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Spain's PSOE wins significant Andalusian elections

Xinhua, March 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Socialist (PSOE) Party won the elections for the Regional Parliament of Andalusia celebrated in the region in the south of Spain on Sunday.

The PSOE, who were beaten into second place by the Popular Party in the last elections held in January 2012, took 35.46 percent of the vote to win 47 seats in the Andalusian parliament.

The PP polled just 26.7 percent; 14 percent less than three years ago to win 33 seats: 17 less than in 2012, while the left wing Podemos won 14.8 percent of the vote to claim 15 seats in their first ever appearance in these elections.

The center-right formation Citizens (Ciudadans), also appearing for the first time, will also feel satisfied after claiming 9.27 percent of the vote to win nine seats, ahead of IU with five seats.

The result leaves the PSOE short of an overall majority of 55 seats in the 109 seat assembly and the party will have to decide whether it tries to form a post electoral pact with Podemos or Citizens or try to govern alone and look to form agreements in order to pass specific pieces of legislation.

In the 2012 elections the PP had won 40.66 percent of the vote, ahead of the PSOE's 39.52 percent and IU's 11.34 percent, so this election has seen the share of all three of the traditional parties fall, although the PP must be worried at seeing their votes fall by as much as they have done just eight months before the general election.

Meanwhile the recently formed Podemos and Citizens can now claim to be realities on the Spanish political scene.

The election is significant because it is the first in a year that will see local and regional elections at the end of May, elections for the Catalan regional parliament (Generalitat) in September and general elections, which will presumably be celebrated in November.

Andalusia has traditionally been a PSOE stronghold and while the PSOE see the result as positive, both Podemos and Citizens will also feel satisfied, while the PP's defeat has to be seen as an important setback for the party led by Mariano Rajoy. Endit