The 11th Federal Assembly of United Left was held in Madrid from 4 June to 5 June 2016, to renovate the governing bodies of United Left (IU) and establish the party's main lines of action and strategy for the next leadership term. A primary election to elect the new general coordinator of the party was held from 26 May to 29 May 2016. This was the first leadership election in IU's history in which all the party members were allowed to vote.

The congress was held just before the 2016 Spanish general election, which IU contested in a coalition with Podemos. This decision produced an internal rift, leaving the party divided into three factions. The first one was composed of incumbent General Coordinator Cayo Lara and members of the old guard who were radically against any alliance with Podemos. The second was led by IU's spokesman in the Congress of Deputies Alberto Garzón—who was contesting the general election for Unidos Podemos—and received the support of the majority sector of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and of most of the IU federations. The third sector was made up of members of Open Left (IzAb), the party led by former general coordinator Gaspar Llamazares, a longtime critic of Lara's leadership.

The leadership election saw a generational renovation with Garzón becoming the new general coordinator in a landslide as he received 74.7% of the members vote. Meanwhile, the candidacy of Paloma López Bermejo—supported by Lara and the old guard—received 20.8% of the vote and the candidate of IzAb, Tasio Oliver, finished last with just 4.6% of support.

Candidates Candidate Age Notable positions Announced Eliminated Elected Candidate elected as general coordinator. Alberto Garzón Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Málaga and Madrid (since 2011) 26 March 2016 Elected Proclaimed Candidates who met the endorsement requirement and were officially proclaimed to contest the primary election. Paloma LópezBermejo Member of the European Parliament for Spain (since 2014)Secretary of Employment and Migrations of Workers' Commissions (2008–2014) 20 April 2016 30 May 2016 Tasio Oliver 38 Mayor of Castilleja de Guzmán (since 2015)City Councillor of Castilleja de Guzmán (since 2007) 15 March 2016 30 May 2016 Withdrawn Candidates who met the endorsement requirement but withdrew prior to the primary election. Álvaro GarcíaMancheño ? City Councillor of Pedrera (since 2007)Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for Seville (2014–2015) 16 May 2016 –

Endorsements

Total Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 400 party members or 5% of the total Federal Political Council (CPF) members.

+Summary of candidate endorsement results Candidate Endorsements Party members CPF members Count Count Alberto Garzón 2,813 12.60 63.11 99 40.57 57.89 Paloma López Bermejo 794 3.56 17.81 27 11.07 15.79 Tasio Oliver 422 1.89 9.47 24 9.84 14.04 Álvaro García Mancheño 318 1.42 7.13 18 7.38 10.53 Others 110 0.49 2.47 3 1.23 1.75 Total 4,457 171 Valid endorsements 4,457 16.07 171 70.08 Not endorsing 17,864 83.93 73 29.92 Total members 22,321 244 Sources

Public endorsements

Alberto Garzón

Paloma López Bermejo

Tasio Oliver

Álvaro García Mancheño

Results + Summary of the 26 May–5 June 2016 IU assembly results Candidate Primary Assembly Votes % Votes % Alberto Garzón 6,382 74.66 68 83 82.18 Paloma López Bermejo 1,776 20.78 18 colspan="2" Tasio Oliver 390 4.56 4 colspan="2" Blank ballots 0 0.00 18 17.82 Total 8,548 90 101 Valid votes 8,548 100.00 101 67.33 Invalid votes 0 0.00 0 0.00 Votes cast / turnout 8,548 38.30 101 67.33 Abstentions 13,773 61.70 49 32.67 Registered voters 22,321 150 Sources

References