Spanish Catalonia separatist party increases majority seats

Catalan Republican Party (ERC) and Two Other Independence Parties Secure 74 Seats in April 14 Election

Catalan Republican Party (ERC) gubernatorial candidate Pere Aragon?s (left) and ERC leader Oriol Junqueras embrace after reviewing the election results on the 14th.
[Image source= EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Political parties advocating for Catalonia's independence in Spain increased their majority seats in the local elections held on the 14th (local time).

According to foreign media including AP, with 95% of the votes counted, the three pro-independence parties are expected to secure 74 out of 135 seats. This is 4 more seats than in the 2017 election.

The Catalan Republican Party (ERC), which has maintained a coalition government since 2016 advocating independence, and the center-right Catalan Together Party (JxCat) are expected to secure 33 and 32 seats respectively. Additionally, the far-left Popular Unity Candidates (CUP), also advocating independence, are expected to secure at least 9 seats. CUP doubled its seats from 4 in 2017.

The ruling Socialist Party at the central government level is expected to secure 33 seats with the highest 625,000 votes. This is 16 more seats than in the 2017 election. Although the Catalan Republican Party received 580,000 votes, fewer than the Socialist Party, it is expected to have the same number of seats as the Socialist Party.

The Citizens Party, which held the largest party status with 37 seats in the 2017 election, collapsed to only 6 seats. The Socialist Party significantly increased its seats benefiting from the Citizens Party's downfall. The Citizens Party is a party advocating for remaining in Spain.

The election results indicate that the citizens' desire for independence remains strong. Therefore, as was the case with the Citizens Party in 2017, it is expected to be difficult for the Socialist Party, which won the most seats in this election, to take power. It is highly likely that the coalition led by the Catalan Republican Party and Catalan Together Party will continue.

Meanwhile, it is notable that Vox, a far-right party opposing Catalonia's independence, entered the Catalan Parliament for the first time. The conservative People's Party (PP) secured only 3 seats, the same as in the 2017 election. Analysts suggest that the PP's popularity declined as its tough stance against the independence movement weakened recently, which allowed Vox to enter the Catalan Parliament.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.