Spain's PP in the lead with three-quarters of the votes counted

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
23 Jul 2023 23:34
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Live results published by the Spanish government continue to show a narrow gap between the Socialists and the PP.

A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Badalona, outskirts of Barcelona, on July 23, 2023 (AP)

Just over 75% of the votes are counted, and live results published by the Spanish government continue to show a narrow gap between the Socialists and the PP.

The PP – who polls had suggested would win the election by a substantial margin – have 132 seats. The Socialists trail slightly behind at 126.

Whoever wins the election in Spain, the resilience of the two traditional parties (PSOE and PP) is striking. Between them they will win around 64% of the vote, down from 84% in 2008 but up from just 49% in November 2019.
— Michael Reid (@michaelreid52) July 23, 2023

The far-right Vox party has 33 seats while the leftwing movement Sumar has 30.

The preliminary count suggests that the PP-Vox together would have 165 seats – just shy of the 176 seats needed for a majority in the country’s 350-seat parliament.

With 25% of the vote left to count, the results could still increase or decrease by a handful of seats.

When 53% of the votes of Spain's snap general election were counted earlier, the country's ruling Socialists and the right-wing Popular Party (PP) were almost level with each other, despite pre-election polls suggesting a win for the latter.

Over 6,000 polling stations closed in Spain earlier, marking the end of the general elections.

Spain assumed the presidency of the European Union three weeks ago, making the tilt to the right a blow to Europe's majority left.

A Sigma Dos survey conducted days before the election projected that Alberto Nunez Feijoo's PP would gain 145-150 seats, falling short of the 176-seat absolute majority necessary to rule alone.

Three more surveys conducted soon before the election, the results of which cannot be legally released until after the polls close, all showed the PP winning but without an overall majority, implying that it would require cooperation from the far-right Vox to establish a government.

A GAD3 survey published after voting closed indicates that based on 10,000 voter intentions during the election campaign, the PP is projected to win 150 seats while Vox is projected to win 31.

Another survey indicated the leftist alliance led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialists will receive 149 seats in the 350-seat lower chamber and no single party would win a majority.

The Spanish snap election has been a stark reminder of Europe's shift toward the far-right.

At 6:00 pm local time (16:00 GMT), the turnout was 53%, down from 56.85% in the last election in November 2019.

Leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, expressed willingness to create "an alternative" to the current PM's left-wing coalition government.

Tomorrow is a critical day for #Spain.
On Sunday, voters will decide whether the country will lean towards the far right, joining some other #European countries, or face a prolonged period of political deadlock with a caretaker government in place. pic.twitter.com/ZR94tX9gfr
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) July 23, 2023

An important moment for Europe

Feijoo called it a "very important" moment not only for Spain but for Europe and the world.

Vox's right-wing party would not be the first in Europe in a new trend in countries like Hungary, Finland, and Italy.

Sanchez expressed that the PP-Vox government would bring Spain into "a dark time warp that will leave us who knows where."

Vox seeks to repeal laws against gender violence, abortion, and euthanasia, as well as prohibit independence-seeking parties and safeguard traditions like bullfighting.

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Vox's plan "chilling" in an op-ed in France's Le Monde, saying its entry into government "would push Europe one step further into a right-wing abyss."

Since Sanchez took office in 2018, Spain's economy has outpaced most of its EU rivals, rising by 5.5 percent last year, with inflation falling below 2.0 percent, which is unusual in Europe.

He has also increased the minimum wage, increased pensions, and made commuter train travel free.

However, his government's reliance on Catalan and Basque independence-seeking parties to enact laws, as well as his occasional collaborations with Bildu, the successor to the political branch of ETA, has harmed his support, as per analysts.

Another huge setback was a rape statute that allowed over 1,000 convicted sex offenders to have their sentences reduced.

Feijoo, 61, has promised to repeal many of Sanchez's legislation, including one that allows anybody 16 and up to alter their ID card gender with a simple declaration.

If the PP and Vox fall short of a working majority, the Socialists will have a better chance of forming a government since they have more choices for forming partnerships.

Analysts could not rule out the prospect that neither group will be able to obtain a functional majority, forcing a new election, as what happened in 2019.