PP poised to win Andalusia but absolute majority too close to call
Exit poll puts conservatives on verge of control in Andalusia with turnout below 2008 levels
The Popular Party (PP) was expected to win Sunday’s Andalusian regional elections but it remained unclear as the polls closed whether it would be able to obtain the absolute majority to form a government immediately.
Exit polls conducted by Canal Sur, the region’s television network, showed the PP winning between 52 to 55 seats in the 109-member regional parliament. It would need at least 55 seats to directly wrest control of the government from the Socialists, who have held power for 30 years in Andalusia. Canal Sur had the Socialists winning between 45 and 48 seats, and United Left (IU) set to boost its share with between eight and 10 seats.
At press time, PP candidate Javier Arenas huddled with his advisors while incumbent Socialist premier José Antonio Griñán only gave reporters a “we’ll see” observation when asked about the exit poll.
Sunday’s races in Andalusia and Asturias appeared not to have generated sufficient interest for many to come out and cast their ballots.
Andalusian Socialists have been hit by a corruption probe and high unemployment
In Asturias, with more than 21 percent of the vote counted, the Socialists were on target to win 16 seats in the 45-member parliament. The 10-month-old government of Francisco Álvarez Cascos, a former regional PP secretary general, who abandoned the party to form his own coalition, Asturias Citizens Forum (FORO), was on course for 11 seats.
After winning the May 22, 2011 regional elections, Álvarez Cascos was forced to dissolve the region's parliament after failing to drum up enough support for his government's budget plans.
Nevertheless, as important these elections are to Spain’s two major parties, voter turnout was dismal. At 2pm, election officials in Asturias reported that only 26.62 percent of eligible voters had cast ballots, a considerably lower figure than the 34.99 percent who turned out by the same hour in May 2011. In Andalusia, 29.29 percent showed up by 2pm — 9.78 percentage points lower than the same time period during the last elections in 2008.
Socialists in Andalusia have been hit hard by an ongoing court investigation into allegations that people, including family and friends of politicians, received money from a government fund set up to help companies pay for unemployment benefits when they were not qualified.
