Does Catalonia continue to hope for independence?
That is what the parliamentary election in the breakaway region was all about.
The separatists see the first prognoses ahead - as before.
But something is different.
Update from February 14, 11:05 p.m.:
The first counting results also confirm it: In the regional election in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia, the supporters of independence on Sunday, according to express results, expanded their majority.
After counting around 75 percent of the votes, three parties that advocate the separation of Madrid could count on 74 seats in the 135-member regional parliament.
The Socialists, who are against a split, received more than 23 percent of the vote, they can count on 33 seats.
The Spanish central government in Madrid had hoped that the pro-independence parties JxC and ERC, which ruled in Barcelona, would be replaced by the socialist Salvador Illa.
Instead, the separatist party “Together for Catalonia” (JxC) is expected to have 32 seats, the more moderate ERC 33 seats and the radical CUP nine.
Election in Catalonia: predictions point to new problems
First announcement:
Barcelona - According to an unofficial forecast, separatist parties have captured most of the seats in the parliamentary elections in Catalonia.
Official results of the vote count were not yet available on Sunday evening.
According to the forecast published by the state TV broadcaster RTVE immediately after the closing of the polling stations, all separatist parties together with a total of 73 to 78 MPs in the regional parliament in Barcelona can count on 135 seats.
The majority is 68 seats.
In view of the corona pandemic, voter turnout was significantly lower than in the 2017 election. At that time it was a good 79 percent.
The choice is of great importance for the whole of Spain *.
Election in Catalonia: Socialists gain ground - forming a government could be difficult
The socialist PSOE * ruling in Madrid, which is called PSC in Catalonia, has improved significantly.
It could have 34 to 36 seats.
She is against a secession of the region in the northeast of the country.
But unlike the previous conservative government of the People's Party, the socialists are open to negotiations.
If the forecasts are confirmed, forming a government could be difficult.
It is uncertain whether the two largest separatist parties, the left-wing ERC and the liberal-conservative JuntsxCat, will be able to agree on a government again, as they did in the past legislative period.
The differences in terms of the path to independence and in other areas of politics are great.
In addition, the socialists are promoting talks about a settlement of the conflict.
A bitter defeat appeared for the largest opposition party in Spain, the conservative People's Party.
It was overtaken by the right-wing populist Vox, according to the forecast.
The liberal Ciudadanos party, which lost a large part of its voters to other parties, experienced a crash.
(
dpa / fn
) *
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