Simon Hunter
VOTER TURNOUT at today’s regional and local elections in Spain was at 51.4% by 6pm, an increase of 1.55 points compared to the last polls in 2019.
That’s according to data supplied by the Interior Ministry, which showed that turnout was up by 6.64 points in the Valencia region, 5.65 points in Madrid, 5.16 points in Murcia, and 4.22 points in Castilla-La Mancha.
The highest turnout at 6pm was in La Rioja, which is Spain’s least-populated region. The figure there was 57.83%, followed by Valencia, which was at 57.8%, and Castilla-La Mancha, with 57.4%.
On the other end of the scale, Catalunya saw 44.6% turnout by 6pm, the Balearic Islands 46%, and Andalusia 48.7%.
The participation was also low in Spain’s North African exclave cities, Ceuta (43%) and Melilla (37%), and the Canary Islands (41.4%).
Today Spaniards are voting for candidates in 12 of the country’s 17 autonomous regions (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 local councils.
The voting will close at 8pm with the first exit polls due around the same time.
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