Socialist Party wins Andalucian elections

THE Socialist Party (PSOE), led by Susana Diaz, clearly won Andalucia’s regional elections on Sunday, keeping hold of 47 seats, with the conservative popular party (PP) coming second and hanging on to only 33 of their 50 previous seats. The Andalucian parliament is made up of 109 seats in total.

Podemos, the new, anti-austerity-focused party, seemed to have been gaining ground in the opinion polls in the last weeks. When it came to the vote, the party took 15 seats, failing to overtake either of Spain’s major two parties.

Their result was nevertheless significant, and in Cadiz, the home town of regional presidential candidate Teresa Rodriguez, Podemos won the highest percentage of the vote.

The Socialists might well have cause to celebrate in the Andalucian elections, but they failed to gain an overall 55-seat majority. They may look to Podemos as they sound out potential for coalition or ad hoc agreements, or to the other new party, Ciudadanos, who won nine seats in their first time contesting elections in Andalucia.

The election was considered to be one to be one of Spain’s closest, hardest-fought campaigns in many years.