Candidates missing: how will the ANC fill the vacancies in leadership?

BarcelonaDuring the peak years of the Process, the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC) was able to bring millions of people to the streets and became a decisive player in setting the roadmap for the pro-independence governments. The paralysis of the Process, however, has affected it like the rest of the pro-independence entities and formations that worked to make the 1-O referendum possible. This is demonstrated by the number of candidacies submitted to the ANC leadership. For the first time,the number of candidates for the national secretariat is lower than the number of available positions. Thus, 64 aspirants have been presented to occupy the 77 positions that will form the entity's leadership, as established by the statutes. This is the lowest figure in its history.

Two years ago, in the elections that placed Llach in the presidency, 105candidacies were presented for the national secretariat, meaning forty more people, but at that time the critical sector, which has been leaving during this term, put up a fight. These were, therefore, plebiscitary elections between those who advocated for fighting electorally by presenting a candidacy for the elections (the outgoing leadership) and those who wanted to return to the origins (incoming leadership). The record for candidates, however, was reached in 2016, just before 1-O, when 139 aspirants were presented. In 2018, with 121 candidates for the national secretariat, and in 2020, with 116, the entity still maintained its momentum. The pandemic and pro-independence disillusionment already caused a significant drop in 2022, when there were only 85 candidates. Of course, the figure allowed all positions to be filled, unlike now. The reform of the statutes, which allows former national secretaries to reapply if two mandates have passed since they held the position, has been of no use.

Thus, in almost all blocks there are just enough candidates to fill the positions of the national secretariat, which is to be constituted on April 25, but in some there are even fewer, as in the city of Barcelona, where there are six candidates for seven positions; in the youth block, where only one person has put themselves forward for two positions, or in Barcelonès Sud, where no one has put themselves forward to fill the two vacancies. In fact, in the elections, which will be held from April 14 to 18, candidates will only be chosen in the national block, where there are 16 hopefuls for 13 positions, including the current president Lluís Llach, and in that of the Girona regions, where there are six candidates for five positions. In the rest of the territories or sectors, all candidates who have put themselves forward will directly enter the secretariat.

But did the ANC overlook the vacancies in the leadership? Sources from the entity explain to el ARA that the leadership will be reduced. "With the remaining positions, nothing can be done now," they admit. However, they do not close the door to expanding the leadership later: "Usually, at the midpoint of the term, partial elections are held to cover absences and vacancies. It is likely that, after thorough work in the territories where positions in the secretariat could not be filled, they will be held." Be that as it may, they recall that in recent years the secretariat has ended up being constituted with fewer than the 77 members stipulated by the regulations because there were too many candidates in some places and too few in others: 72 in 2018 and 2020 and 71 in 2022 and 2024.

The ANC downplays the decrease

In any case, the ANC is proud of the number of candidacies achieved: "It remains high and sufficient to guarantee a broad, plural, and fully operational national secretariat. This year there will be about sixty, a dimension that continues to be very representative of the territory and the movement." The leadership justifies the decrease due to internal peace. "In the 2024 elections, there was a very intense strategic debate that mobilized more candidacies, and this year, in contrast, there is more consensus on the entity's direction. And when there is less internal confrontation, there is also less need to compete for majorities," they note.

In any case, the entity admits that reducing the number of members of the leadership is a debate that has been on the table for some time: "For years, different national secretariats have debated reforming the statutes to reduce the number of members who are part of it." The entity also believes that the disaffection of the independence movement is not solely behind the demobilization. "We are at a time when sustained involvement in any organization – not just within the independence movement – is more demanding and harder to achieve. This is a general trend affecting social, cultural, and political entities everywhere," they conclude.