Concòrdia Pushes Parish Electoral Reform to Individual Candidacies

Concòrdia has urged the parliamentary majority of Demòcrates and Ciutadans Compromesos to show broad-mindedness by advancing debate on a bill to overhaul the parish electoral system, shifting from closed lists of five to individual candidacies.

The group unveiled the proposal on Monday, calling for its consideration in the Consell General. It would amend the Qualified Law on the Electoral Regime and Referendum, introducing autonomous candidacies in parish constituencies—either backed by parties or citizen groups. Parties could endorse up to two candidates per parish, with voters selecting their two preferred options by placing ballots in the envelope. The top two vote-getters would claim the seats, enabling support for candidates from the same party or different ones. The national list would stay unchanged.

If a seat falls vacant, it would go to the next-highest vote-earner in the parish rather than a substitute, discouraging elected councillors from quickly joining the government. Pol Bartolomé, Concòrdia's La Massana representative, called this a targeted reform to strengthen the Consell General, as candidates would need strong personal appeal. "Whoever runs in parish elections must be fully committed," he said, noting that vacancies could shift to rivals rather than lower-ranked allies.

Bartolomé and group president Cerni Escalé framed the change as non-partisan and "surgical," reviving pre-Constitution practices to enhance representation, better match votes to seats, and combat political disaffection. Turnout has dropped from over 80% in the 1990s and 75% in 2011 to just above 60% recently—and around 50% among young voters. "This signals deep issues in Andorran democracy," Bartolomé warned, as low participation risks concentrating power among elites and misaligning decisions with public interest.

Escalé emphasised that initial consideration is just for debate, not approval, inviting amendments. Bartolomé added they have "no idea" of the electoral impact on Concòrdia itself. None of the group's nine previous bills has progressed, prompting calls to task Andorra Recerca i Innovació (AR+I) with analysing prior systems. If approved soon, the model could apply to the 2027 spring elections.