A total of 5.75 million voters were eligible to vote for a new parliament in the Spanish region of Catalonia on Sunday, with the separatist former incumbent, Carles Puigdemont, considered one of the favourites for head of the regional government.
Voter turnout in the early afternoon was around 27%, around four percentage points higher than at the same time during the last election in 2021, which took place in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Puigdemont exploited the cancellation of suburban trains in Barcelona on election day due to cable theft to criticize the central government, which is responsible for the trains.
The central Spanish politicians wanted to manage Catalonian affairs like the railway and leave the Catalans to their fate, he complained from the south of France.
However, there is still a Spanish arrest warrant out for the 61-year-old after a failed attempt to declare independence in 2017, which could only be lifted once an amnesty that was agreed with the government in Madrid for its organizers comes into force in June at the earliest.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez controversially pardoned the Catalan independence politicians in order to secure support for his return as head of government.
The election campaign focused on economic and social policy, issues such as rising housing costs, inflation and bureaucratic confusion. However, the election was also seen as a plebiscite on the controversial amnesty for separatists.
According to Prime Minister Sánchez, the amnesty is intended to ease the Catalonia conflict and take the wind out of the separatists' sails. If their share of the vote falls, this would be a success for Sánchez, who has been heavily criticized in the rest of the country for his soft stance on Catalonia.
However, the separatists are not letting up and are calling for a new referendum on independence. Some prefer it with Madrid's approval, others without it if necessary, as was the case in 2017.
Developments after the election could also jeopardize the stability of Sánchez's minority government, which is dependent on the votes of the separatists in the parliament in Madrid.
Critics from the conservative camp accuse Sánchez of political corruption because he used the amnesty to buy the approval of separatist MPs for his re-election last autumn.
They also claim that he is jeopardizing Spain's territorial unity by making his minority government dependent on separatists, who could force him to agree to an independence referendum after all.
According to polls, Sánchez's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), with its lead candidate Salvador Illa, is likely to become the strongest force again with just under 30% of the vote, but will once again fall well short of an absolute majority. It completely rejects independence for Catalonia.
"I have the feeling that today marks the beginning of a new stage for Catalonia," Illa said as he cast his vote.
Puigdemont's liberal-conservative Together for Catalonia (Junts) party could finish in second place, just ahead of the party of current regional government leader Pere Aragonès from the separatist Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) party.
It is completely unclear which government majority could result due to the lack of statements made by the parties on coalition possibilities.
Polls are open between 0700 and 1800 GMT.
