The People's Party (PP) held its 19th national congress (of extraordinary nature) in Madrid from 20 to 21 July 2018, to renovate its governing bodies—including the post of president, which amounted to that of party leader. A primary election to elect the new party president was held on 5 July.
The congress was called by the party's National Board of Directors on 11 June as a consequence of former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy's resignation as PP leader on 5 June, following the motion of no confidence that had voted his government down on 1 June. The leadership election was the first whereby PP members directly participate in choosing a leader for the party. On 26 June 2018, it was announced that only 66,706 PP members out of the 869,535 reported by the party had registered to vote in the election.
Former deputy prime minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría and the party's Deputy Secretary-general of Communication Pablo Casado topped the poll in the primary election held on 5 July 2018, becoming eligible for the run-off to be held among the party's delegates on 20−21 July. After preliminary data was published, Sáenz de Santamaría conceded the election and acknowledged Casado's victory. Casado's win, which was considered a party swing towards the right, was possible through the support to his candidacy of former party secretary-general María Dolores de Cospedal, who had been a bitter rival of Santamaría during the PP's time in government.
Overview The congress of the PP was the party's supreme body, and could be of either ordinary or extraordinary nature, depending on whether it was held following the natural end of its term or due to any other exceptional circumstances not linked to this event. Ordinary congresses were to be held every four years and called at least two months in advance of their celebration, though this timetable could be altered for up to twelve months in the event of coincidence with electoral processes. Extraordinary congresses had to be called by a two-thirds majority of the Board of Directors at least one-and-a-half month in advance of their celebration, though in cases of "exceptional urgency" this deadline could be reduced to 30 days.
The president of the PP was the party's head and the person holding the party's political and legal representation, and presided over its board of directors and executive committee, which were the party's maximum directive, governing and administration bodies between congresses.
Electoral system The election of the PP president was based on a two-round system, introduced in the party statutes during the previous PP congress in 2017. Any party member with at least one-year membership was eligible for the post of party president, on the condition that they were up to date with the payment of party fees and that they were able to secure the signed endorsements of at least 100 party members. The election was to be held in the party's 60 constituencies, corresponding to each province and island of Spain.
In the first round, all registered party members who had their payment fees up to date were allowed to vote for any of the candidates who had been officially proclaimed by virtue of securing the required number of signatures to run. In the event that no candidate won the first round outright—which required securing at least 50 percent of the national vote, being the most voted candidate in at least half of the constituencies and at least a 15-percentage point advantage over the runner-up—a second round would be held concurrently with the party congress, in which party delegates would elect the new party leader from among the two candidates who had previously received the most votes in the first round. Most of the delegates were to be elected by party members concurrently with the first round of voting to the party leadership.
Timetable The key dates are listed below (all times are CEST. Note that the Canary Islands use WEST (UTC+1) instead):
11 June: Official announcement of the congress. Start of application period for party members to register in order to participate in the leadership election. 18 June: Start of candidate submission period at 12 pm. 20 June: End of candidate submission period at 2 pm. 22 June: Proclamation of candidates to the party presidency. 23 June: Official start of internal electoral campaigning (at 10 am). 25 June: Deadline for party members to register for voting at 2 pm. 29 June: Deadline for party members to apply as delegates at 2 pm. 4 July: Last day of internal electoral campaigning. 5 July: Primary election (first round of voting, with all registered party members entitled to vote for the proclaimed candidates) and election of congress delegates. 20−21 July: Party congress (if needed, a run-off voting was to be held among delegates to elect the party leader among the two most voted candidates in the first round).
Candidates Candidate Notable positions Announced Campaign Proclaimed Candidates who met endorsement requirements and were officially proclaimed to contest the party congress. José Ramón García Hernández(age ) Member of the Congress of Deputies for Ávila Executive Secretary of International Relations of the PP Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid 16 June 2018 Pablo Casado(age ) Deputy Secretary-General of Communication of the PP Member of the Congress of Deputies for Ávila President of NNGG in the Community of Madrid Member of the Assembly of Madrid 18 June 2018 José Manuel García-Margallo(age ) Member of the Congress of Deputies for Alicante Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain Member of the European Parliament for Spain Member of the Congress of Deputies for Valencia Member of the Congress of Deputies for Melilla 18 June 2018 María Dolores de Cospedal(age ) Secretary-General of the PP President of the PP of Castilla–La Mancha Member of the Congress of Deputies for Toledo Minister of Defence of Spain President of the Regional Government of Castilla–La Mancha Member of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha for Toledo Senator appointed by the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha Minister of Transport and Infrastructures of the Community of Madrid Secretary of State of Security of Spain Undersecretary of Public Administrations of Spain 19 June 2018 Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría(age ) Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Minister of the Presidency and for Territorial Administrations of Spain Minister of the Presidency of Spain Spokesperson of the Government of Spain Spokesperson of the People's Parliamentary Group in the Congress 19 June 2018 Elio Cabanes(age ) City Councillor of La Font de la Figuera 20 June 2018 — Failed to qualify Candidates who announced an intention to run, but failed to qualify due to not meeting endorsement requirements. José Luis Bayo(age 40) President of NNGG in the Valencian Community 18 June 2018 —
Declined The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running:
Alfonso Alonso (age ) — Member of the Basque Parliament for Álava ; President of the PP of the Basque Country ; Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality of Spain ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Álava ; Spokesperson of the People's Parliamentary Group in the Congress ; City Councillor of Vitoria ; Mayor of Vitoria . José Ramón Bauzá (age ) — Senator appointed by the Parliament of the Balearic Islands ; Member of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands for Mallorca ; President of the Balearic Islands ; President of the PP of the Balearic Islands ; Mayor of Marratxí ; City Councillor of Marratxí ; Vice President of the PP of the Balearic Islands ; Deputy Mayor for Urbanism and Health of Marratxí . Cristina Cifuentes (age ) — President of the PP of the Community of Madrid ; President of the Community of Madrid ; Member of the Assembly of Madrid ; President of the People's Group in the Assembly of Madrid ; Delegate of the Government of Spain in the Community of Madrid ; First Vice President of the Assembly of Madrid ; First Secretary of the Assembly of Madrid . Íñigo de la Serna (age ) — Minister of Development of Spain ; Member of the Parliament of Cantabria ; President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions ; Mayor of Santander ; City Councillor of Santander ; President of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces . Alberto Núñez Feijóo (age ) — President of the Regional Government of Galicia ; President of the PP of Galicia ; Member of the Parliament of Galicia for Pontevedra ; First Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia ; Minister of Territorial Policy, Public Works and Housing of Galicia ; President of the State Society of Mail and Telegraphs ; Secretary-General for Healthcare of Spain . Ana Pastor (age ) — President of the Congress of Deputies ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Pontevedra ; Minister of Development of Spain ; Coordinator of Participation and Sectorial Action of the PP ; Second Vice President of the Congress of Deputies ; Executive Secretary of Social Policy and Welfare of the PP ; Minister of Health and Consumer Affairs of Spain ; Undersecretary of Interior of Spain ; Undersecretary of the Presidency of Spain ; Undersecretary of Education and Culture of Spain . Mariano Rajoy (age ) — Prime Minister of Spain ; President of the PP ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Madrid ; Leader of the Opposition of Spain ; Secretary-General of the PP ; Member of the Congress of Deputies for Pontevedra ; Spokesperson of the Government of Spain ; Minister of the Presidency of Spain ; First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain ; Deputy Secretary-General of the PP ; Minister of the Interior of Spain ; Minister of Education and Culture of Spain ; Minister of Public Administrations of Spain ; President of AP/PP in the province of Pontevedra ; Vice President of the Xunta de Galicia ; President of the Provincial Deputation of Pontevedra ; City Councillor of Pontevedra ; Member of the Parliament of Galicia for Pontevedra ; Director-General for Institutional Relations of Galicia ; Deputy Secretary of the Parliament of Galicia .
Endorsements Total Candidates seeking to run were required to collect the endorsements of at least 100 party members.
+ Summary of candidate endorsement results Candidate Count Pablo Casado ~5,000 ~54.23 María Dolores de Cospedal 3,336 36.18 José Manuel García-Margallo ~500 ~5.42 Elio Cabanes 140 1.52 Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría >100 >1.08 José Ramón García Hernández >100 >1.08 José Luis Bayo 44 0.48 Total >9,220 Sources
Public endorsements Pablo Casado
Elio Cabanes
María Dolores de Cospedal
José Ramón García-Hernández
José Manuel García-Margallo
Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría
Opinion polls 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 PP 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.
PP voters