Catalan Podem party elects new leader

Podem Catalunya, the Catalan branch of the left-wing Podemos party, has a new leader, after the party's former head, Xavier Domènech, unexpectedly stepped down from the post earlier this month.

Noelia Bail, the party's coordinator for feminism and gender, was elected leader with 2,305 votes of the 7,422 party members who voted (32%), in a tight leadership contest that began last Thursday with six candidates.

Bail's election was a surprise, as the party leadership had backed Jaume Durall. However, Durall ended up coming a close second with 2,286 votes, with third place going to Isabel Belmonte (1,460 votes).

A graduate of political science and law at the UPF university in Barcelona, Bail also has a master's degree in gender equality policy.

According to Podem Catalunya, the leadership election was the best attended in the organisation's history.