EH Bildu
Basque Country Gather Euskal Herria Bildu | |
---|---|
Leader | Arnaldo Otegi |
Spokesperson in the Basque Parliament | Nerea Kortajarena |
Spokesperson in the Parliament of Navarre | Bakartxo Ruiz |
Spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies | Mertxe Aizpurua Oskar Matute |
Founded | 3 April 2011 10 June 2012 (EH Bildu) | (Bildu)
Merger of |
|
Headquarters | C/ Pilotegi, 2 20018, Donostia-San Sebastián |
Ideology | |
Political position | Left-wing to far-left[4][5] |
National affiliation | Amaiur (2011–15) Ahora Repúblicas (2019–present) |
Regional affiliation | Cambio-Aldaketa (2015–16; 2019) |
European Parliament group | The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL |
Colors | |
Congress of Deputies (Basque and Navarrese seats) | 6 / 23 |
Spanish Senate (Basque and Navarrese seats) | 5 / 20 |
European Parliament (Spanish seats) | 0 / 59 |
Basque Parliament | 21 / 75 |
Parliament of Navarre | 9 / 50 |
Juntas Generales | 51 / 153 |
Mayors (2019–2023)[6][a] | 120 / 525 |
Local government (2023–2027)[a] | 1,402 / 4,663 |
Website | |
www | |
EH Bildu, short for Euskal Herria Bildu (Template:Lang-en) is a left-wing,[7] Basque nationalist, pro-independence[8] political party active in the Spanish autonomous communities of Basque Country, Navarre and Burgos Province.
EHB's predecessor Bildu ("Gather") was launched on 3 April 2011 to participate in the May 2011 local elections[9] It was formed as a reaction to the Supreme Court of Spain's ruling in March 2011 that barred the new left-wing Basque nationalist (Abertzale left) Sortu party from electoral participation. Bildu was an alliance of the centre-left Eusko Alkartasuna, left-wing Alternatiba and independents of the left-wing nationalist spectrum, many of whom former members or supporters of the outlawed Batasuna party.
EHB was launched on 10 June 2012 in San Sebastián by five founding components: Eusko Alkartasuna, Aralar, Alternatiba, Sortu, and independents of the Abertzale left (groups and independent individuals from the Basque leftist-nationalist milieu, many of whom had been members of Batasuna), all of whom had been previously members of the Amaiur coalition.[10] On 3 July 2012 Laura Mintegi was chosen as candidate for Lehendakari in the 2012 Basque parliamentary election.[11] Mintegi, a professor at the University of the Basque Country, formerly stood as a candidate for Herri Batasuna.[12]
History
Formation of Bildu
Bildu was formed as a response to the March 2011 ruling by the Supreme Court of Spain that banned a new Basque party called Sortu from being registered. Bildu was a coalition of the social-democratic Eusko Alkartasuna, Alternatiba (a splinter group of Ezker Batua) and independent individuals from the Basque leftist-nationalist environment, originating from the outlawed Batasuna party. Bildu was banned by the Supreme Court as well, due to their ties to Batasuna, the political wing of the terrorist group ETA. The decision to ban Bildu resulted in street protests in Bilbao and other cities[citation needed]. However, on 5 May 2011, exactly the day the election campaign started off, the Constitutional Court of Spain lifted the ban and Bildu was allowed to take part in elections.[13]
In the 2020 Basque regional election 3 former ETA members were elected: Arkaitz Rodríguez, Iker Casanova and Ikoitz Arrese.[14]
In 2023 elections, Bildu ran 44 candidates who were former members of the now disbanded terrorist organisation ETA.[15][16][17]
2011 regional and local elections
At the 2011 local elections Bildu received 26% of the vote in the Basque region, coming second only to the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).[18] The party won seats in most of the councils of the Southern Basque Country, including San Sebastián (where it came up first), Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Pamplona.
2011 general election
For the 2011 general election Eusko Alkartasuna, Alternatiba and their allies formed a new alliance, under the name Amaiur, along with Aralar, previously part of Nafarroa Bai, and other abertzale (i.e., Basque nationalist) groups.
2012 Basque Parliament Elections
In the election for the Basque Parliament that took place on 21 October 2012, EH Bildu the second most seats after the more established EAJ-PNV.[19][20] The coalition party won 21 out of 75 seats with 25% of the popular vote. No single party won a majority in this election.
2014 European Parliament election
In the 2014 European Parliament election EH Bildu participated as part of the list The Peoples Decide (LPD), comprising left-wing nationalist and separatist parties from several autonomous regions of Spain. On the first position of that list was EHB member Josu Juaristi who was elected member of the European parliament. He joined the group of the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL).
Composition
Party | |
---|---|
Basque Solidarity (EA) | |
Aralar | |
Alternative (Alternatiba) | |
Create (Sortu) |
Electoral performance
Regional parliaments
Basque Parliament
Basque Parliament | |||||||
Election | Leading candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Laura Mintegi | 277,923 | 24.67 (#2) | 21 / 75
|
16[b] | Opposition | |
2016 | Arnaldo Otegi[c] | 225,172 | 21.13 (#2) | 18 / 75
|
3 | Opposition | |
2020 | Maddalen Iriarte | 249,580 | 27.60 (#2) | 21 / 75
|
3 | Opposition |
Parliament of Navarre
Parliament of Navarre | |||||||
Election | Leading candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Government | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Maiorga Ramírez | 42,916 | 13.28 (#4) | 7 / 50
|
7 | Opposition | |
2015 | Adolfo Araiz | 48,166 | 14.25 (#3) | 8 / 50
|
1 | Coalition | |
2019 | Bakartxo Ruiz | 50,631 | 14.54 (#4) | 7 / 50
|
1 | Opposition | |
2023 | Laura Aznal | 56,535 | 17.13 (#3) | 9 / 50
|
2 | Opposition |
Cortes Generales
Nationwide
Cortes Generales | ||||||||
Election | Congress | Senate | Government | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Seats | +/– | |||
2015 | 219,125 | 0.87 (#10) | 2 / 350
|
5[d] | 0 / 208
|
2[d] | Opposition | |
2016 | 184,713 | 0.77 (#9) | 2 / 350
|
0 | 0 / 208
|
0 | Opposition | |
Apr. 2019 | 259,647 | 0.99 (#10) | 4 / 350
|
2 | 1 / 208
|
1 | Opposition | |
Nov. 2019 | 277,621 | 1.14 (#10) | 5 / 350
|
1 | 1 / 208
|
0 | Opposition | |
2023 | 333,362 | 1.36 (#7th) | 6 / 350
|
1 | 4 / 208
|
3 | Confidence and supply |
Regional breakdown
|
|
European Parliament
European Parliament | |||||||||||
Election | Total | Basque Country | Navarre | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
2014 | Within LPD | 1 / 54
|
1 | 177,694 | 23.36 (#2) | 44,129 | 20.21 (#2) | ||||
2019 | Within AR | 1 / 54
|
0 | 246,937 | 22.01 (#2) | 54,406 | 15.99 (#3) |
Notes
- ^ a b Results in the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre and the Enclave of Treviño.
- ^ Compared to the combined totals of Aralar and Eusko Alkartasuna in the 2009 regional election.
- ^ Sortu Secretary-General Arnaldo Otegi was proclaimed as EH Bildu's leading candidate on 24 May 2016, having left the Logroño prison on 1 March after serving his full prison sentence imposed for attempting to reorganize the banned Batasuna party. On 24 August, the Gipuzkoa Provincial Electoral Commission disqualified Otegi due to a legal barring from holding any public office still in force until 2021. Subsequently, EH Bildu did not elect an alternative candidate to replace Otegi, though journalist Maddalen Iriarte—second in EH Bildu Gipuzkoa's list—went on to top the list as provided for in Article 65.2 of the Electoral Law of the Basque Country.
- ^ a b c d e f Compared to Amaiur totals in the 2011 general election.
References
- ^ a b c Mabry et al. 2013, p. 134.
- ^ a b c "POLITIFILE: Euskal Herria Bildu (EH Bildu) - Basque Country Unite". Progressive Spain. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Parties and Elections in Europe". www.parties-and-elections.eu.
- ^ Gorospe, Pedro (7 February 2018). "Basque ruling party wants to include "right to decide" in new regional charter". El País. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Angela Bourne, Democratic Dilemmas: Why democracies ban political parties, First Edition, Routledge, Abingdon, 2018, p. 47
- ^ Gehiengoak maximizatzen. Berria, 16/06/2019.
- ^ Morel, Sandrine (25 September 2016). "En Espagne, le parti de Rajoy renforcé par des régionales en Galice et au Pays basque". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
PEE
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ (in Spanish) "Bildu presenta las bases de su programa electoral para el 22-M", Gara, 2011-04-03. Retrieved 2011-04-05.
- ^ Morán, Unai (10 June 2012). "Una profesora se perfila como aspirante a 'lehendakari' por EHB". El País.
- ^ "Laura Mintegi será la candidata a lehendakari de la coalición Euskal Herria Bildu". 2 July 2012.
- ^ Gastaca, Juan Mari (3 July 2012). ""Una escritora euskaldun, no vasca"". El País.
- ^ "Spanish Constitutional Court lifts ban on Bildu". Xinhua News. Archived from the original on May 9, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
- ^ Tres expresos de ETA entre los 22 diputados de Bildu en el Parlamento Vasco
- ^ "Spain elections re-open deep wounds, as ETA terrorists run for office". euronews. 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
- ^ "Basque party angers ETA victims' families by adding former terrorists to elections list". 15 May 2023.
- ^ Jones, Sam (2023-05-27). "Rows over Eta and racism loom large as Spain holds local elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
- ^ "New Basque Coalition Bildu Surges in Basque Local Elections". Eitb.com. Archived from the original on 2011-05-28. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
- ^ EFE (22 October 2012). "Urkullu asume desde hoy el reto de llegar a acuerdos con otros partidos". El Mundo (in Spanish). Bilbao: Unidad Editorial Información General S.L.U. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ "Elecciones Parlamento Vasco". EITB (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 May 2019.
Bibliography
- Mabry, Tristan James; McGarry, John; Moore, Margaret; O'Leary, Brendan (2013). Divided Nations and European Integration. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0812244977.
External links
- Official website (in Spanish)
- EH Bildu
- 2012 establishments in Spain
- Basque politics
- Nationalist parties in Spain
- Political parties established in 2012
- Political parties in Navarre
- Political parties in Northern Basque Country
- Political party alliances in Spain
- Regionalist parties in Spain
- Socialist parties in the Basque Country (autonomous community)
- Organisations based in San Sebastián
- Popular fronts