Liberal nationalists win Catalan elections in Spain

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Wednesday November 1, 2006

Barcelona (dpa) - The liberal Catalan nationalist party, Convergence and Union (CiU), appeared set for a tight victory Wednesday emerging ahead of the governing Socialists in regional parliamentary elections in northeastern Spanish Catalonia. With nearly 80 per cent of the votes counted, CiU had taken nearly 31 per cent of the vote versus 28 per cent for the Socialists.

With no party obtaining an absolute majority, the election was expected to be followed by tough bargaining about possible coalitions.

The separatist Catalan party ERC was in third place with 14 per cent, followed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) with nearly 11 per cent and the leftist-green ICV with almost 10 per cent.

The new government will implement a reform approved by Spain to extend Catalonia's already considerable self-rule, granting it sweeping powers in the financial and judicial areas.

More than 5 million voters were eligible to elect 135 members of the regional parliament on Wednesday, which was a national holiday.

Voter turnout was estimated at 56 per cent, down from 62 per cent in the 2003 elections. Several parties said the low turnout reflected a growing distance between citizens and politics.

The election proceeded practically without incidents. Police expelled representatives of a small citizens' party who interrupted voting in El Papiol near Barcelona, claiming that their party's ballot papers were missing from voting booths.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency