The moves by Junqueras' supporters to control ERC in Girona

GironaLess than two years before the municipal elections, internal squabbles continue within Esquerra de Girona. The party, which has always struggled to achieve good results in the city, is experiencing a turbulent period of leadership changes, with two radically opposed factions: the current local leadership, which holds seats on the City Council, and the new mayoral candidate, Marc Puigtió, an outsider and former mayor of Sant Julià de Ramis. who won the primaries by a single vote against the former Education delegate, Adam ManyéThe winning candidate and the leadership have not reached any agreement, so, in order to prepare the 2027 campaign with the necessary support, Puigdemont, who is aligned with Oriol Junqueras, has brought forward a motion of no confidence to establish a new Girona executive committee that inspires his confidence. 56% of Esquerra's members in Girona have signed the motion, with more than 60 endorsements from the 107 members with voting rights. The result has already been presented to the national leadership in Barcelona and, once validated by the guarantees committee, the statutory mechanism will be activated to put the replacement to a vote, presumably within the next two weeks.

"The local leadership publicly supported the other primary candidate, but once our victory was validated, we expected to be able to start working together and begin preparing the 2027 campaign, but everything was at a standstill," Puigtió explained to ARA. He added: "They also refused to back down, and that's why we pushed through the motion, which has been a success."

The candidate aligned with Oriol Junqueras

At the ERC national congress a year ago, Puigtió positioned himself in favor of Junqueras' candidacy, from whom he received the mandate to be the Republican mayoral candidate in Girona after the poor results in the May 2023 elections. However, the national leadership is avoiding fanning the flames between factions and local groups. "All candidates, regardless of their political leanings, gain the trust and endorsement of the executive committee the moment they are chosen locally," commented sources in the capital. Puigtió's motion of no confidence proposes a new gender-balanced executive committee headed by Salva Romero as president and Annabel Moya as general secretary. Challenges, new affiliations and criticism in the current ERC government

This is the latest chapter in months of tension. Back in the primaries, held in September, Marc Puigtió won by a single vote (28 to 27), in a vote marred by a void ballot containing a sticker with the ERC logo over the name of candidate Manyé. The results were challenged before the electoral guarantees commission, but it dismissed the challenge. It also caused an uproar. the mass affiliation of more than 20 members aligned with Puigtió in the Girona branch of ERC after the primariesMost of whom presumably voted in favor of the no-confidence motion. However, the former mayor of Sant Julià, faced with accusations of electoral fraud, justifies this move by emphasizing that it is "logical" that, once his project has won, those who support him should join the party.

Meanwhile, Puigtió has fueled the climate of confrontation with the local executive by criticizing decisions of the current Girona city government, of which Esquerra is a part, but with councilors who are not from his candidacy. After the last extraordinary plenary session this week, for example, the future mayoral candidate demanded "leadership and action" in the face of what he considers a situation of "paralysis" in the government. All of this has led to cross-accusations, such as those from the current Republican councilor for Sports and Youth of the Girona City Council, Àdam Bertran, who accuses him of wanting to "impose a president of the Girona local branch who lives in Salt."