Catalan Elections 2021: Voting At Electoral Colleges Begins

Catalan Elections 2021: Voting At Electoral Colleges Begins- 5,607 polling stations are already open.

CATALONIA will decide today, Sunday, the makeup of its Parliament in elections that have been marred by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Catalans are due to elect their 135 representatives after the government rejected the postponement of the elections to be held in May- making them the fourth regional elections held in the last nine years.

The postal vote has broken the record in an election in Catalonia with more than 265,000 votes received, representing an increase of the 277% compared to 2017 elections. The polls so far seem to suggest a three-way draw between ERC, Junts and the Catalan branch of the PSOE, the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC).

Candidates for the Catalan regional election sparred Thursday night at the last televised debate before voters went to the polls today. Former Health Minister Salvador Illa was the target of most of the attacks, reflecting that surveys show a tie between his Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) and separatist groups.

The nine contenders exchanged insults ranging from “fascist” to “terrorist” and the debate at times descended into a shouting match, with moderator Ana Pastor struggling to contain the speakers.

The election campaign in Spain’s northeastern region, where nearly six million people are eligible to vote, has been marked by the coronavirus pandemic. Applications for mail-in ballots have tripled since the previous election in 2017, according to the postal service. And a quarter of the 82,251 citizens who were randomly selected to man the voting stations have requested to be excused from their duty, reflecting widespread fear about contracting the virus.

Please check back today for updates on the election as full coverage will be provided.

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