The Socialist Party wins the regional elections in Catalonia

USPA NEWS - The Socialist Party of Catalonia won the regional elections held this Sunday in that region of northeastern Spain. With 99.03 percent of the votes counted at the time of writing this information, the Socialist Party won 42 of the 135 seats at stake, nine more than in the previous regional elections and 4.90 percent more votes. Second was Junts per Catalunya - the party of the escaped former president of the regional government of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont -, which obtained 35 seats - three more than in the previous elections - and 21.64 percent of the votes, 6.30 percent less than the socialists.

Third was the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC in its Catalan acronym), with 20 seats - thirteen less than in the previous elections -, ahead of the conservative Popular Party, which obtained 15 seats - twelve more than in the previous regional elections; the far-right party Vox, which won 11 seats; the far-left Comuns Sumar coalition, which won six seats, two less than in 2021; the CUP, also from the extreme left and with an independence ideology, which obtained four seats, five less than in the previous elections, and Alliança Catalunya, which obtained two seats.

From the analysis of the results, it is clear that all the parties that have obtained parliamentary representation, except Comuns Sumar and the CUP, have received more votes than in the 2021 elections, which could be due to the increase in the number of voters. Likewise, the center-left and center-right parties - the Socialist Party and the conservative Popular Party - convinced Catalans more, who moved away from extremist and independence positions.

Participation was 57.96 percent on a sunny day in which many Catalans, tired of the debates about independence, preferred the beaches to the polls. This fact facilitated the collapse of the independence movement and granted victory to the Socialist Party. However, the conservative Popular Party is the one that is growing the most.

Despite its clear victory in the regional elections of Catalonia, the Socialist Party will not be able to govern alone. The former Minister of Health of the Spanish Government Salvador Illa announced which candidate will appear in the investiture debate. But he will need the votes of the Republican Left of Catalonia and the far-left Comuns Sumar coalition to govern.

His rival in the race for the Presidency of the Regional Government of Catalonia, the fugitive from Spanish Justice Carles Puigdemont, candidate of Junts per Catalunya, announced days before these elections that he aspires to govern. To do this, he could agree with ERC to take the presidential seat from former socialist minister Salvador Illa. If he did so, the collapse of the independence movement would be diluted in the face of the new period that is opening in Catalonia. As the socialist candidate, Salvador Illa, said after learning of his victory in the elections, “a new stage is opening in Catalonia.”