ERC Leadership Race Heats Up as Oriol Junqueras Advances to Second Round
Oriol Junqueras has secured 483 votes from the party membership this Saturday in the race to lead the Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC). His candidacy will now face Xavier Godàs in a second round of voting set for December 14, as he did not garner enough support to win outright. The voter turnout for this electoral session was 8,135, slightly higher than the previous consultations during the investiture of socialist Salvador Illa. A total of 6,533 members cast their votes out of a census of 8,030.
Junqueras, backed by the Militància Decidim, received 3,157 votes, while Nova Esquerra Nacional, led by Godàs, garnered 2,308 votes. The third candidacy, Foc Nou led by Helena Solà, attracted 824 votes. Additionally, 244 people submitted blank votes. In the upcoming second round, Militància Decidim and Nova Esquerra Nacional will be the two principal candidates, but modifications to the list may still occur up to a week before the vote. Any changes must include both the presidential candidate and half of the list members.
This electoral process is taking place amid challenging times for ERC, which finds itself ousted from the Generalitat and with approximately 1,500 fewer members compared to 2019, as well as a loss of half a million votes from the same year. The outcome of ERC's leadership race will be crucial for the political landscape of both Catalonia and Spain, as the party holds significant influence over the region's governance and has critical support in the Spanish Congress for the coalition government led by Pedro Sánchez.
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