Demòcrates to define political project and explore alliances before naming election candidates

The leadership of Demòcrates per Andorra said it will define the party’s political project and explore potential alliances before selecting candidates for the next general election. Speaking after the party’s congress on 30 November, outgoing party president and head of government Xavier Espot said the pre‑electoral cycle must be handled “with order and calm,” and that candidate selection will follow agreement on both the project and any alliances.

Espot, who has stepped down from the party’s organisational chart while remaining a member and head of government, criticised other parties for moving “as if the elections were tomorrow” with premature alliances and division of posts. He argued there is about a year and a half until the vote and no reason to accelerate the process, pointing to Demòcrates’ solid majority in the General Council and to recent CRES polls that show voting intention similar to 2019 and 2023 and keep the party in the lead despite 14 years in government. He also said progress in the Association Agreement with the EU should not affect the electoral calendar and that the parliamentary process for the accord ought to proceed without prompting an early election.

Ladislau Baró, proclaimed party president at the congress and currently minister of Institutional Relations, Education and Universities, said the leadership change reflects adaptation to the political context rather than an ideological shift. “The party’s core DNA will not change,” he said, stressing centrality and balance as defining traits. Baró rejected the notion that Demòcrates is already in a pre‑electoral moment and declined to present himself as the party’s future candidate.

Baró outlined a focus on long‑term “programmatic axes” rather than an immediate electoral manifesto, centred on sustainable growth, the affordability of the growth model, and policy areas such as pensions, demography, housing and the effects of climate change in the Pyrenees. He said the new executive will begin analysing broader strategic questions, including the configuration of the party system and dialogue with other formations, urging patience: “without haste, but without pause.”

The congress advanced internal policy work through four plenaries on the sustainability of the pension system, sustainable growth, culture and identity, and the national plan for innovation and diversification. Party officials said those debates will inform the executive’s priorities in the coming months.

The renewed national executive includes Sandra Codina as first vice‑president, Meritxell Lòpez as deputy president, Guillem Casal as secretary general (replacing Vicenç Mateu) and Maria Martisella as secretary for organisation (replacing Ester Vilarrubla), among others. More than 130 people attended the congress, with the government’s leadership present but a notable absence of minister Conxita Marsol. Party leaders said the new team will steer the internal timetable and begin substantive work on the programmatic axes Baró outlined.