The Canarian left has reached an agreement this Thursday to run united in the general elections on November 29. Podemos, Nueva Canarias–Bloque Canarista, Izquierda Unida Canaria and Movimiento Sumar will share a candidacy under the brand Unidad del Pueblo Canario (UPC). The pact brings together the four organizations in the final stretch of territorial negotiations and offers a path to understanding between forces that remain at odds in other parts of the country.
The agreement culminates more than a year of conversations and shared work, according to its promoters in a joint statement. The incorporation of Podemos also changes the name that the other organizations, Nueva Canarias-Frente Amplio, were preparing. Finally, all will run with a common name and with the commitment to develop a campaign based on dialogue, consensus and respect for their different identities.
Podemos deputy Noemí Santana has celebrated the pact with a message also directed at state negotiations. "Unity is built by putting what is important ahead of differences", she wrote on X. "Because people need a left that joins forces to defend their rights, their housing and their future. Hopefully Canarias will show the way to the entire State," she added.
Hemos alcanzado un acuerdo para concurrir juntas a las elecciones generales del 29N.
— Noemí Santana Perera (@noepmp) October 15, 2026
Nos llamaremos Unidad del Pueblo Canario.
La unidad se construye poniendo lo importante por delante de las diferencias.
En Canarias hemos estado a la altura del momento histórico. Porque la…
A ballot to gain strength
The confluence places housing, public services, and the defense of the interests of the Canary Islands at the center of its program. The four forces demand that access to a dignified home be an effective right and advocate for quality public health, education, and social services. They also incorporate co-responsible care, dignified wages, equality, and the protection of the territory.
The organizations want to transfer these priorities to Congress with "a strong and distinct voice", capable of defending the singularities of the archipelago in State decisions. The agreement thus combines territorial representation with the social demands that run through the pre-campaign. Its promoters expressly link the candidacy with the defense of human rights and the halt to fascism.
The electoral precedent explains the importance of gathering these supports. In the 2023 general elections, Sumar obtained a single deputy in the Canary Islands, that of Santana for Las Palmas, while Nueva Canarias was left without representation. In that province, Sumar received 54,369 votes and NC, 42,430. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Sumar's 53,632 votes and NC's 3,165 were left out of the seat distribution.
A simulation based on those definitive results, keeping the votes of all candidacies equal and grouping those of Sumar and NC, would have given three deputies to the joint list, two for Las Palmas and one for Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This is a comparison with the 2023 scrutiny, with no forecast value for 29N, but it allows appreciating the effect of vote dispersion in the two provinces.
Canary Islands moves the territorial negotiation
The pact comes after 'ElConstitucional.es' reported this very afternoon the pressure from territorial organizations to reach agreements. Podemos sources consulted by this newspaper insisted on maintaining their proposal for joint candidacies in ten communities and explained that, in other territories, conversations included more actors. The Canary Islands was one of those scenarios, with Nueva Canarias as a fundamental part of the negotiation.
During the morning, the federal coordinator of IU, Antonio Maíllo, had refused to negotiate with Podemos outside of the Frente Amplio, the alliance it shares with Movimiento Sumar, Más Madrid, and Comuns. The Canarian understanding brings together Podemos with IU and Sumar within a broader territorial candidacy, a formula that allows progress while the state dispute over the scope of the pacts continues.
This progress is especially relevant when conversations remain open in territories such as the Valencian Community, Aragon, and the Balearic Islands, with Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista, and the organizations of Ara Més as interlocutors. The difficulties in converging in Madrid and Barcelona have concentrated much of the public discussion, but each provincial agreement can influence the composition of Congress and the possibilities of an alternative majority to PP and the far-right Vox.
The four Canarian forces present the understanding as the result of having built spaces of trust before the early election. "Today, the ability to build a better future for the Canary Islands together wins", they state in their communiqué. The other negotiations now face their last day, with the deadline for registering coalitions closing this Friday, October 16.
