11th Federal Assembly of United Left (Spain)

The 11th Federal Assembly of United Left was held in Madrid from 4 June to 5 June 2016, to renovate the governing bodies of United Left (IU) and establish the party's main lines of action and strategy for the next leadership term. A primary election to elect the new general coordinator of the party was held from 26 May to 29 May 2016. This was the first leadership election in IU's history in which all the party members were allowed to vote.

Registered22,321 (primary)

Turnout8,548 (38.30%) (primary)
101 (67.33%) (assembly)

Quick facts 90 (of 150) delegates in the 11th Federal Assembly of IU Plurality of delegates needed to win, Registered ...

11th Federal Assembly of IU

← 2012 26–29 May 2016 (primary) 4–5 June 2016 (assembly) 2021 â†’
90 (of 150) delegates in the 11th Federal Assembly of IU Plurality of delegates needed to win
Registered	22,321 (primary)
Turnout	8,548 (38.30%) (primary) 101 (67.33%) (assembly)
Candidate Alberto Garzón Paloma López Bermejo Tasio Oliver Popular vote 6,382 (74.7%) 1,776 (20.8%) 390 (4.6%) Delegate count 68 18 4 Executive vote 83 (82.18%) Eliminated Eliminated
Coordinator before election Cayo Lara Elected Coordinator Alberto Garzón

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The congress was held just before the 2016 Spanish general election, which IU contested in a coalition with Podemos.^[1] This decision produced an internal rift, leaving the party divided into three factions. The first one was composed of incumbent General Coordinator Cayo Lara and members of the old guard who were radically against any alliance with Podemos. The second was led by IU's spokesman in the Congress of Deputies Alberto Garzón—who was contesting the general election for Unidos Podemos—and received the support of the majority sector of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and of most of the IU federations. The third sector was made up of members of Open Left (IzAb), the party led by former general coordinator Gaspar Llamazares, a longtime critic of Lara's leadership.

The leadership election saw a generational renovation with Garzón becoming the new general coordinator in a landslide as he received 74.7% of the members vote. Meanwhile, the candidacy of Paloma López Bermejo—supported by Lara and the old guard—received 20.8% of the vote and the candidate of IzAb, Tasio Oliver, finished last with just 4.6% of support.^[2][3][4]