The resignation of Montse Mínguez as spokesperson for the Federal Executive of the PSOE has immediate consequences for the preparation of the socialist candidacies for the general elections on November 29. The leader has also decided not to run in the elections, just two days after the PSC federation in Lleida unanimously elected her to head its list for Congress.
Her withdrawal forces the Catalan socialists to reorganize a candidacy that already had its top positions defined. Amador Marqués, deputy of Unitat d'Aran, was listed as number two, while Lorena González, mayor of Balaguer, held the third position. Both are now at the center of possible alternatives, although the party has not yet communicated who will replace Mínguez.
The decision comes in the final stretch of the preparation of the electoral lists, after Mínguez announced her resignation this Friday amid the controversy over the real estate dealings of her partner, Sergi Vélez. The leader had publicly defended the legality of these activities.
Amador Marqués, the number two of the candidacy
The first possibility that arises is the promotion of Amador Marqués, who held the second position on the list approved on Wednesday by the Federation Council of the PSC of Lleida, Pirineo and Arán.
Marqués is a deputy in Congress and is linked to Unitat d'Aran, a formation that maintains a political relationship with the PSC. His position in the candidacy places him among the names that could assume the first position, although his rise is not automatic and requires a decision from the party's competent bodies.
The reorganization would also have to respect the alternation of women and men required by electoral legislation, so it would not necessarily be enough to move all candidates up one position.
Lorena González and the possibility of keeping a woman in charge
The other alternative within the top positions of the candidacy is Lorena González, mayor of Balaguer, who had been placed in third position.
Her designation would allow for a woman to remain at the head of the list for Lleida, as was initially planned with Mínguez. In that case, the PSC could keep Marqués in the second position, although any modification must be approved by the corresponding bodies.
The decision does not depend exclusively on the position that the candidates occupied in the initial proposal. The direction of the PSC, led by Salvador Illa, will have to resolve the change within the process of drafting and ratifying the lists.
The law requires maintaining zipper lists
The Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) establishes in its article 44 bis that the candidacies for Congress must be made up of women and men arranged alternately. It is the system known as zipper lists, reinforced by the parity reform approved in 2024.
This obligation does not impose that the person heading a candidacy must necessarily be a woman. Therefore, the PSC can choose a man or a woman to replace Mínguez, as long as the final composition respects the alternation required by the regulations.
The candidacy approved in Lleida began with a woman, Montse Mínguez, followed by Amador Marqués and Lorena González. If the socialists decide to place Marqués in the first position, they will also have to reorganize the subsequent positions to maintain the alternation. If they opt for González, they can configure a list headed by a woman.
A candidacy approved just two days before the resignation
The socialist federation of Lleida had unanimously supported Mínguez's continuity as head of the list on Wednesday, despite the fact that information about her partner's real estate businesses had already been published by then.
The proposal also included Xavier Oriol Granados in fourth position, while the candidacy for the Senate was headed by Jan Pomés, mayor of Cervera.
The change must be resolved before the official presentation of the candidacies for 29N. Until the PSC communicates its decision, neither the rise of Amador Marqués nor the appointment of Lorena González are confirmed.