The pro-union Socialist Party is set to claim the most seats in the Catalan parliament, but the faction will also face a stronger separatist bloc. Party leader Salvador Illa said it was time to “turn the page.”
The Sunday vote in Catalonia saw the pro-Madrid Socialist Party claim a narrow victory ahead of the secessionist Republican Left, although both parties are set to command an equal number of seats in the region’s 135-seat parliament.
The Socialists won over 625,000 votes, giving them 33 seats, with over 99% of ballots having been counted. The Republican Left only claimed some 580,000 votes, but is also expected to have 33 lawmakers in the assembly. Another pro-independence party, the center-right Junts, would receive 32 seats, with another nine going to the left-wing CUP, which is also in favor of secession.
