2023-07-23 17:43:19
The Spaniards went to the polls to elect their new government in elections that keep the entire nation in suspense. The Popular Party (PP), led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, appears as the favorite to overcome the socialist party of outgoing president Pedro Sánchez and his allies from United We Can. However, the political landscape could force the right to partner with Vox, a nationalist, eurosceptic and anti-feminist far-right force, to form the government.
Voter turnout was outstanding, despite the intense heat of the European summer, reaching 40.48% at 2:00 p.m., surpassing the registration of the general elections of November 2019. Almost 2.5 million people chose to vote by mail, establishing a record number. With 37.5 million eligible voters, citizens had until 8:00 p.m. to deposit their ballots.
President Pedro Sánchez decided to anticipate the elections after the heavy defeat of his Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and its partner Unidas Podemos in local and regional elections in May.
Most polls point to the PP, which won the May elections, as the party with the greatest intention to vote. However, they are likely to need the support of the far-right Vox party to form a government.
The elections not only have Spain in suspense, but also have repercussions in Europe and the world. A possible coalition government between the PP and Vox would mean the return of the extreme right to power in Spain for the first time since the transition to democracy in 1975.
The PSOE and Unidas Podemos are pro-EU parties, while Vox opposes the EU’s interference in the affairs of Spain and questions gender violence, climate change and LGTBI rights.
Spain currently holds the temporary presidency of the EU, which added another dimension in these elections.
In addition, voters renew Parliament, which in turn elects the Executive and the Prime Minister. The party or alliance of parties that achieves the majority in Parliament, that is, 176 seats out of a total of 350, will exercise power in a parliamentary system like the Spanish one.
Since 1982, the PSOE and the PP alternated in the Government of Spain, but ehe bipartisanship began to give way with the appearance of new parties such as Podemos and Ciudadanos. The outgoing government of Sánchez is the first in a coalition since the transition to democracy.
Uncertainty remains in the air, and the result of these elections will define the political course of Spain and will have implications both at the national level and in the context of the European Union.
Participation in the 2023 Elections in Spain: with 53% of the register, it was 4 points behind those of 2019
The polling stations received heated voters on this day in which the decisive general elections in which Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), Alberto Núñez Feijóo (PP), Yolanda Díaz (Sumar) and Santiago Abascal (Vox), are fighting to govern for the next four years.
Almost 37.5 million Spaniards were called to vote this Sunday. With their ballot, voters will designate the 350 seats in Congress and the 208 in the Senate among the 1,093 candidacies that compete in these elections. According to the second advance provided by the Government, participation is 53.12%, which represents a drop of 3.73 points compared to the same advance of the last general ones in 2019.
With information from Telam
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