MADRID, Oct 17 (Reuters) – The left-wing parties in Spain presented on Saturday separate lists of candidates for an early election, after the failure of negotiations for a national pact, which reduced the chances of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez staying in power at the head of a left-wing coalition.
The Spanish electoral system disadvantages smaller parties that run separately, especially in the less populous provinces where there are fewer seats available.
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This split could also demoralize left-wing voters, whom organizers had hoped to mobilize around housing protests and fears of the far right.
The Broad Front, a platform composed of several parties represented in the minority government, and the other main left-wing party, Podemos, had been publicly discussing leadership positions on the joint candidate lists for the November 29 election in Madrid and Barcelona, the two largest electoral districts.
The longstanding animosities between former comrades who had become rivals did not help.
“These last days have been very difficult… some people will be disappointed today, and for that I apologize,” said Ada Colau, former mayor of Barcelona and leader of the Broad Front, at the launch event for her platform in Madrid.
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The Podemos, whose top candidate is former Equality Minister Irene Montero, had proposed open primaries to determine the positions of the candidates on the joint lists.
But the Broad Front refused, arguing that there was little time, and wanted their own preferred candidates to lead the lists in Madrid and Barcelona.
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The Podemos then struck a separate accord with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), which advocates Catalan independence.
(Reporting by David Latona)
