2015 PSOE prime ministerial primary
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A primary election was scheduled for Sunday, 26 July 2015, to elect the prime ministerial nominee of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) for the 2015 Spanish general election.
Plans for the primaries had been ongoing since the 2012 PSOE congress, which saw the adoption by the party of an open primary system to elect its candidates for prime minister. Initially scheduled for November 2014, the original proposal was scrapped following the party's defeat at the European Parliament election in May that year, which led to the resignation of PSOE leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba and in an extraordinary congress to elect his successor. Pedro Sánchez emerged as the party's new secretary-general, after winning a closed primary—a novel system in PSOE's leadership elections—among party members. The prime ministerial primary was then rescheduled to July 2015, after the local and regional elections in May, with Sánchez launching his candidacy in September 2014.
Other potential contenders, such as Andalusian president Susana Díaz or former defence minister Carme Chacón, ruled out running for the post. Concurrently, Sánchez's position was reinforced following the PSOE's relative success in the 24 May 2015 elections, in which it regained much of the territorial power it had lost in 2011. As a result, Sánchez was the only candidate who met the endorsement requirements to contest the primaries, leading to him being elected unopposed as the party's prime ministerial candidate on 21 June 2015.[2][3]
Background
[edit]Previous experiences in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) to elect its prime ministerial nominees through party primaries had seen a contested election in 1998—in which Josep Borrell, a former public works minister, successfully faced off then party leader Joaquín Almunia—and two uncontested ones in 2002 and 2011, the latter of which had seen deputy prime minister and interior minister of Spain Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba becoming the PSOE's nominee for the 2011 Spanish general election; all of these had been, however, closed to party members.[4] The 2012 PSOE federal party congress, in which Rubalcaba succeeded José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as new secretary-general, had also introduced an open primary system to elect the party's prime ministerial candidate to the next general election,[5] with any citizen over 16 years of age being allowed to register and vote.[6][7][8]
Throughout 2012 and 2013, as Rubalcaba's popularity declined, sectors within the party demanded a date being set for the primary election,[9][10][11] with the PSOE leadership claiming that it would be held a few months before the general election's scheduled date.[12][13] In order to park the internal debate, the party announced in January 2014 that it would be holding its prime ministerial primary in November that year.[14][15] Rubalcaba had reportedly not decided whether to run in the primary election himself,[16][17] conditioning his final position on the PSOE's results in the 2014 European Parliament election, scheduled for 25 May.[18]
The party's negative results in the European Parliament election forced Rubalcaba's retirement as PSOE leader and triggered an extraordinary party congress in July;[19] it saw Pedro Sánchez, a deputy for Madrid, being elected as new secretary-general through a closed primary election among party members.[20][21][22] All three main candidates in the leadership contest (Eduardo Madina, José Antonio Pérez Tapias and Sánchez himself) promised to keep the open primary system for selecting the party's nominee for prime minister,[23][24] but it was rescheduled to July 2015 to postpone any further internal struggles until after the local and regional elections in May.[25][26][27]
With Madina having ruled out contesting the primary following his defeat in the 2014 congress,[28] the only other major potential contenders were former defence minister Carme Chacón—who had pushed for primaries ever since her aborted bid in the 2011 process—and Andalusian president Susana Díaz, but both declined to challenge Sánchez.[29]
Overview
[edit]Procedure
[edit]The PSOE Federal Committee approved on 18 January 2014 a party regulation for the election of candidates to public offices through an open primary system.[30] This complemented existing regulations, which already established primaries as mandatory to elect prime ministerial nominees, except when the candidate already held the office of prime minister and was seeking re-election, in which case a primary election would only be held if explicitly requested by the federal committee as a body or by a majority of its members.[31]
The primary election was organized on the basis of plurality voting.[32] Voting comprised all members of the PSOE—including its regional branches—the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), the Socialist Youth of Spain (JSE) and the Socialist Youth of Catalonia (JSC), as well as all nationals over 16 years of age who had registered to participate in the process; such register required of the previous signing of a commitment and/or declaration of progressive principles and values as well as the payment of a minimum symbolic contribution of two euros.[33] Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 5% of party members (which for the 2015 prime ministerial primary amounted to 9,700 endorsements).[34][35] In the event of only one candidate meeting this requirement, the primaries would be left uncontested with such candidate being elected unopposed.[36][37]
Timetable
[edit]The key dates of the primary election procedure are listed below (all times are CET):[38][39]
- 30 May: Official announcement of the primary election.
- 1 June: Start of pre-candidacy submission period.
- 5 June: Start of endorsement collection period.
- 16 June: End of endorsement collection and pre-candidacy submission periods at 12 pm.
- 16 June: Endorsement verification and provisional proclamation of primary candidates.
- 21 June: Definitive proclamation of primary candidates and start of citizen registration period.
- 10 July: End of citizen registration period.
- 11 July: Official start of internal information campaign.
- 25 July: Last day of internal information campaign.
- 26 July: Primary election (polling stations open at 10 am and close at 8 pm).
- 27 July: Provisional proclamation of results.
- 31 July: Definitive proclamation of results.
Candidates
[edit]| Candidate | Notable positions | Announced | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Qualified[edit] | |||||
| Candidates who met endorsement requirements and qualified to contest the primary election. | |||||
.jpg) |
Pedro Sánchez (age 43) |
Secretary-General of the PSOE (since 2014) Leader of the Opposition of Spain (since 2014) Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid (2009–2011 and since 2013) City Councillor of Madrid (2004–2009) |
13 September 2014 | [40] [41] | |
Failed to qualify[edit] | |||||
| Candidates who announced an intention to run, but failed to qualify due to not meeting endorsement requirements. | |||||
 |
Sergio Cebolla (age 37) |
Secretary of Group Dynamization of the PSOE–A in the province of Seville (since 2013) |
5 June 2015 | [42] [43] | |
|
Pedro Antonio Ibáñez (age 43) |
None | 8 June 2015 | [44] | |
|
Manuel Pérez (age 67) |
None | 13 June 2015 | [45] | |
|
Manuel Castro (age unknown) |
None | 16 June 2015 | [46] | |
Declined
[edit]The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:
.jpg)
- Carme Chacón (age 44) — Secretary of International Relations of the PSOE (since 2014); Member of the Congress of Deputies for Barcelona (2000–2013); Member of the PSOE Executive Commission (2008–2012); Minister of Defence of Spain (2008–2011); Minister of Housing of Spain (2007–2008); Secretary of Culture of the PSOE (2004–2008); First Vice President of the Congress of Deputies (2004–2007); Secretary of Education, Universities, Culture and Research of the PSOE (2000–2004); First Deputy Mayor of Esplugues de Llobregat (1999–2003); City Councillor of Esplugues de Llobregat (1999–2003).[47][48][49]
- Susana Díaz (age 40) — President of the Regional Government of Andalusia (since 2013); Secretary-General of the PSOE–A (since 2013); Member of the Parliament of Andalusia for Seville (since 2008); Minister of the Presidency and Equality of Andalusia (2012–2013); Secretary-General of the PSOE–A in the province of Seville (2012–2013); Senator appointed by the Parliament of Andalusia (2011–2012); Secretary of Organization of the PSOE–A (2010–2012); Secretary of Organization of the PSOE–A in the province of Seville (2004–2010); Member of the Congress of Deputies for Seville (2004–2008); Deputy Mayor for Human Resources in Seville (2003–2004); City Councillor of Seville (1999–2004); Secretary of Organization of the JSA (1997–2004).[50][51][52]
- Eduardo Madina (age 39) — Member of the Congress of Deputies for Biscay (since 2004); Secretary-General of the Socialist Parliamentary Group in the Congress (2009–2014); Member of the PSOE Executive Commission (2008–2014); City Councillor of Sestao (1999–2001).[28]
Endorsements
[edit]| Candidate | Party members | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % T | % V | ||
| Pedro Sánchez | 27,249 | 14.05 | 99.31 | |
| Sergio Cebolla | 156 | 0.08 | 0.57 | |
| Pedro Antonio Ibáñez | 22 | 0.01 | 0.08 | |
| Manuel Pérez | 9 | 0.00 | 0.03 | |
| Manuel Castro | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Total | 27,437 | |||
| Valid endorsements | 27,437 | 14.14 | ||
| Not endorsing | ~166,563 | 85.86 | ||
| Total members | ~194,000 | |||
| Sources[1][46][53] | ||||
Opinion polls
[edit]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 PSOE voters/supporters as well as Spanish voters as a whole, but not among party members, who were the ones ultimately entitled to vote in the primary election.
PSOE voters
[edit]| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
|
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|
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|
Other /None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sánchez (Inc.) |
Chacón | Díaz | ||||||
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 1][p 2] | 26–29 Jan 2015 | ?[b] | 42.1 | 16.5 | 34.2 | – | 7.1 | 7.9 |
Spanish voters
[edit]| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
|
|
|
Other /None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sánchez (Inc.) |
Chacón | Díaz | ||||||
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 1][p 2] | 26–29 Jan 2015 | 1,800[b] | 33.9 | 17.5 | 27.2 | – | 21.3 | 6.7 |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The primary election was left uncontested on 16 June, as a result of Pedro Sánchez's candidacy being the only one meeting the endorsement requirements.[1]
- ^ a b In Andalusia.
References
[edit]- Opinion poll sources
- ^ a b "El 58% de los votantes socialistas en Andalucía no quiere a Susana Díaz en las primarias". El Mundo (in Spanish). 2 February 2015.
- ^ a b "Encuesta electoral en Andalucía 2ª parte. Gráfico". El Mundo (in Spanish). 2 February 2015.
- Other
- ^ a b "Sánchez aspirará a la Moncloa al ser el único candidato con avales" (in Spanish). RTVE. EFE. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ Díez, Anabel (17 June 2015). "El PSOE proclama candidato a La Moncloa a Pedro Sánchez". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Pedro Sánchez, proclamado sin primarias: "Acepto la candidatura al gobierno de España"". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 21 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ Alonso, Mariano (1 June 2014). "Los peligros de la bicefalia". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "El próximo candidato del PSOE saldrá de unas primarias a la francesa". El País (in Spanish). Seville / Madrid. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "La Ejecutiva Federal del PSOE aprueba la ponencia marco del 38 congreso". Cinco Días (in Spanish). EFE. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "PSOE. Abrir primarias a simpatizantes, revisar acuerdos con el Vaticano y banca pública para emprendedores, en las propuestas del 38 Congreso" (in Spanish). Seville: Servimedia. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Gutiérrez Calvo, Vera (23 September 2012). "Un compromiso escrito y un único pago permitirán elegir al candidato del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Mendoza, Alberto (18 June 2012). "Las primarias dividen al PSOE cuatro meses después de la victoria de Rubalcaba". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Gutiérrez Calvo, Vera (10 December 2012). "El PSOE aparca las primarias hasta "meses antes" de las elecciones generales". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Otro ministro de Zapatero apremia al PSOE para convocar primarias en 2013". El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid / Santiago de Compostela. Agencias. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "El PSOE solo hará sus primarias "meses antes" de las próximas elecciones generales" (in Spanish). RTVE. Agencias. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Rubalcaba promete primarias cerca de las elecciones; Chacón alerta: no hay tiempo" (in Spanish). RTVE. Agencias. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Gutiérrez Calvo, Vera (17 January 2014). "El PSOE pone fecha a sus primarias e intenta aplazar el desfile de aspirantes". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Gutiérrez Calvo, Vera (18 January 2014). "El PSOE celebrará sus primarias abiertas para las generales en noviembre". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Rubalcaba ve "legítimo" y Chacón "muy positivo" que Madina se presentase a las primarias" (in Spanish). RTVE. Agencias. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Rubalcaba: "Si creo que soy útil, me plantearé las primarias"". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Sanz, Luis Ángel (11 February 2014). "Rubalcaba irá a las primarias si el PSOE gana las europeas". El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Forcada, Daniel (26 May 2014). "Rubalcaba tira la toalla y convoca un congreso para elegir a su sucesor". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Díez, Anabel; Lucio, Lourdes (28 May 2014). "Rubalcaba acepta un congreso abierto". El País (in Spanish). Madrid / Seville. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Díez, Anabel (30 May 2014). "Todos los militantes elegirán al futuro secretario general del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Martín Plaza, Ana (14 July 2014). "Los militantes eligen a Sánchez como secretario general del PSOE con el 49% de los votos" (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Los tres aspirantes a liderar el PSOE prometen primarias para elegir al candidato a las generales" (in Spanish). RTVE. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Pedro Sánchez garantiza que habrá primarias abiertas en el PSOE". Cinco Días (in Spanish). Madrid. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Díez, Anabel (10 August 2014). "Sánchez anunciará a su partido que opta a la presidencia del Gobierno". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "El PSOE celebrará primarias para elegir a su candidato a La Moncloa en julio de 2015". El Mundo (in Spanish). Madrid. Agencias. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Pascual Bueno 2016, p. 186.
- ^ a b "Eduardo Madina rechaza incorporarse a la Ejecutiva de Pedro Sánchez" (in Spanish). EiTB. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Pascual Bueno 2016, p. 187.
- ^ Campos, Carmen (18 January 2014). "El PSOE celebrará en noviembre las primarias abiertas para elegir a su candidato a la Moncloa" (in Spanish). RTVE. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ PSOE Federal Committee 2014, p. 1.
- ^ PSOE Federal Committee 2014, p. 2.
- ^ PSOE Federal Committee 2014, pp. 1–2 & 13.
- ^ PSOE Federal Committee 2014, p. 15.
- ^ PSOE Executive Commission 2015, p. 8.
- ^ PSOE Federal Committee 2014, p. 19.
- ^ PSOE Executive Commission 2015, p. 15.
- ^ "Calendario Primarias a la Presidencia del Gobierno 2015" (in Spanish). Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ PSOE Executive Commission 2015.
- ^ "Pedro Sánchez anuncia oficialmente su candidatura para las primarias de 2015". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Madrid. EFE. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Sánchez se presenta a las primarias del PSOE para ser candidato a la Presidencia del Gobierno" (in Spanish). RTVE. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Un dirigente del PSOE de Sevilla se inscribe como precandidato a las primarias" (in Spanish). RTVE. EFE. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ Larrañeta, Amaya (15 June 2015). "Sergio Cebolla, aspirante a candidato del PSOE: "Pedro Sánchez nos ha decepcionado"". 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Pedro Antonio Ibáñez, tercer aspirante a las primarias del PSOE para la Moncloa" (in Spanish). RTVE. EFE. 8 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Manuel Pérez, un médico de Granada, cuarto aspirante a las primarias del PSOE". Ideal (in Spanish). EFE. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ a b Lobo, José Luis (16 June 2015). "Ningún socialista reúne los avales para enfrentarse a Sánchez en las primarias". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Chacón se presentará a primarias para presidenta del Gobierno si es secretaria general del PSOE" (in Spanish). RTVE. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Díez, Anabel (1 June 2014). "Chacón renuncia a liderar el PSOE y se postula para las elecciones generales". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ Ríos, Pere (13 April 2015). "El PSC no apoyará a Chacón si concurre a las primarias del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Susana Díaz anuncia que será "neutral" en las primarias del PSOE a la Moncloa" (in Spanish). RTVE. EFE. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Sanz, Luis Ángel; Torres, Carmen (28 May 2015). "Susana Díaz quiere retrasar las primarias". El Mundo (in Spanish). Seville. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Susana Díaz se descarta para las primarias a la Moncloa y deja vía libre a Pedro Sánchez". infoLibre (in Spanish). 30 May 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ Pascual Bueno 2016, p. 188.
Bibliography
[edit]- PSOE Federal Committee (18 January 2014). "Reglamento federal para la elección de candidatos o candidatas por el sistema de primarias abiertas" (PDF) (in Spanish). Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.
- PSOE Executive Commission (30 May 2015). "Primarias. Elección de candidato/a a la Presidencia del Gobierno de España. Bases de Convocatoria" (PDF) (in Spanish). Spanish Socialist Workers' Party.
- Pascual Bueno, Ernesto M. (2016). Selección de Líderes y Candidatos a la Presidencia del Gobierno (1976-2016). "El jardín secreto del PSOE" (PDF) (PhD) (in Spanish). Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.