6th General Assembly of Citizens (Spanish political party)

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]

6th General Assembly of Cs

← 2020 11–12 January 2023 (primary)
14–15 January 2023 (assembly)
Opinion polls
Registered7,642 (primary)
Turnout3,795 (49.7%) (primary)
 
Candidate Patricia Guasp
Adrián Vázquez
Edmundo Bal
Santiago Saura
Marcos Morales
Laura Alves
Popular vote 2,021 (53.3%) 1,493 (39.3%) 281 (7.4%)
Delegate vote Unopposed Eliminated Eliminated

Leader before election

Inés Arrimadas (President)

Elected Leader

Patricia Guasp (Spokesperson)
Adrián Vázquez (Secretary-General)

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

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Candidate Age Notable positions Announced Eliminated Campaign Ref.

Elected

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Candidates elected as Secretary-General and Political Spokesperson.
 
Patricia Guasp
45 Regional Coordinator of Citizens Balearic Islands (since 2020)
Member of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands for Mallorca (since 2019)
23 December 2022  Y Elected   [6]
[7]
[8]
 
Adrián Vázquez
40 Member of the European Parliament for Spain (since 2020)

Proclaimed

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Candidates who met the endorsement requirement and were officially proclaimed to contest the primary election.
 
Edmundo Bal
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]
 
Santiago Saura
48 City Councillor of Madrid (since 2019) 21 December 2022
 
Marcos Morales
19 None 27 December 2022 12 January 2023   [13]
[14]
[15]
 
Laura Alves
29 City Councillor of El Álamo (since 2022)

Announced

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Candidates who announced an intention to run for the primary election, but were rejected as a result of not meeting the endorsement requirement.
 
Pablo Biarge
? None 28 December 2022 29 December 2022 [13]

Declined

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The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:

Endorsements

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Total

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Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 1.5% of the total party members (115 endorsements).

Summary of candidate endorsement results
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]
Endorsements by party members
Guasp/Vázquez
60.89%
Bal/Saura
30.24%
Morales/Alves
6.33%
Biarge
2.54%

Public endorsements

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Edmundo Bal/Santiago Saura

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Edmundo Bal's and Santiago Saura's endorsements

Patricia Guasp/Adrián Vázquez

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Campaign

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Election debates

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6th Cs General Assembly debates
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

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Poll 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

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Spanish voters

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Results

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Summary of the 11–15 January 2023 Cs national assembly results
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]
Vote by party members
Guasp/Vázquez
53.25%
Bal/Saura
39.34%
Morales/Alves
7.41%

Notes

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  1. ^ Cs members.

References

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  1. ^ "Arrimadas anuncia la refundación de Cs antes de las municipales" (in Spanish). RTVE. Agencias. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ ""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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "Edmundo Bal se postula para liderar Ciudadanos y consuma su ruptura con Inés Arrimadas". ABC (in Spanish). 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "La ejecutiva de Ciudadanos apuesta por que Arrimadas revalide su liderazgo en primarias". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ "Bauzá descarta ocupar cargos en Ciudadanos por su condición de «riverista»". Ultima Hora (in Spanish). 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
  20. ^ "Francisco Igea descarta presentarse a las primarias para dirigir Ciudadanos". The Objective (in Spanish). 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  21. ^ "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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ 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.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ 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.
  28. ^ "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.
  29. ^ 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.
  30. ^ "La sombra de Inés Arrimadas planea en el primer debate de Ciudadanos". ABC (in Spanish). 4 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ "La lista de Adrián Vázquez, favorita". Electomanía (in Spanish). 9 January 2023.
  33. ^ a b "Los votantes prefieren a Bal a Inés Arrimadas". Electomanía (in Spanish). 14 December 2022.
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ "Casi 600 personas participan en la VI Asamblea General de Ciudadanos". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Agencias. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.