Spaniards Vote in General Election with Potential Power Shift
MADRID, July 23 – Spaniards began voting on Sunday in a closely contested general election that could see a shift in power, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s governing Socialists potentially losing power and a far-right party entering the government for the first time in 50 years.
Polling stations opened at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) and will close at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT), with exit polls set to be released soon after. Experts predict that the final result will be determined by less than a million votes and fewer than 10 seats in the 350-seat parliament.
Sanchez called the election early following a defeat for the left in the local elections held in May. However, his decision to hold the election earlier than scheduled may backfire.
Opinion polls indicate that Alberto Nunez Feijoo’s center-right People’s Party is likely to win the election. However, in order to form a government, they would need to form a coalition with Santiago Abascal’s far-right Vox party. If this happens, it would mark the first time a far-right party has entered the government since the end of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in the 1970s.
Many Spaniards are frustrated at being called to vote during the summer vacation season. As a result, a record-breaking 2.47 million people voted by postal vote, choosing to cast their ballots from the beach or mountains.
Barclays wrote in a note to clients that “The status quo scenario and a hung parliament are still a real possibility, likely with 50% combined odds in our view,” citing the thin margin in favor of the People’s Party and overall uncertainty regarding polling and voter turnout.
The outcome of the election could depend on whether Feijoo or Sanchez can secure the support of smaller parties to form a coalition government.
Currently, Prime Minister Sanchez’s minority Socialist government is in a coalition with the far-left Unidas Podemos party, which is running in Sunday’s election under the Sumar platform.
This government has introduced progressive legislation on issues such as euthanasia, transgender rights, abortion, and animal rights. However, voters have been warned that these rights could be at risk if Vox, a party with anti-feminist and family-values focused policies, becomes part of the next government.
Since taking office in 2018, Sanchez has faced numerous challenges, from managing the COVID pandemic and its economic effects to dealing with the political fallout of the failed 2017 independence bid in Catalonia.
Feijoo, the leader of the People’s Party, has never lost an election in his home region of Galicia. He has presented himself as a stable and reliable leader, which experts believe could resonate with some voters.
The formation of a new government will rely on complex negotiations, which could take weeks or even months. In a worst-case scenario, the country may even be faced with another round of elections.
This uncertainty could impact Madrid’s effectiveness as the current host of the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union Council, as well as its handling of EU COVID recovery funds.
Reporting by Jessica Jones; Editing by Nick Macfie and Frances Kerry