Madrid (EFE).- The PSOE will hold a Federal Committee on June 10 to ratify the lists for the general elections on July 23 and officially designate the candidate for the Presidency of the Government, who will be Pedro Sánchez, according to sources close to the President of the Executive and Socialist leader.
The celebration of this Federal Committee is an essential step to prepare the PSOE for the next general elections, brought forward by Sánchez to July 23 after the crash suffered by the Socialists in the regional and municipal elections on May 28.
Specifically, the PSOE lost in these elections six of the nine regional governments it led (Valencian Community, Extremadura, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and La Rioja) and 15 of the 22 provincial capitals where it governed, including Seville.
The Federal Committee, the highest body between congresses, has as ex officio members the members of the Federal Executive Commission of the PSOE, the regional general secretaries and the socialist spokesmen of Congress and the Senate, among other positions.
Elaboration of the electoral program
Among its functions is the elaboration and approval of the electoral program, the ratification of the proposals of candidates and electoral lists that are presented to it with the prior opinion of the Federal Commission of Lists, and the designation of a candidate for the Presidency of the Government.
In the hard core of the PSOE and the Government there is no doubt that it will be Sánchez and, in addition, the party’s statutes are clear, since when the president of the Government is a socialist and is running for re-election, there is no provision for holding primaries.
The only possibility of holding primaries to opt for the Presidency of the Government in this case is that the Federal Committee agreed or requested the majority of members of this body or more than 30% of the militancy and direct affiliation, something that seems unlikely .
The Federal Committee will take place shortly before the days scheduled for the presentation of the candidacies for the general elections, which are from June 14 to 19.