The Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC), led by Salvador Illa, achieved a resounding victory in the regional elections held in Catalonia this Sunday, leaving the independentists without an absolute majority once 98% of the votes had been counted.
The PSC secured 42 seats, while Junts, the pro-independence party led by Carles Puigdemont, obtained 35 deputies.
The Socialist Party of Catalonia, which opposes investing Puigdemont, announced that it already has a negotiating team to form a coalition.
In contrast, the ruling party, the ERC independentists, led by Pere Aragonès, suffered a harsh defeat by losing 13 deputies, leaving them with 20 in total. On the other hand, the conservative PP experienced a significant increase by adding 12 more deputies, reaching a total of 15 and surpassing the far-right Vox, which maintained its eleven seats.
The results also showed that the left-wing Comuns Sumar party obtained six deputies in the Parliament (two less than in the previous legislature), while the pro-independence party CUP obtained four seats (five less than before). Furthermore, Aliança Catalana, the far-right pro-independence party led by the mayor of Ripoll (Girona), Silvia Orriols, burst into Parliament with two deputies.
In the previous elections, held in 2021, PSC and ERC tied with 33 deputies each; Junts obtained 32; Vox achieved a total of 11 seats; the CUP added nine seats; the commons got eight; Ciudadanos six and the PP was the last party with representation, with three seats.
These results mark a significant change in the Catalan political landscape, with the independence movement losing its absolute majority in both seats and votes. The victory of the PSC reflects a change of trend in the region, after years of independence dominance and internal conflicts between the different separatist factions.