Tesh Sidi this Friday criticized the open primaries promoted by Podemos to choose a joint left-wing candidacy. "A serious party should not promote primaries as if participatory democracy were done on TikTok," wrote the Más Madrid deputy in Congress, in a message that raises tension between two organizations whose understanding is still pending.
Her criticisms come after Podemos activated the registration of voters and pre-candidates through a specific website. Sidi questions both the registration and the organization of the consultation and demands negotiation behind closed doors, while the purples maintain the primaries as a way to resolve differences over the leadership and lists of the Broad Front.
Un partido serio no debería promover unas primarias como si la democracia participativa se hiciera en TikTok.
— Tesh Sidi🇪🇭 (@teshsidi) October 9, 2026
Podemos impulsa una web de captación de datos sin el logo del partido, pero dejando su nombre escondido en las condiciones de uso (lo que supone engañar a la… https://t.co/YeKpFxjBc0 pic.twitter.com/KNcrpLvuOP
Criticism of the website
The parliamentarian accuses Podemos of promoting a "data collection website without the party's logo", leaving its name in the terms of use, something she considers a way to "deceive citizens". She also reproaches that, according to her, registration can only be done with a DNI and adds an irony about who could participate. "Spaniards voting for Spaniards! I hope Ortega Smith doesn't sneak into the primaries!", she writes.
Sidi argues that open primaries require prolonged work, with the participation of civil society, trade unions, and academia. According to her approach, these processes last more than a year and must "be built around a program and a country project". Her rejection is directed at the procedure that Podemos has launched in the midst of the electoral countdown.
"A little seriousness, please!", she demands. The deputy asks all organizations to respect their voters "so that they don't overwhelm us" and the legacy of Clara Campoamor and Julio Anguita. She also defends that participatory democracy requires collectively building a political project and ends by calling for work behind closed doors for 29N.
The primaries and the dispute over Madrid
Podemos maintains the votes for October 14 and 15 and proposes Irene Montero as a candidate. The MEP has insisted that her party will be "on the list that comes out of these open primaries". Belarra has defended the procedure as a way out of the deadlock and has invited the aspirants from other organizations to come forward so that citizens can choose.
The clash over the method coincides with the fight for the positions in Madrid. Sidi is one of the four names that Más Madrid wants to place in starting positions, along with Mónica García, Emilio Delgado, and Eduardo Fernández Rubiño. The party demands four of the first five positions, a proposal that makes it difficult to fit in the other partners and Podemos if it finally joins.
Más Madrid proposes that Ada Colau lead the state project from Barcelona and that García head the Madrid list. Colau conditions her participation on a broad candidacy that includes Podemos, while the distribution and her own constituency remain open. In Madrid, the discussion about the primaries directly affects who decides the positions with chances of becoming seats.
Movimiento Sumar has asked this Friday to negotiate with "discretion and generosity" and to adopt decisions jointly. Conversations continue with October 16 as the last day to communicate electoral coalitions, immediately after the votes called by Podemos.
