The PP wins the Spanish Elections but loses its absolute majority

Barcelona (CNA).- The People’s Party, PP, wins the 2015 Spanish Elections with more than 7 million votes. The party, led by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, is the leading force in 37 of the 52 Spanish regions and has obtained 123 MPs in the 350-seat Spanish Parliament. This figure represents a decline of 63 seats and will force the PP to reach an agreement in order to rule. The Spanish Socialist Party, PSOE, has obtained 90 seats, 20 less than in 2011, and the two new parties running for the Spanish Elections for the first time, alternative left Podemos and anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans, have come third and fourth respectively. Podemos got 68 seats and attracted part of the voters which supported PSOE in the last Spanish Elections. Ciutadans hasn’t obtained the great results which many polls forecast, but has still obtained 40 seats. Regarding the results in Catalonia, alternative left coalition En Comú Podem has obtained 12 MPs in the Spanish Parliament and pro-independence left wing ERC has achieved its best result ever in a Spanish Election, obtaining 9 seats. Democràcia i Llibertat secured 8 MPs and the Catalan Socialist Party 7 MPs, half of what they obtained in 2011. Ciutadans have secured 5 representatives in their first time running for the Spanish Elections, the same number of seats as the Catalan People’s Party (PPC).  

The PP was the choice of more than 7 million Spanish citizens, which represent more than 28% of the voters. Approximately 5.5 million Spanish opted for PSOE (22%) and more than 5 million voted for Podemos (20%). Ciutadans obtained nearly 3.5 million votes (14%) in a Spanish Elections which registered a participation of 73.22% in the whole of Spain.

The results in Catalonia

The political panorama in Catalonia is now substantially different from that which emerged after the last Spanish Elections. In 2011, the leading force was the coalition CiU, at the head of the Catalan government at that time, which obtained 16 MPs and which no longer exists today. In these Spanish Elections, the winning party in Catalonia with 12 MPs is En Comú Podem, a new alternative left coalition which gathers together members from Catalan Green-Socialist party ICV, alternative left-wing Podem (the Catalan branch of the Spanish party Podemos) and representatives from the 'En Comú' candidacies, which won significant mayoralties in the last local elections, for example that of Barcelona, with social activist and now Barcelona mayor Ada Colau as its strongest asset.

The second force in Catalonia is ERC, which has achieved 9 representatives and triples its returns from the 2011 Spanish Elections. ERC and liberal party CDC, currently leading the Catalan government, decided to run separately for the Spanish Elections although they joined efforts in the 27-S Catalan elections, creating the cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’. The formula has been less successful for CDC, which ran under the coalition ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ and has obtained 8 MPs. If we compare this result with that of CDC in the last Spanish Elections, they have lost half of their representatives in the Spanish Parliament. However, they were still partnered with Christian Democrat Unió back then. On that point, Unió hasn’t obtained any representatives in this the first time they have run on their own in the Spanish Elections. In total, 17 MPs from the 47 elected by Catalan citizens support Catalonia’s independence.

The Catalan Socialist Party, PSC, have obtained 8 representatives, almost half of what they got in 2011. Anti-Catalan nationalism Ciutadans, which was running in the Spanish Elections for the first time, has obtained 5 MPs, the same number of seats as the Catalan People’s Party, PPC.

The new politics

The 2015 Spanish Elections were set to mark the end of the two-party system in Spain, which has seen PP-PSOE alternation in government since 1982. Although the PP has repeated its victory, they have lost their absolute majority and their number of representatives has dropped from 186 to 123. The PSOE has also lost part of its influence in the Spanish Parliament, losing 20 seats in comparison to the last Spanish Elections. None of the traditionally majoritarian parties in Spain will be able to rule without reaching an agreement.

Podemos, the only Spanish party which defends the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia, won in Catalonia and the Basque Country and has obtained 69 seats. Ciutadans’ results hasn’t been as remarkable as many polls forecast, but  has still gotten 40 seats in the Spanish Parliament.

The Senate, Spain’s Upper House

Regarding the Senate, the PP has also obtained the majority of the seats, followed by PSOE, Podemos, Ciutadans, ERC, Democràcia i Llibertat and Basque nationalists PNB.