MP Ruba Ghazal is officially the fourth female spokesperson in the history of Québec solidaire. In her first speech in this capacity, Saturday, this “daughter of the shop “, the first “child of law 101” to head a political party in the National Assembly, pleaded for an “open, positive and feminist nationalism” to lead Quebec “towards independence”.
Ruba Ghazal obtained 91.4% of the votes of her party’s congress members, Friday and Saturday, to be officially elected spokesperson. No one else had presented their candidacy, which virtually assured the elected representative of Mercier of a victory.
Mme Ghazal replaces former member for Rouyn-Noranda — Témiscamingue Émilise Lessard-Therrien as female spokesperson. The latter slammed the party’s door this spring, pleading her inability to make her mark on the party.
During an evening occupied in part by the scandal generated by MP Haroun Bouazzi on racism, Mme Ghazal stressed in his speech that his party needed to become a nationalist party focusing on inclusion and feminism. “If you are tired of identity escalation, I tell you, Québec solidaire is your home, you are welcome,” she said.
Female candidates for elections
Québec solidaire also gave itself the power on Saturday to adopt positive discrimination policies “to ensure parity, diversity and representativeness” of its candidacies in the elections. The party leadership could thus prohibit men from running in a nomination race.
Gathered in a special congress on the statutes and regulations, the members of Québec solidaire supported a resolution which will allow them to establish, at a future national council, the “criteria which determine the representativeness of the people who can stand candidates for elections. Once these criteria have been adopted by the activists, the party leadership will be able to “impose the type of admissible applications on a local association”.
This position puts an end to a year and a half of debate on the question of parity at Québec solidaire. In 2023, the president of the party had invited the members of the Jean-Talon constituency to reject a male candidacy (that of Olivier Bolduc) to support that of a woman (Christine Gilbert) in anticipation of the by-election which would take place. be held in the Quebec riding.
Mr. Bolduc finally won the nomination, before biting the dust during the supplementary ballot.
Then, in November 2023, during a congress in Gatineau, the activists of the left-wing political group chose to impose female candidates in all the by-elections that would be held between now and the overhaul of the statutes — which takes place this weekend. No vote has been called since.
Elections of spokespersons
In addition to reviewing its parity mechanisms, Québec solidaire took advantage of Saturday to rethink its spokesperson election processes.
Under a new proposal adopted in the afternoon, the members of Québec solidaire will choose in 2027 the two people who will occupy the positions of spokesperson for a four-year mandate. This vote will be held in convention at the end of a leadership race. During the same gathering, they will decide which of the two spokespersons will become “leader within the meaning of the Electoral Act”.
This position is currently occupied by the secretary general of the party, because the Director General of Elections of Quebec (DGEQ) does not recognize the two-spokesperson leadership model of Québec solidaire.
QS management had already surveyed its members a year ago to find out if they wanted to take this path. She assures that such a decision will not affect the sharing of tasks between the two spokespersons, but that it will allow the party to collect money and members during the leadership race.
One year before the general elections, members of Québec solidaire will also vote to nominate their candidate for the post of prime minister. This person will also automatically become parliamentary leader, just to ensure better “visibility” in anticipation of the electoral campaign.
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