PP list for Málaga for 29N: Elías Bendodo heads the candidacy for Congress

The next step is to formally submit the candidacies to the competent Electoral Board, through the party's electoral representatives and within the legal deadline. The approval of the Popular Party's Electoral Committee is an internal decision: it does not replace the submission nor does it mean that the lists have been officially proclaimed by the electoral administration.

1. From internal approval to official submission

It is important to distinguish two levels. The party decides who makes up its candidacies and in what order; then, the electoral administration verifies that these candidacies meet the requirements to run. Therefore, if the question refers to the external procedure following the Committee's approval, what corresponds is to prepare and submit the electoral documentation, not to wait for approval from the Congress.

Article 45 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, reproduced in the consulted constitutional case law, establishes that candidacies, signed by the corresponding representatives, are submitted "to the competent Electoral Board between the fifteenth and twentieth day after the call." It is important that the deadline is counted from the call, not from the meeting of the Electoral Committee. This is reflected in STC 26/2004.

For candidacies to the Congress and the Senate, the submission is made to the corresponding Provincial Electoral Board. The documentation must allow identification of the candidacy and certify the acceptance of its members and their eligibility conditions, that is, that they can legally run. The cited ruling examines a file that included identifications, acceptances, and declarations of eligibility, as well as documentation on representation and electoral administration.

2. Review and correction of irregularities

After submission, the Electoral Board examines the candidacy. This phase does not consist of politically evaluating the names chosen by the PP, but in verifying their compliance with legal requirements.

If correctable defects appear, the possibility to correct them must be offered. Article 47.2 of the electoral legislation contemplates a period of 48 hours for correction. The Constitutional Court has insisted that, in principle, errors and irregularities in submission are correctable and that the boards must give that opportunity, as explained in STC 102/2007.

However, correcting a defect does not equate to having a new general deadline to submit candidacies. Submission to the competent body and within the deadline remains essential: STC 83/2003 analyzed precisely a candidacy submitted to a city council that did not reach the Electoral Board on time.

3. Proclamation and possible appeals

Once the review is passed and, when appropriate, irregularities corrected, it corresponds to the Electoral Board to proclaim the candidacies. This is the act that officially recognizes which ones run in the elections; it should not be confused with the public announcement or the party's internal approval.

The proclamation, or its denial, can be challenged through the electoral judicial route. The consulted case law establishes a two-day period to appeal, which starts from the publication of the corresponding resolution, according to STC 108/1991.

In short, the sequence is internal approval, submission, review, correction when applicable, and proclamation, with the possibility of appeal. The finality of the proclamation does not arise from the Committee's decision: it is reached when the applicable channels and deadlines for appeal are exhausted. STC 50/2024 includes a case in which a final proclamation could not be reopened later before the Central Electoral Board.

The Deputy Secretary of Autonomous and Municipal Policy of the PP is responsible for coordinating the party's territorial political action: connecting the national leadership with its autonomous and local leaders, promoting common positions, and channeling their priorities. It is an internal party position, not an administrative authority over autonomous communities or municipalities. Currently, it is held by Elías Bendodo, whose responsibility also includes Electoral Analysis, according to the official PP structure.

Fit and scope of its powers

It is important to distinguish between the general functions of a deputy secretariat and the specific tasks developed by this area. The PP Statutes establish the framework for direction and coordination of the party's areas, but do not offer an exhaustive and closed catalog of particular competencies for this deputy secretariat. Its operational scope depends on the distribution of responsibilities approved by the national leadership.

Therefore, its functions should be understood as coordination, interlocution, and political promotion, not as legal powers to order actions to administrations governed by the PP.

Main functions

• Link between national leadership and territories. Channels the party's priorities to its autonomous and municipal leaders and gathers territorial needs, proposals, and problems. Its interlocution includes autonomous leaders, mayors, and heads of provincial councils, island councils, and consells.
• Coordination with autonomous parliaments. Brings together regional spokespersons to share priorities and strengthen a common political action. An example is the meeting on June 23, 2026, dedicated to housing, security, and taxation, described in this PP communication.
• Promotion of the municipal and provincial agenda. Articulates work with local representatives and promotes spaces to address shared problems. In October 2024, he participated in a meeting with more than forty representatives of provincial councils, island councils, and consells, linked to working groups on local financing, care services, depopulation, and European funds, according to the party information.
• Coordination of territorial proposals. Contributes to building common positions on autonomous and local financing, municipal autonomy, and service provision. For example, Bendodo defended that the reform of autonomous financing be accompanied by a local one and conveyed municipal demands on the use of surpluses for housing (Demócrata, March 26, 2026).
• Electoral analysis. In the current configuration, it includes the study of electoral results and trends to guide territorial political strategy. This additional responsibility is part of Bendodo's position title; it should not be confused with an exclusive power to decide candidacies or direct all campaigns.

What does not correspond to him alone

The position does not replace autonomous presidents, mayors, or governing bodies. It also does not approve public budgets, modify administrative competencies, or make binding decisions for municipalities and autonomous communities. Those powers correspond to the competent institutions.

Likewise, it must be distinguished from Organization: Autonomous and Municipal Policy focuses on territorial political relations and their content; Organization mainly attends to the party's internal structure and functioning. Both areas can collaborate but are not interchangeable, as explained in the restructuring covered by RTVE.

In summary, its function is to connect and coordinate the PP's territorial network, seeking coherence between the national strategy and autonomous and local priorities, without assuming the public powers of its representatives.

The Popular Party won in the Málaga constituency in the last general elections held, those of July 23, 2023. It obtained five of the eleven deputies elected by the province. The consulted press information places its result around 302,000 votes and 38.3%, figures that should be read as a rounded reference and not as a certification of the final count.

Main results

• First position: the PP was the most voted candidacy in the entire Málaga constituency.
• Electoral support: approximately 302,000 votes, equivalent to 38.3% according to the summary of results consulted.
• Representation obtained: five seats in the Congress of Deputies.
• Total seats at stake: Málaga elected eleven deputies; therefore, the other six corresponded to other candidacies.
• Evolution compared to 2019: the PP gained two more deputies, going from three to five.

The victory and obtaining those five deputies are recorded in the information from Canal Sur and Diario SUR. The clearest data to describe its representation is, therefore, that it obtained five of the eleven available seats.

What this result means

With five deputies, the PP gathered approximately 45.5% of the seats assigned to Málaga. This percentage results from dividing the five seats obtained by the eleven distributed. It should not be confused with the percentage of votes: one thing is the proportion of ballots received and another, the proportion of deputies finally assigned.

The difference between both magnitudes allows describing the result without mixing them: the published electoral support was 38.3%, while its representation amounted to just under half of the province's deputies. Although it was in first position, the PP did not obtain an outright majority of the eleven seats, for which it would have needed six.

The improvement compared to 2019

The available comparison shows an advance of two seats: from three deputies in 2019 to five in July 2023. It is an improvement in representation, different from a comparison of votes. With the figures collected here, that increase in seats can be affirmed, but not equivalently quantify how many additional votes it received or how many percentage points it gained compared to the previous election.

It is also important to specify the territorial scope: these results correspond to the entire province of Málaga, which constitutes the constituency, and not only to the municipality of Málaga. Likewise, the five seats mentioned are for the Congress; they should not be interpreted as the party's result in the Senate.

Where to consult the results

For more provincial detail, the pages of RTVE, Público, ABC, and Dato Electoral can be consulted. Also included are ABC's coverage on Málaga results and the winning candidacy, other information from Canal Sur, and RTVE's breakdown for Málaga city, whose scope is different.

In summary: the PP was first in Málaga, obtained five deputies, and improved its 2019 representation by two seats.