Municipal, regional elections kick off in Spain
Spaniards have gone to polls in regional and municipal elections, which analysts say could change the political arena in the country by shifting the balance of power from the two traditional parties to two new ones.
Polls opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) and will close at 6:00 p.m. local time. All of the local councils’ seats are up for grabs in the municipal elections, in addition to 13 of the 17 regional parliament’s seats.
Opinion polls indicate that both the ruling Popular Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, known by its Spanish acronym PSOE, are in dire straits. Analysts say the country’s two main parties will likely face defeat in the elections, arguing that the PP could lose its majority in almost all of the 10 regions where it has the majority at present.
The Sunday polls are viewed as a litmus test ahead of national elections later this year.
The new contenders in Spain’s political arena are the right-wing Ciudadanos (Citizens) Party and left-wing anti-austerity party Podemos (We can), which many Spaniards hope to be the winner of the race.
Podemos and its rival, Ciudadanos, are hoping to change Spain’s two-party power balance, which has seen the PP and PSOE trading positions of power for decades.
The supporters of Podemos staged a huge rally in the capital, Madrid, two days ago, when, addressing the rally, party leader Pablo Iglesias slammed the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for saying that Spain is in a better economic condition compared to the past couple of years.
The Sunday elections come amid an increasing unemployment rate and growing distrust in the government’s policies.
Podemos was formed in 2014, and has over 350,000 members.
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