Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party won the biggest share of votes in Sunday’s regional election in Catalonia, in a result that boosted the Spanish prime minister and dealt a blow to the separatist movement.
Catalonia’s pro-separatist parties fell short of the combined 68 seats required to form a coalition government for the first time in over a decade, since before the push for independence known as “el procés” began.
Salvador Illa, leader of the Catalan wing of Sánchez’s Socialists, hailed the result as the start of a “new era” in the region and told supporters late Sunday that “it is my intention to become Catalonia’s next president.” But his party also fell short of a majority and will need to seek a deal with others in the chamber to form government.
The Socialists secured 42 out of 135 seats in the Catalan parliament, with almost all votes counted. The separatist Junts party of Carles Puigdemont, the man who as Catalan president in 2017 attempted to declare independence from Spain, came in second with 35 seats, while fellow separatists ERC won 20 seats, with others trailing further behind.
“The candidacy that I led had a good result, we are the only pro-independence force to increase in votes and seats, and we assume the responsibility that entails,” Puigdemont said as the election results came in. “But that is not enough to compensate the losses of the other separatists parties.”
The election leaves Puigdemont’s future uncertain. Before the ballot, he had pledged to leave active politics if he was not elected regional president, telling POLITICO he had “a right to get some rest after these very difficult years.”
Catalan voters on Sunday also delivered a boost to the center-right People’s Party, which saw its share of seats jump to 15 from just three.
This developing story is being updated.