Simon Hunter
OPINION POLLS released at 8pm today, as the polls closed in the 2023 local and regional elections, suggest that tonight will see the conservative Popular Party win an absolute majority in the Madrid region.
The PP is also predicted to wrest power from the Socialists in the Valencia and Aragon regions, albeit falling short of a majority.
That’s according to surveys carried out by pollster GAD3 for the country’s public television channels.
If the polling is correct, current PP premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso will hold onto power in Madrid, and will not have to rely on either far-right Vox or centre-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) either to form a government or to pass legislation. Vox could, however, be key in Valencia and Aragon if the PP falls short of a majority.
The polls also suggest that the Socialist Party is likely to hold onto power in the Castilla y Leon region.
Meanwhile, the PP is also predicted to hold onto power in Madrid City Hall, coming close to a majority.
In Seville, the PP is forecast to take 13 or 14 council seats, while the Socialists are also predicted to win 13. A total of 16 are needed for an absolute majority.
The GAD3 poll also predicts that the PP will win 13 or 14 council seats in Valencia, with leftist Compromis losing two for a total of eight, and the Socialists taking seven or eight. Seventeen seats are needed in the council for an absolute majority.
In Barcelona, Barcelona en Comú is forecast to hold onto its 10 councillors, meaning that activist-turned-mayor Ada Colau would be reelected.
Today Spaniards have braved the rain across the country to vote in 12 regional elections (Valencia, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, the Balearic Islands, Asturias, Navarre, Murcia, Aragon and Extremadura), and more than 8,000 council elections.
Read more:
- Spain’s 2023 local and regional elections: Voter turnout up on 2019
- Spaniards brave the rain to vote in 2023 regional and local elections
- Monda only municipality in Spain’s Malaga where all mayoral candidates are women
