Mertxe Aizpurua leaves Bildu: Farewell after seven years in Congress

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If you follow Spanish politics, the name probably rings a bell: Mertxe Aizpurua was for seven years the voice of the Basque left-wing party EH Bildu in the Madrid Congress. That era is now over.

The politician, who turned 66 in January, will not appear again on her party's candidate list for the Spanish parliamentary elections on November 29. Both El País and El Mundo report this. El País adds that Aizpurua will also retire shortly.

For EH Bildu, this is a significant moment. Aizpurua led the party's congressional faction for years — one of the defining "abertzale" voices in the Spanish capital. With her departure, the formation led by party chief Arnaldo Otegi loses one of its best-known members of parliament.

What does her departure mean for EH Bildu?

Without its long-standing parliamentary spokesperson, EH Bildu will have to field new faces in the Madrid parliament. El Mundo speaks of a generational change at the top. No specific successors have been named so far.

How is the candidate list being drawn up?

EH Bildu is following a clear timetable: on October 16, the leadership around Otegi plans to present the candidate lists. On October 17 and 18, members are called on to vote on them. On October 19, the candidacies are then to be officially proclaimed, as El Mundo reports.

The election itself takes place on November 29. For EH Bildu, it is the first congressional election in seven years without Aizpurua — and a test of whether the party can manage the transition without the media presence of its best-known parliamentary spokesperson.