REGIONAL ELECTIONS

PP wave of triumph falls short of majority in Andalusia

Socialist Party vote holds up to avoid débâcle Asturias remains divided after repeat election

El País

Madrid - Mar 26, 2012 - 13:45CEST

The Popular Party (PP) failed in its bid to capture a majority with which to rule the region of Andalusia on Sunday, although the result of yesterday’s elections was still a historical victory after 30 years of outright domination by the Socialist Party.

Opinion polls had been predicting a resounding win for the PP, with an absolute majority in the 109-seat regional assembly apparently within the conservative party’s grasp. After a string of victories in elections last year, the party of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy already controls the majority of regional governments and city halls across Spain, as well as having a major say in the administration of two important exceptions: Catalonia and the Basque Country.

In the end, the Socialist vote held up better than expected in Andalusia, incumbent premier José Antonio Griñán’s party getting 39.5 percent (47 seats), just one percentage point behind the PP (50 seats). An improved performance for United Left (IU) saw its number of seats double from six to 12 with a little over 11 percent of the vote. Turnout was 10 percentage points down from 2008 at 62 percent.

Unable to hide his disappointment, the PP’s candidate for the premiership of Andalusia, Javier Arenas, said, “We got this far. We have won the elections. We will be the party of dialogue.”

There will now be a period of discussions between the three parties in the Seville parliament over who will govern, but an agreement between IU and the Socialists would seem the most likely outcome.

In Asturias, the Socialist Party was the most-voted grouping with 16 seats in the 45-strong regional assembly. But the results were very similar to those of last May, with the most obvious key to government being some kind of agreement between the PP (10 seats) and the conservative splinter group, FORO (13), led by former PP minister Francisco Álvarez Cascos.

Speaking for the Socialists, party number two Elena Valenciano said the results proved that it was never wise “to write off the party.”

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