Polls open in Catalan election 2024: record high of 5.75 million called to vote

A total of 5,744,840 Catalans are called to vote today as the 2024 Catalan parliament election got underway at 9am with no incidents in polling stations.

This is a record high electoral census, half a million more than 25 years ago, 1.3 million more than the first Catalan parliamentary elections, held in 1980, and 130,773 more people than the last vote in 2021.

It is also noteworthy that there is the highest number of new voters having turned 18 in two decades: 243,004 young people have joined the census compared to three years ago. 

Today, 2,695 polling stations with 8,940 voting desks are opening across Catalonia. In total, 80,460 citizens have been called to work at polling stations, from sitting at the desk, as well as their substitutes. 

Of the total number of voters, the vast majority are in the constituency of Barcelona: 4,278,966. There are 603,684 eligible voters in Tarragona, 553,337 in Girona, and 318,853 in Lleida. Almost 300,000 can vote from abroad. 

Of the 135 total parliamentary seats are up for grabs, 85 are for the constituency of Barcelona, 18 for Tarragona, 17 for Girona, and 15 for Lleida.

Major train disruption 'affects right to vote,' says Catalan government

The election day has coincided with a major disruption in the rodalies commuter train service. No commuter train lines were able to reach Barcelona on Sunday morning, while high-speed trains work as usual.

The Catalan vice president, Laura Vilagrà, said that the disruptions affect the right to vote and the turnout.

The situation is "unacceptable," she said, calling on the Spanish transports minister, Óscar Puente, to take prompt action.

Upon voting, the Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, also said that the damage to the commuter train network could affect the right to vote, and added that the issues come after years of "lack of public spending" in the service by the Spanish government.

Pro-independence Esquerra Republicana and Junts+ have requested the regional electoral boards to extend voting hours in Sunday's election due to the disrupted services in the Rodalies commuter rail system.

Over an hour before closing the polls, the Electoral Board has left the decision to the regional election commissions, which will only be able to extend voting hours "exceptionally" in cases where the lack of alternative transportation "seriously affects the normal course of the election".

However, the Barcelona and Tarragona electoral commissions have ruled out extending voting hours.