9 o’clock local time (10:00 a.m. Lithuanian time) after the opening of the polling stations, the rich Catalonia in the north-east of Spain, which has a population of approximately 8 million. people, elects 135 deputies to the regional parliament. More than 5.7 million people have the right to vote. voters.
Separatists have ruled Catalonia for more than a decade, but polls show Sanchez’s Socialists are now ahead of Puigdemont’s hardline separatist party JxCat and its rival ERC, led by current regional leader Pere Aragones.
Voting will end at 20:00. local time, and the results, which will affect the politics of Spain as a whole, are expected to be announced a few hours later.
“We need change on May 12 and only the Socialist Party and [jos kandidatas] Salvador Illa (Salvador Ilja) can lead it,” said Mr. Sanchez, wrapping up the election campaign in Barcelona.
In 2018, about nine months after Catalonia’s failed attempt to declare independence in October 2017, Sanchez sought to “heal the wounds” left by this unprecedented political crisis.
In 2021, Mr. Sanchez granted a pardon to separatists imprisoned in Catalonia’s secession attempt. In November, he moved to push for an amnesty for still-wanted Catalan independence supporters in exchange for separatist support in parliament, allowing him to secure a new four-year term.
This bill is currently in the Senate, where it is expected to be passed in the coming weeks. This will create conditions for the return of Catalan separatist leader C. Puigdemont. The MEP fled Spain to Belgium to avoid prosecution over the failed 2017 Catalan independence bid.
The controversial bill has sparked massive protests from the right-wing and far-right opposition, with Mr Sanchez accused of holding separatists “hostage” to stay in power.
A total of nine parties are running in the regional elections, but none is likely to win enough votes to have an absolute majority of 68 seats, so deals will be crucial.
Important elections
A victory in Catalonia would be crucial to Mr Sanchez’s efforts to turn the page on the secessionist crisis and mark a fresh start for the prime minister’s latest term, which began in November and has been marred by fierce right-wing opposition and a corruption investigation into his wife that nearly forced him to resign last month.
Although the Socialists received the most votes in the last Catalan elections in 2021, their candidate S. Illa failed to gather a governing majority. The separatist parties united and formed a 74-seat coalition.
Although he is behind Illa in terms of popularity, Puigdemont is hoping for a good showing so he can go home in triumph when the amnesty comes into effect.
“Let’s fill the ballot boxes with ballots and start preparing for a new era,” Mr Puigdemont said as he wrapped up his campaign in the southern French city of Elnes.
Unable to come to Spain, where an arrest warrant has been issued for him, he campaigned in southern France near the border.
However, the prognosis is not very favorable for him. He has promised to leave politics if he does not win the election.
The Catalan separatist movement is currently deeply divided, with JxCat at odds with its more moderate rival, the ERC.
An ultra-nationalist Catalan alliance has also emerged in recent months and could win a few seats, but no other party has any intention of striking a deal with it.
Polls would indicate that the Socialists will get about 40 seats. This means they will need the support of other parties to secure a majority.
One possible alliance would be with the extreme left and the ERC, which would probably be very damaging to the independence movement.
Tags: Catalans vote regional elections Socialists hope victory
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