Oviedo (Spain): Elections on Sunday gave the People’s Party another absolute majority in Spain’s Galicia region, dashing hopes that the left could end 15 years of conservative rule.
Alfonso Rueda was re-elected as leader of Spain’s conservative movement in northwestern Spain, winning 40 seats out of 75, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
The outcome was particularly dire for the parties in Spain’s coalition government, the Socialist Party and Sumar.
The Socialist Party won only nine of the 75 seats available, down from 14 in 2020.
The far-left party Sumar, headed by Spain’s second deputy prime minister Yolanda Díaz, who is originally from Galicia and campaigned vigorously in the region, failed to win a single seat.
Instead, the main opposition party will remain the left-wing Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG). This party is another party with regional interests in Spain’s wide political tapestry. It won 25 seats.
The far-right Vox party and the far-left Podemos party also failed to win enough votes to enter local government.
National leader of the Spanish People’s Party, Alberto Nuñez Feijó, also from Galicia and former president of the region, celebrated Sunday’s victory with his team.
Andalusia’s conservative leader, Juanma Moreno, also posted congratulations to Mr. “It will reach all over the country,” he added.
Feijoo was the candidate who received the most votes in Spain’s last general election in July. However, he fell far short of an absolute majority and was unable to muster the support needed to form a government in Spain’s highly divided parliament.
Gabriel Ruffian, leader of the left-wing Catalan nationalist party ERC, said he was “inspired” by the BNG’s “extraordinary results”.
“BNG has gone from a fight for survival to a competition for control of Galicia,” he posted on X.
BNG fights for Galicia’s regional interests and aims for self-determination, but it does not prioritize securing Galicia’s independence. – Bernama, Anadolu Region