The battle of Junts in Barcelona begins: four candidates confirmed

BarcelonaThe deadline is approaching and it is confirmed that the number 1 on the Junts list in Barcelona will be contested by four candidates. Jordi Martí Galbis, Pilar Calvo, Glòria Freixa and Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas have submitted the more than 200 signatures (20% of the endorsements, although it has not been published exactly how many each has obtained) that the party required of them and it is expected that this Friday they will be officially proclaimed as candidates for the primaries. The party's municipal territorial commission (CMT) must now validate the signatures provided by each candidate and kick off the electoral campaign, which is scheduled from June 13 to 19. The membership will be able to vote on the 20th and 21st, and the winner will be announced on the same day.

was proposed to be the candidate for mayordecided not to contest and renounced the opportunity to be the candidate.

Martí is one of the leaders who represent the more pragmatic soul of Junts and has a prominent supporter within the party: former Barcelona mayor Xavier Trias. In an interview with ARA a few days ago

, the Junts councilor defended "maintaining and updating the positive legacies of Convergence".

Martí Galbis was the first to announce, on June 7, that he had reached the barrier of 200 endorsements, just 48 hours after the period for collecting them opened. Pilar Calvo was the second to present herself in the primaries and also the second to announce that she had the necessary signatures to be a candidate. The current deputy in Congress is the candidate closest to the party's general secretary, Jordi Turull, and to the spokesperson in the lower house, Miriam Nogueras.

Both Glòria Freixa and Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas were the last to put themselves forward as candidates, even though their names had been appearing in predictions for some time. Freixa is currently a deputy and first secretary of the Parliament's board, and like Jordi Martí Galbis, she is also part of the party's more pragmatic wing.

Cuevillas, a lawyer and former MP in Parliament, announced his candidacy at the deadline and will also be in the final stage. The former MP was the lawyer for Carles Puigdemont and is considered a free spirit within the party. In an interview with ARA a few days ago he explained that the former President of the Generalitat himself had offered him in 2018 to be Junts' candidate in Barcelona for the 2019 municipal elections, and that since then he had regretted not having accepted the offer at that time.

Cuevillas, furthermore, has officially asked the party to organize a debate with the four candidates and that it be open to the media. Sources in the party indicate that one will probably be held on June 19th.