The 6th General Assembly of Citizens was held between 9 and 15 January 2023, to renovate the leading bodies of the Citizens Party (Cs) and refound the party. On 21 June 2022, Inés Arrimadas called for a process of refoundation of the party following the succession of defeats in the Madrilenian, Castilian-Leonese and Andalusian elections where the party saw its representation drop to 0 or 1 seats.[1][2] Following the conclusion of the refoundation, a bicephalous leadership was enforced separating in the positions of Secretary-General and Political Spokesperson.[3]
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| Registered | 7,642 (primary) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 3,795 (49.7%) (primary) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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On 26 December 2022, it was announced that the congress slogan would be "Radicalmente Libres" (Spanish: Radically free).[4] The leadership election saw the joint list formed by Patricia Guasp and Adrián Vázquez and supported by the outgoing president Inés Arrimadas win with 53.3% of the vote, thus defeating the candidacy of Edmundo Bal, who got 39.3% of the vote. A grassroot candidacy formed by Marcos Morales and Laura Alves managed to get 7.4% of the sare.[5]
Candidates
edit| Candidate | Age | Notable positions | Announced | Eliminated | Campaign | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Electededit | |||||||
| Candidates elected as Secretary-General and Political Spokesperson. | |||||||
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45 | Regional Coordinator of Citizens Balearic Islands (since 2020) Member of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands for Mallorca (since 2019) |
23 December 2022 |  Elected
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[6] [7] [8] | |
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40 | Member of the European Parliament for Spain (since 2020) | |||||
Proclaimededit | |||||||
| Candidates who met the endorsement requirement and were officially proclaimed to contest the primary election. | |||||||
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55 | Vice-Secretary General of Citizens (since 2021) Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid (since 2019) |
2 December 2022 | 12 January 2023 | 
|
[9] [10] [11] [12] | |
_Minuto_de_silencio_por_el_asesinato_de_una_vecina_de_Ciudad_Lineal_b_(cropped).jpg) |
48 | City Councillor of Madrid (since 2019) | 21 December 2022 | ||||
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19 | None | 27 December 2022 | 12 January 2023 | 
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[13] [14] [15] | |
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29 | City Councillor of El Álamo (since 2022) | |||||
Announcededit | |||||||
| Candidates who announced an intention to run for the primary election, but were rejected as a result of not meeting the endorsement requirement. | |||||||
| |
? | None | 28 December 2022 | 29 December 2022 | — | [13] | |
Declined
editThe individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:
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- Inés Arrimadas (age 41) — President of Citizens (since 2020); Member of the Congress of Deputies for Barcelona (since 2019); Spokesperson of the Citizens Group in the Congress of Deputies (since 2019); Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Catalonia (2015–2019); Spokesperson of the Citizens Group in the Parliament of Catalonia (2015); Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for Barcelona (2012–2019).[16][17][18]
- José Ramón Bauzá (age 52) — Member of the European Parliament for Spain (since 2019); Senator in the Cortes Generales appointed by the Parliament of the Balearic Islands (2015–2019); Deputy in the Parliament of the Balearic Islands for Mallorca (2011–2015); President of the Balearic Islands (2011–2015); President of the PP of the Balearic Islands (2009–2015); Mayor of Marratxí (2005–2011); City Councillor of Marratxí (1999–2011); Vice President of the PP of the Balearic Islands (2007–2009); Deputy Mayor for Urbanism and Health of Marratxí (2003–2005).[19]
- Jordi Cañas (age 53) — Member of the European Parliament for Spain (since 2019); Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for Barcelona (2010–2014).[6]
- Francisco Igea (age 58) — Member of the Cortes of Castile and León for Valladolid (since 2019); Vice President of Castile and León (2019–2021); Minister of Transparency, Land Management and External Action of Castile and León (2019–2021); Spokesperson of Castile and León (2019–2021); Member of the Congress of Deputies for Valladolid (2016–2019).[20]
- Begoña Villacís (age 45) — Deputy Mayor of Madrid (since 2019); City Councillor of Madrid (since 2015).[21]
Endorsements
editTotal
editCandidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 1.5% of the total party members (115 endorsements).
| Candidate | Endorsements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % T | % V | ||||
| Patricia Guasp/Adrián Vázquez | 1,367 | 17.89 | 60.89 | |||
| Edmundo Bal/Santiago Saura | 679 | 8.89 | 30.24 | |||
| Marcos Morales/Laura Alves | 142 | 1.86 | 6.33 | |||
| Pablo Biarge | 57 | 0.75 | 2.54 | |||
| Total | 2,245 | |||||
| Valid endorsements | 2,245 | 29.38 | ||||
| Not endorsing | 5,397 | 70.62 | ||||
| Total members | 7,642 | |||||
| Sources[22] | ||||||
Public endorsements
editEdmundo Bal/Santiago Saura
editEdmundo Bal's and Santiago Saura's endorsements
- Sara Giménez, Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid (since 2019)[23]
- Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez, Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid (since 2020)[23]
- Francisco Igea, Member of the Cortes of Castile and León for Valladolid (since 2019), Former Vice President of Castile and León (2019–2021)[24]
- María Carmen Martínez, Member of the Congress of Deputies for Cádiz (since 2019)[23]
- Ana Martínez-Vidal, Deputy in the Regional Assembly of Murcia (since 2019), Former Minister of Business, Industry and Spokesperson of the Region of Murcia (2019–2021)[25]
- María Muñoz, Autonomic Coordinator of Citizens Valencia (since 2021), Member of the Congress of Deputies for Valencia (since 2019)[23]
- Juan Ignacio López-Bas, Member of the Congress of Deputies for Alicante (since 2021)[23]
- Miguel Sánchez López, Spokesperson of the Citizens Group in the Congress of Deputies (since 2021), Senator in the Cortes Generales appointed by the Regional Assembly of Murcia (since 2019)[26]
- César Zafra, Former Deputy in the Assembly of Madrid (2015–2021)[23]
Patricia Guasp/Adrián Vázquez
editPatricia Guasp's and Adrián Vázquez's endorsements
- Inés Arrimadas, President of Citizens (since 2020), Member of the Congress of Deputies for Barcelona (since 2019)[27]
- Carlos Carrizosa, Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for Barcelona (since 2012), Former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Catalonia (2019–2021)[27]
- Guillermo Díaz, Member of the Congress of Deputies for Málaga (since 2016)[27]
- Nacho Martín Blanco, Spokesperson of the Citizens Group in the Parliament of Catalonia (since 2021), Member of the Parliament of Catalonia for Barcelona (since 2018)[27]
- Carlos Pérez-Nievas, Secretary of Organization of Citizens (since 2022), Member of the Parliament of Navarre (since 2019)[27]
- Carmen Picazo, Regional Coordinator of Citizens Castilla–La Mancha (since 2020), Member of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha (since 2019)[28]
- Mario Simón Martín, Mayor of Palencia (since 2019)[29]
- Begoña Villacís, Deputy Mayor of Madrid (since 2019), City Councillor of Madrid (since 2015)[27]
Campaign
editElection debates
edit| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present NI Not invited | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #CdN | #RtP | #LBdC | Ref. | |||
| 4 January | Cs | David Ferrero | P Saura |
P Vázquez |
P Alves |
[30] |
| 9 January | Cs | David Ferrero | P Bal |
P Guasp |
P Morales |
[31] |
Opinion polls
editPoll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the candidate's colour. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded. Polls show data gathered among Cs voters/supporters as well as Spanish voters as a whole, but not among party members, who are the ones ultimately entitled to vote in the primary election.
Cs voters
edit| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | .jpg)
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Other /None |
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Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrimadas (Inc.) |
Bal | Villacís | Guasp | Vázquez | Morales /Alves | ||||||
| Primary election | 11–12 Jan 2023 | —[a] | – | 39.3 | – | 53.3 | 7.4 | – | — | 14.0 | |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía[32] | 9 Jan 2023 | 434 | – | 32.1 | – | 57.2 | 10.7 | – | – | 25.1 | |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía[33] | 9–13 Dec 2022 | 1,007 | 29.5 | 59.5 | – | – | – | – | – | 11.0 | 30.0 |
| SocioMétrica/El Español[34] | 6–10 Dec 2022 | 3,042 | 24.6 | 24.5 | 34.3 | – | – | – | 16.6 | 9.7 | |
Spanish voters
edit| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
|
|
|
Other /None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrimadas (Inc.) |
Bal | Villacís | ||||||
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía[33] | 9–13 Dec 2022 | 1,007 | 25.0 | 54.1 | – | – | 20.9 | 29.1 |
| SocioMétrica/El Español[34] | 6–10 Dec 2022 | 3,042 | 16.3 | 27.2 | 23.2 | 33.3 | 4.0 | |
Results
edit| Candidate | Primary | Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Patricia Guasp/Adrián Vázquez | 2,021 | 53.25 | Unopposed | ||
| Edmundo Bal/Santiago Saura | 1,493 | 39.34 | Eliminated | ||
| Marcos Morales/Laura Alves | 281 | 7.41 | Eliminated | ||
| Total | 3,795 | — | |||
| Valid votes | 3,795 | 100.00 | — | ||
| Invalid and blank ballots | 0 | 0.00 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 3,795 | 49.66 | |||
| Abstentions | 3,847 | 50.34 | |||
| Registered voters | 7,642 | 390 | |||
| Sources[5][35] | |||||
Notes
edit- ^ Cs members.
References
edit- ^ "Arrimadas anuncia la refundación de Cs antes de las municipales" (in Spanish). RTVE. Agencias. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Moraga, Carmen (27 June 2022). "Arrimadas promete refundar Ciudadanos en seis meses y descarta dimitir aunque asegura que sería "lo más fácil"". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ Rodríguez, Ana María (14 November 2022). "Ciudadanos tendrá una bicefalia y Arrimadas dejará la dirección para ser candidata". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ ""Radicalmente libres": el lema que ha elegido Ciudadanos para la Asamblea General en la que Arrimadas y Bal medirán sus fuerzas". 20 minutos (in Spanish). 26 December 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ a b Hurtado, Julio (12 January 2023). "La lista de Arrimadas se impone a la de Bal en el duelo por el control de Ciudadanos". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ a b Rodríguez, Antonio (24 November 2022). "El eurodiputado Adrián Vázquez se perfila como sucesor de Arrimadas al frente de Ciudadanos". The Objective (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Patricia Guasp, la apuesta de Arrimadas para sucederla y enfrentarse a Edmundo Bal en primarias". El Español (in Spanish). 22 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ López, Daniel Verdú (23 December 2022). "El eurodiputado Adrián Vázquez y la diputada balear Patricia Guasp, las apuestas de Arrimadas para relanzar Ciudadanos". 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Martínez, Virginia (2022-11-29). "La división entre Arrimadas y Bal se agudiza: el diputado abre la puerta a concurrir a las primarias de Ciudadanos". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-01.
- ^ "Edmundo Bal se postula para liderar Ciudadanos y consuma su ruptura con Inés Arrimadas". ABC (in Spanish). 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ Carmen Moraga (2022-12-21). "Bal presenta su candidatura 'de renovación' con la que cree que podrá reflotar Ciudadanos". El Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ^ Marín, Elena (2022-12-21). "Villacís pierde más apoyos en el Ayuntamiento: Bal ficha a su número dos para liderar Ciudadanos". elperiodicodeespana (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ a b Moraga, Carmen (28 December 2022). "Arrimadas y Bal llevan a Ciudadanos a una guerra civil con el partido al borde de la desaparición". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ Martínez, Virginia (30 December 2022). "La candidatura que apoya Arrimadas dobla en avales a la de Edmundo Bal en las primarias de Ciudadanos". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ Martínez, Virginia (3 January 2023). "Dos desconocidos se cuelan en las primarias de Cs con una tercera lista: "Somos la mosca que está fastidiando entre Arrimadas y Bal"". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "La ejecutiva de Ciudadanos apuesta por que Arrimadas revalide su liderazgo en primarias". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Martínez, Virginia (2022-12-05). "Arrimadas se presentará a las primarias de Ciudadanos si Bal no renuncia a su candidatura". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-06.
- ^ Martínez, Virginia (2022-12-16). "Arrimadas renuncia a liderar una candidatura frente a Edmundo Bal en las primarias de Cs". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-17.
- ^ "Bauzá descarta ocupar cargos en Ciudadanos por su condición de «riverista»". Ultima Hora (in Spanish). 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ "Francisco Igea descarta presentarse a las primarias para dirigir Ciudadanos". The Objective (in Spanish). 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ "Villacís sigue los pasos de Arrimadas y no se presentará a la dirección de Ciudadanos". The Objective (in Spanish). 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ Santos-Olmo, Aurora (30 December 2022). "La candidatura a primarias impulsada por Inés Arrimadas logra el doble de avales que la de Edmundo Bal". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bal logra el apoyo de la mayoría de diputados de Cs y de dirigentes descontentos con Arrimadas". The Objective (in Spanish). 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
- ^ Cornejo, Laura (2022-12-20). "Igea apoyará a Edmundo Bal para refundar Ciudadanos porque "es la mejor opción"". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-12-20.
- ^ de la Flor, Sergio. "Martínez Vidal se suma a Miguel Sánchez y apoya a Edmundo Bal para liderar Ciudadanos". Murciaplaza (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ Ferrán, Jaime (2022-12-21). "Edmundo Bal suma a Miguel Sánchez a su proyecto para refundar Cs". La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f López, Daniel Verdú (23 December 2022). "El eurodiputado Adrián Vázquez y la diputada balear Patricia Guasp, las apuestas de Arrimadas para relanzar Ciudadanos". 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2022.
- ^ "Carmen Picazo (Cs) se integra en la candidatura 'Renace Tu Partido', de la que forma parte Inés Arrimadas". abc (in Spanish). 28 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ León, Diario de Castilla y. "El alcalde de Palencia, miembro de la candidatura 'Renace Tu Partido', que aspira a liderar Ciudadanos". Diario de Castilla y León (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ "La sombra de Inés Arrimadas planea en el primer debate de Ciudadanos". ABC (in Spanish). 4 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "La candidata de Arrimadas le cierra el paso para ser la líder de Cs en las próximas generales". ABC (in Spanish). 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "La lista de Adrián Vázquez, favorita". Electomanía (in Spanish). 9 January 2023.
- ^ a b "Los votantes prefieren a Bal a Inés Arrimadas". Electomanía (in Spanish). 14 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Un 40% de los votantes de Ciudadanos prefiere integrarse en el PP; Villacís, la líder favorita". El Español (in Spanish). 13 December 2022.
- ^ "Casi 600 personas participan en la VI Asamblea General de Ciudadanos". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Agencias. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.