Miquel Ensenyat, the president of the Council of Majorca, will head the list of Més candidates for the Balearic parliament at the regional election in May next year. In other words, he will be the presidential candidate.
Més held their primaries yesterday - voting by registered supporters at booths across Majorca and online. The "turnout" was 53% of the 4,200 entitled to vote. Ensenyat won with 68% of the vote. In second place was the minister for social services, Fina Santiago.
Bel Busquets, the tourism minister, received 65% of the vote for the Council of Majorca. She will therefore be the Més candidate to succeed Ensenyat as Council president. Guillem Balboa, the mayor of Alaro, was her opponent.
The primaries have highlighted the division that exists within Més. A coalition of the PSM Majorca Socialist Party and the Iniciativa Verds, a group that is itself an amalgam of greens and one-time United Left communists, there is now a call for these two factions to be wound up. Palma mayor Antoni Noguera says that supporters are tired of having to choose between whether "you are more papa or more mama".
Ensenyat and Busquets both represent the PSM faction; Santiago Iniciativa Verds. Balboa is not necessarily representative of the latter but his support came from the same wing of the party. Noguera had caused a surprise when he voiced support for Santiago on Facebook in the lead-up to the vote.
Following the vote, Ensenyat said that from now on "there is only Més", but this will be something for supporters to formally decide.
Selection of candidates for town hall elections, including Palma, will be made in November.