Regional vice-president and current party leader Josep Lluís Carod Rovira (photo, right) announced this morning that he will not be standing for re-election when the Radical Catalan Republicans (ERC) choose their new party president at the next general assembly.

Speaking in an interview on Catalunya Radio, Mr Carod Rovira did confirm that he would be throwing his hat in the ring when the party elects its candidate for the regional presidency ahead of the next round of regional and municipal elections in 2010.

In the wake of the ERC's poor showing at the recent general election, the party's general secretary and Mr Carod Rovira's main internal leadership rival, Joan Puigcercòs (photo, left), announced that he would be stepping down from his regional government post to focus on the party.