Gabriel Rufián will lead ERC in Barcelona on 29 November after rejecting the Frente Amplio route. His demands have also brought the party closer to cooperation talks with Podemos.
The formal endorsement still had to clear ERC’s National Executive when Gabriel Rufián confirmed he would remain the party’s leading candidate in Barcelona for the 29 November early general election.
His decision ends days of uncertainty over his future in national politics. It also keeps ERC’s most prominent parliamentary voice in place as the left of the PSOE reorganises. ERC publicly confirmed the agreement, although the required internal approval remained outstanding.
Rufián had demanded more than a routine renewal. He wanted greater freedom to shape ERC’s strategy in Madrid and a decisive role in choosing the team that would accompany him on the electoral lists. La Vanguardia reported that the negotiations centred on political influence inside the party, rather than only on the identity of its lead candidate.
Before the agreement was secured, ERC considered Jordi Albert as a possible alternative candidate in case Rufián declined to return. The fallback option emerged as the deadline for collecting endorsements approached.
That negotiation is the substance of the deal. Rufián had made clear that he would not continue without his conditions being met, while friction had grown inside the parliamentary group in recent months. His return preserves the candidacy and gives him greater leverage over ERC’s parliamentary strategy in Madrid.
The formal step was due before ERC’s National Executive. Rufián did not submit the endorsements required in the primary process, so two thirds of the party leadership had to approve his nomination directly. The definitive lists for Congress and the Senate were scheduled for ratification on 20 October. EFE described the announcement as a renewed candidacy, while noting that the procedural requirement still stood before the lists became final.
Oriol Junqueras and Elisenda Alamany have publicly backed him. The party president and secretary general called Rufián the strongest available candidate to defend the sovereigntist project in Congress, despite the disputes that have marked the parliamentary group. Their support keeps him at the centre of ERC’s Madrid strategy, even as the negotiations exposed tensions with the leadership.
The proposed Frente Amplio was discussed as a coalition involving ERC, Podemos, Sumar, the Catalan Comuns, BNG, Compromís, EH Bildu and CUP. Podemos also considered Irene Montero while treating Rufián as a possible participant or compromise leader, but most potential partners did not support placing him at the head of a common list.
Rufián’s choice leaves room for cooperation beyond ERC. Before the decision, he had called for an electoral alliance with other left-wing and anti-fascist forces, arguing that the left could not win alone. His circle says ERC is in advanced talks with Podemos over limited electoral collaboration, while Podemos has promoted Irene Montero as its own potential candidate.
The same electoral landscape already includes Senate coordination involving ERC and EH Bildu for the 29 November contest. That arrangement sits alongside the wider effort to bring sovereigntist and state-wide left forces into closer cooperation against the conservative bloc.
ERC now has to turn Rufián’s renewed candidacy into parliamentary leverage in Madrid while preserving its own identity. The party secured continuity rather than a shared platform. It is building selective bridges with Podemos without abandoning its own list.
The absence of unified support for the Frente Amplio keeps cooperation possible, but blocks the broader project from becoming the basis of Rufián’s candidacy. His nomination remains subject to internal ratification, while the definitive lists were scheduled for approval on 20 October.
