It would be the first time that the socialists held internal elections in Lanzarote to designate their candidates. The final names of all the lists will be announced in early October

The PSOE studies calling primary elections to elect who will be its head of list in Arrecife

With the return to political activity, the countdown begins for the regional and municipal elections of 2007. Within the Socialist Party of Lanzarote, as of today, still not ...

August 30 2006 (08:44 WEST)
The PSOE is considering calling primary elections to choose who will be its head of the list in Arrecife
The PSOE is considering calling primary elections to choose who will be its head of the list in Arrecife

With the return to political activity, the countdown begins for the regional and municipal elections of 2007. Within the Socialist Party of Lanzarote, as of today, they still do not know the names of those who will head the lists of each municipality, although the party's internal electoral process is just around the corner. "At the end of September we will know our candidates, because that is when the local groups designate them", explained Miguel González, socialist councilor of the Cabildo.

González has spoken of the possibility of calling primary elections to designate the head of the list in Arrecife, the only municipality in which it could be done since these can only be carried out in municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. "There will be primary elections if two candidates are presented", indicated the socialist, who considers that this option would be "good and healthy".

These internal elections, which have no precedent in Lanzarote, since the PSOE has never opted for this system to form its lists, would have to be carried out if more than one candidate were presented to head the PSOE list in Arrecife, which in principle seems quite likely. And it is that among the ranks of the socialists of the capital the opinions are quite divided.

On the one hand, there are those who want to continue giving greater projection to Nuria Cabrera, who has become the strong councilor of the PSOE in the Government group of Arrecife, due to the quantity and importance of some of the areas she controls, such as Urban Planning. On the other hand, there are those who want more fundamental changes in this list, which in the last elections was headed by Carmelo García Déniz, and opt for the candidacy of Manuela Armas. An opinion that they base on some of the internal surveys that the party handles, and that reflect that Armas would have a good acceptance among the electorate.

It should be remembered that Manuela Armas was already mayor of Arrecife in her day, although under other acronyms, and attended for the first time on the PSOE lists in the last elections, becoming a regional parliamentarian. At that time she was included in the lists as an independent, and not as a party member, but shortly after she became a direct member of the PSOE.

Now, the concrete thing is that, together with Nuria Cabrera, she is well positioned as a possible socialist candidate to occupy the Mayor's Office of Arrecife, although for that she will have to overcome the internal debate that is maintained in the party, and that could be settled with primary elections in case more than one candidacy is finally maintained.

In this regard, Miguel González has insisted that the candidates of each municipality will be chosen by the party organs in each municipality, and that the island leadership will only propose the candidates to the Cabildo and the Parliament of the Canary Islands. For the moment, as Miguel González has assured, the date of the Island Executive to elect these candidates is not set.

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