The 13th Federal Assembly of United Left was held in Madrid from 18 May to 19 May 2024, to renovate the governing bodies of the United Left (IU) and establish the party's main lines of action and strategy for the next leadership term.
The leadership election takes place in order to replace Alberto Garzón as coordinator after he resigned in late November 2023. Besides, the assembly is expected to clarify United Left's relation with Sumar, the electoral platform launched by Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz ahead of the 2023 Spanish general election.
Four candidates were running to replace Garzón: Sira Rego, Minister of Youth and Children and former member of the European parliament; Antonio Maíllo, former coordinator of United Left in Andalusia and former member of that region's parliament; José Antonio García Rubio, member of the party's board; and Álvaro Aguilera, coordinator of United Left in the Community of Madrid and secretary general of the branch of the Communist Party of Spain in that region.
After Garzón resigned, negotiations started among the different factions in United Left to find common ground ahead of the assembly. However, in March, Rego, who was widely regarded as Garzón's replacement as she was United Left's only minister in the government, unilaterally announced her candidacy. This movement led to many sectors in the party to seek an alternative candidate, who ended being Antonio Maillo. While negotiations continued until late April, a uniting candidate could not be found as differences were too big.
Candidates Candidate Age Notable positions Announced Eliminated Campaign Elected Candidate elected as general coordinator. Antonio Maíllo General Coordinator of United Left/The Greens–Assembly for Andalusia (2013–2019)Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for Cádiz (2015–2019) 21 April 2024 Elected Proclaimed Candidates who met the endorsement requirement and were officially proclaimed to contest the primary election. Sira Rego Minister of Youth and Children (since 2023)Member of the European Parliament for Spain (2019–2023)City Councillor of Rivas-Vaciamadrid (2007–2019) 13 March 2024 14 May 2024 Álvaro Aguilera 38 General Coordinator of United Left–Madrid (since 2020)General Secretary of the Communist Party of Madrid (since 2014)City Councillor of Brunete (2011–2015) 26 April 2024 14 May 2024 José AntonioGarcía Rubio 75 Federal Secretary of Economy and Employment of IU (2012–2020) 14 March 2024 14 May 2024
Endorsements
Total Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 2% of the total party members (≈321 endorsements).
+Summary of candidate endorsement results Candidate Endorsements Count Antonio Maíllo 963 6.00 38.53 Álvaro Aguilera 593 3.70 23.73 Sira Rego 520 3.24 20.81 José Antonio García Rubio 423 2.64 16.93 Total 2,499 Valid endorsements 2,499 15.57 Not endorsing 13,547 84.43 Total members 16,046 Sources
Results + Summary of the 15–27 March 2021 IU assembly results Candidate Primary Assembly Votes % Votes % Antonio Maíllo 4,463 53.45 Unopposed Sira Rego 1,957 23.44 colspan="2" Álvaro Aguilera 1,178 14.11 colspan="2" José Antonio García Rubio 696 8.33 colspan="2" Blank ballots 56 0.67 colspan="2" Total 8,350 colspan="2" Valid votes 8,350 100.00 colspan="2" rowspan="4" Invalid votes 0 0.00 Votes cast / turnout 8,350 52.05 Abstentions 7,696 47.97 Registered voters 16,046 130 Sources
References