By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) –Catalan separatists increased their majority in the parliament of the wealthy Spanish region Sunday, while the far-right Vox party burst onto the scene, taking votes from more moderate unionist parties.
The vote was highly fractured and saw a big shakeup for non-separatist parties.
The unionist Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) tied with the separatist Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) for first place, with both parties winning 33 seats. Just one seat behind was the separatist Together for Catalonia Party.
The Vox party came in fourth place. Not only is this the first time the Spanish nationalist party won representation in Catalonia, but Vox won more seats than the two more moderate right-wing parties combined.
On the campaign trail, protestors threw stones at Vox candidates on various occasions.
Citizens, the right-wing unionist party that won first place in Catalonia’s 2017 elections, saw their support plummet from 36 to six seats. The conservative Popular Party won just three seats.
The radical far-left separatist CUP party also saw their seats more than double, landing them in fifth position.
An absolute majority in the Catalan Parliament is 68 seats. The three separatist parties – CUP, Together for Catalonia and ERC – have 74 combined. That is up from 70 four years ago.
Catalan separatist parties won more than 50% of the popular vote as well, which could fuel their drive to break from Spain.
At the same time, the vote skewed highly to the left, with left-wing parties winning a resounding 83 of 135 seats.
Pacts could be formed among left-wing parties, although all the Catalan separatist parties signed an agreement last week vowing not to support a Socialist government.
Salvador Illa, Spain’s former health minister from the Socialist Party, announced Sunday night that he will try to form a government, despite the unlikelihood that he will garner enough parliamentary support.
Catalonia has been one of Europe’s most tumultuous political battlegrounds in recent years.
In 2017, the regional government held an illegal referendum on independence and subsequently declared independence from Spain.
Spain’s central government then took control of Catalonia, charging the separatist leaders with crimes such as sedition and rebellion.
