Spain's centre-right and business-friendly party Ciudadanos ("Citizens") on Tuesday said it would neither run in the upcoming snap general election on July 23 nor support any other party following weak results in Sunday's local voting.
"The most intelligent way to defend liberal ideals and the liberal space is not to run in this electoral cycle," the party's secretary-general, Adrian Vazquez, told a news conference.
Ciudadanos had earned 1.7 million votes and 10 lower-house seats in 2019 but has since collapsed electorally, with most of its support being picked up by the conservative People's Party.
It lost 90% of local councillors in Sunday's municipal vote, dropping to 392 from the 2,787 it had in 2019, and was wiped out from every one of the 12 regional parliaments that were up for renewal.
"Sunday's message was very clear. Today, Spaniards do not see us as an alternative policy," Vazquez said, adding: "We may not be running in this electoral cycle, but we are not giving up."
(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Inti Landauro)
