MADRID, 23 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), Antonio Garamendi, has revalidated his mandate as head of the employers' association for another four years, after obtaining the support of 534 votes in the Electoral Assembly of the CEOE, held this Wednesday at the National Auditorium.

Garamendi was competing with the vice president of Foment del Treball, Virginia Guinda, who obtained 87 votes. In total, 643 votes have been counted, of which 14 have been blank and 8 were invalid.

The Electoral Assembly started in the second convocation, at 10:00 a.m., and the voting began around 10:30 a.m., after the constitution of the two tables, of the A-K, in which the two candidates voted, and of the L-Z. Voting ended around 1:30 p.m., to then proceed to the vote count, which concluded at 2:26 p.m.

This will be the second term for Garamendi after being elected president of the CEOE in 2018 by acclamation of the Electoral Assembly. It will also be the last, since the Statutes of the employer limit the time in which a person can remain in the Presidency to two terms.

With his re-election, the Basque businessman remains the fifth president of the CEOE since its foundation in 1977, after Carlos Ferrer Salat, José María Cuevas, Gerardo Díaz Ferrán and Juan Rosell.

Garamendi, born in 1958 in Getxo (Vizcaya), is a Law graduate, businessman and former director of REE. Throughout his professional career he has held various positions, including CEO of Bankoa, president of the Business Group, director of Babcock