Postal vote doubt as PP swoops Almeria

WITH 148,673 people picking centre-right Partido Popular (PP), the party secured 50.3 per cent of the votes in Almeria Province in Sunday’s local elections. This was 41,584 more than in the last elections 2007 when the socialists narrowly beat the PP in the province. The PP was followed by the PSOE Socialist Party with 90,652 votes, 30.7 per cent of the total. This was 16,831 fewer than in 2007.

In some of the towns with large foreign communities like Mojacar, Arboleas or Gallardos there results were mixed.

With 1,106 votes Mojacar’s ruling Mayor Rosa Maria Cano secured another term with 7 of the 13 seats and 39.3 per cent of the vote, according to Spanish daily Teleprensa.

‘Union Mojaquera 10’ came in second, with 3 seats, 19.9 per cent of the vote and 559 votes. PSOE, MPSM and MPM each secured one seat at the town hall.

However, at the time of going to press the Interior Ministry, El Mundo and El Pais had the PP with 6 seats, UM10 with 3, PSOE 2, MPSM and MPM with one each. The Teleprensa article suggests the Ministry figures are wrong due to an ‘error.’

On Sunday, eight of the nine parties denounced the PP for what they believe to be a suspicious number of postal votes, according to Angel Medina from Ciudadanos Europeos.

They demanded the almost 500 postal votes – many from Romania – be discarded suggesting voters may have been ‘bought’ or ‘threatened’.

Meanwhile, the Socialists won the majority in Los Gallardos (8 of 11 seats) with the PP taking the remaining 3 seats.

Coalition PSA-EP-And won 7 of the 11 seats in Arboleas, with the PSEO in second (3 seats) and PP (1) third.

The PP took Garrucha, Huercal-Overa, Turre and Vera; while the PSOE had narrow wins in Albox and Carboneras.

Nationally the picture is similar, almost 23 million people cast their votes on Sunday.

The PP won a landslide victory over the ruling PSOE with 8.5 million votes, 2.2 million more than the socialists.

As a nation 66.23 per cent of the population voted, slightly more than in the 2007 election (63.97 per cent)

Online results: http://resultados2011.mir.es/