her resignation Wednesday in the wake of a scandal about a masters degree she is suspected of obtaining fraudulently.
Madrid, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Apr, 2018 ) :Madrid's conservative regional president, Cristina Cifuentes, announced her resignation Wednesday in the wake of a scandal about a masters degree she is suspected of obtaining fraudulently.
"All of my actions, my whole life has been called into question," 54-year-old Cifuentes said, claiming she was the victim of a lynch mob. Cifuentes has been caught in a media storm over accusations she got the 2011-2012 law diploma from Madrid's King Juan Carlos University (URJC) without taking all the required exams and rarely attending lectures.
She also hit the headlines more recently for allegedly shoplifting in a supermarket. Announcing her resignation, Cifuentes, who has been president of the Madrid region for three years, said that she had taken the decision "to take a step back a few days ago" in order to stop the left from wresting power in the region.
The left had indeed filed a motion to censure her -- a move that was likely to succeed after the centre-right Ciudadanos party withdrew its support for her.
Cifuentes had been supposed to spearhead a campaign to restore the conservative party's image that has been tainted by a series of corruption scandals.
Following the uproar over her university degree, a right-wing daily OK Diario on Wednesday published a video dating back to 2011 that purportedly showed Cifuentes shoplifting. Cifuentes confirmed the authenticity of the video, but insisted that she had "involuntarily" taken around 40 Euros worth of products.
She did not put forward a potential successor, with a year to go before regional elections in Madrid, which accounts for around 20 percent of the country's entire economy. Her resignation came "after a shameful month", said Inigo Errejon of the far-left Podemos party. "We are satisfied. Madrid deserves a change," said Ciudadanos president Albert Rivera.
Recent Stories
PSX witnesses positive trend today
PM Shehbaz meets CJP Isa to address IHC judges’ concerns
Pakistan vows to bring to justice perpetrators, abettors of Bisham terrorist att ..
May 9 riots: SC allows conditionally to military courts to deliver reserved verd ..
Interior Minister arrives in Peshawar after Shangla suicide attack
OPPO Reno 11 F 5G: Setting New Records as Pakistan's Most Beloved Smartphone Lin ..
PCB dismisses FICA's claims of unpaid dues in PSL
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 28 March 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 28 March 2024
Niger says US to submit plan to 'disengage' troops
Venezuelan opposition registers unknown poll contender after obstacles
Van Aert breaks collarbone, ribs in Flanders fall
More Stories From World
-
Meet China's first corgi police dog
41 minutes ago -
Singapore sees sharp decrease in PE investment last year
41 minutes ago -
China's role model selection for Q1 2024 kicks off
41 minutes ago -
Australians tighten belt as higher grocery prices bite: survey
42 minutes ago -
ChiNext Index closes higher Thursday
42 minutes ago -
China to improve management of midwife service
52 minutes ago
-
China to lift anti-dumping tariffs on Australian wine
52 minutes ago -
Seoul bus drivers' strike ends with wage agreement
1 hour ago -
Revolt at Ecuador jail where powerful gang leader escaped
1 hour ago -
US-Israel rift heads for moment of truth over Rafah
2 hours ago -
Russian bombs turn Ukraine border village into 'hell'
3 hours ago -
At Bulgaria's border with Romania, Schengen remains miles off
3 hours ago