Socialists win

Catalonia election: separatists defend majority

Polling station in Barcelona

(Bild: AP/The Associated Press)

According to projections, the separatist parties have lost their parliamentary majority in the early parliamentary elections in the Spanish region of Catalonia. After counting around 90 percent of the votes, the parties only won 61 of the 135 parliamentary seats. The big winner of Sunday's election was the Socialist Party, which gained nine seats and was by far the strongest party.

Forecasts based on post-election polls, which were published immediately after the polling stations closed, had initially predicted a majority for the separatists.

According to these projections by TV station RTVE, the Socialists with their leading candidate Salvador Illa were able to improve their lead from 33 seats to 42.

The separatist former head of government Carles Puigdemont and his Junts party won 35 seats, four more than in the previous election in 2021. The previous head of government Pere Aragonès, also a separatist, and his left-wing ERC party fell from 33 seats to just 20.

Conservatives make strong gains
Spain's largest opposition party, the conservative PP, which traditionally has a difficult time in Catalonia, improved significantly by eleven seats to 14. The right-wing populist Vox maintained its result with eleven seats. The left-wing alternative alliance Comuns-Sumar, which governs together with the Socialists in Madrid, gained six seats (minus 2), the left-wing separatist CUP dropped to four seats (minus 5) and the new, far-right separatist Alianca Catalana sent two representatives to the parliament in Barcelona.

Catalonia election: pro-independence Puigdemont

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer / Kronenzeitung)

Negotiations until August
Catalonia was plunged into chaos in the fall of 2017 following an illegal independence referendum and a subsequent decision to secede from Spain in 2017. Puigdemont was able to flee abroad with other members of the government. Several of those who remained in the country were sentenced to prison terms of up to 13 years, but have since been pardoned. Catalonia is still suffering from the consequences of the chaotic attempt at separation - including political instability and a flight of companies and capital.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era in Catalonia that aims to improve the lives of citizens, expand rights and strengthen coexistence," commented Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Government negotiations now have until August. If no agreement is reached, the citizens will vote again in October.