and the person holding the party's political and legal representation, and presided over its Board of Directors and Executive Committee, which were the party's maximum directive, governing and administration bodies between congresses. The election of the PP president was based on an indirect system, with party members voting for delegates who would, in turn, elect the president. Any party member was eligible for the post of party president, on the condition that they were up to date with the payment of party fees and that they were able to secure the signed endorsements of at least 100 party members and of 20% of congress delegates. Timetable The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. Note that the Canary Islands use WET (UTC+0) instead): 14 November: Official announcement of the congress. Start of candidate submission period. 24 November: End of candidate submission period at 2 pm. 25 November: Proclamation of candidates to the party presidency. 26 November: Official start of internal electoral campaigning. 13 December: Last day of internal electoral campaigning. 16–19 December: Election of congress delegates. 10–12 February: Party congress. Candidates Declined The individuals in this section were the subject of speculation about their possible candidacy, but publicly denied or recanted interest in running: Esperanza Aguirre (age ) — Spokesperson of the PP Group in the City Council of Madrid (1995–1996 and since 2015); City Councillor of Madrid (1983–1996 and since 2015); President of the PP of the Community of Madrid (2004–2016); President of the Community of Madrid (2003–2012); Deputy in the Assembly of Madrid (2003–2012); Spokesperson of the PP Group in the Assembly of Madrid (2003); Senator in the Cortes Generales for Madrid (1996–2003); President of the Senate of Spain (1999–2002); Minister of Education and Culture of Spain (1996–1999); First Deputy Mayor of Madrid (1995–1996). Alfonso Alonso (age ) — Deputy in the Basque Parliament for Álava (since 2016); President of the PP of the Basque Country (since 2015); Minister of Health, Social Services and Equality (2014–2016); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Álava (2000–2002 and 2008–2016); Spokesperson of the PP Group in the Congress of Deputies (2011–2014); City Councillor of Vitoria (1996–2008); Mayor of Vitoria (1999–2007). José María Aznar (age ) — Prime Minister of Spain (1996–2004); President of the PP (1990–2004); Deputy in the Cortes Generales for Ávila and Madrid (1982–1987 and 1989–2004); President pro tempore of the Council of the European Union (2002); President