The Socialist Party, which leads the Spanish government, lost power in 15 of the 22 provincial capitals it governs. including the six largest Madrid, Malaga, Murcia, Seville, Valencia and Zaragoza, within the framework of local elections this Sunday. As such, it shows its electoral vulnerability ahead of the general election due at the end of the year.
In Valencia and Seville, where mayors were also elected, the ballot showed that a majority chose the conservative Popular Party, which also won an absolute majority in the city of Madrid.
Barcelona was an exception among the larger cities, as the party with the most votes was pro-independence by such a small margin that it would require an agreement with the Socialist Party (PSOE) to oust the current mayor, the leftist Eda Kola.
The recount in the autonomous communities yielded more adjusted figures, but Most of them now led by the PSOE – which governs the country in coalition with the far-left party United We Can – have leaned to the right. with a narrow margin.
The rise of the Popular Party (PP) could oust the current left-wing coalition If they are repeated during the year, however, to gain control of the regions the PP will probably have to form a coalition with the far-right Vox party.
The figures showed few clear majorities, except in the Community of Madrid, where the regional president of the PP, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, won re-election with an absolute majority.
The defeat of the socialists in the Valencian Community, with almost half a million inhabitants, represented a severe blow to the PSOE.
The campaign was marked by many controversies, from allegations of electoral fraud in small towns to an unprecedented kidnapping case.
The recount showed a return to a two-party system dominated by the PSOE and the PP after a decade of increased participation by smaller parties such as the left-wing Podemos and the centrist Ciudadanos, who largely lost their seats to the PP.
