SPAIN'S president's huge gamble in calling a snap election this summer might affect everything from the nation's European Union leadership rôle through to local fiesta parades – but Pedro Sánchez considers it necessary after Sunday's nationwide vote.
Pedro Sánchez a year ago after a Council of Ministers meeting (photo: EFE)
His party has been weakened by a surge in the key opposition, meaning the current national leader believes a general election in summer could restore its strength if it takes the lion's share of the votes.
The trigger for Pedro Sánchez's bringing the 2023 general election forward from November to July 23 has been largely influenced by the battering his party took on Sunday.
Of the 10 regions then governed by the PSOE, six now have either a PP majority, or the PP was the most-voted, meaning it would be able to govern in coalition if it held the most seats, even if not exactly half plus one.
Councillor and MP seats are usually odd-numbered, so as to prevent tie-breaks, but this does not always avert a hung Parliament.
The PP being the most-voted party does not, automatically, mean it will govern, but the public and media will now be closely scrutinising potential coalitions or pacts that could alter the election outcome.
What Sunday's elections were for, and how they're not the end of the story
Regional governments – which can only be voted for by Spanish citizens – and local councils, where certain foreign residents are able to cast their ballot, have come up for 'renewal' after four years in office.
In Spain, all elections are held on a Sunday, since this is not a working day and so, in theory, allows everyone to participate if they are eligible.
Polling stations are open from 07.00 until 22.00, without closing for lunch.
Ballot boxes at a polling station in Spain (photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Once, any election would be a straight battle between the two main national parties, the right-wing PP and the left-wing socialists, or PSOE. But independent parties have been created at all levels of government in the past eight years, meaning it is no longer a case of the most-voted group automatically gaining a majority.
Whilst at present, only two countries in the continent of Europe operate a 'first-past-the-post' system – the UK and Belarus – the PP is keen to introduce it, considering that the party with the most votes should be the one that governs, by default. Where this structure is observed, it can often mean a party with a fairly small minority, barely a quarter of the national vote at times, can end up in power.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com