Edmundo Bal

In March 2019, Bal joined the Citizens party. He was placed fourth in their list for the Madrid constituency in the April 2019 general election.^[8] He initially lost his seat following the November elections, but regained it after party leader Albert Rivera retired from politics.^[9]

In March 2021, Bal received 89.4% of votes in the primary to lead Citizens in the Madrid regional elections in May.^[10] The party ran a centrist campaign, competing against the far-right party Vox to be the junior partner to regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso's PP government.^[11] In the elections in May, the party's vote share fell by 16 percentage points to 3.5%, resulting in the loss of all of their 26 seats.^[11]

In January 2023, Bal ran for leader of Citizens, losing to Patricia Guasp who took 53.25% of the vote to his 39.34%.^[12] He was no longer the party's national spokesperson nor was Inés Arrimadas its president, with both roles being merged to being merged and held by Guasp. He continued as the party's secondary spokesperson in Congress, behind Arrimadas.^[13] In September, he and Francisco Igea were expelled from the party for criticising its decision not to contest the 2023 leadership election.^[14]

In February 2024, he launched a new political party called Cree ahead of the 2024 European Parliament elections, although he announced that he would not be leading the party's list.^[15] It won 0.05% of the vote in the election.^[16]

Bal is a drummer and a fan of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, as well as being a Harley-Davidson rider. A regular marathon runner, he continued at a lower pace after two meniscus operations.^[1]