The left-wing separatist alliance EH Bildu celebrated a historic success in parliamentary elections in Spain’s Basque Country on Sunday.
After counting about 95 percent of the votes, the alliance advocating for the independence of the northern Spanish region won 27 seats, six more than in the last vote in 2020, when EH Bildu, founded in 2012, won 21 seats. had achieved the best result in its history to date.
However, the separatists remain in opposition, as it became clear late in the afternoon that the governing coalition between the conservative regional party PNV and the socialists (PSOE) would continue. According to the available results, the PNV (27) and the PSOE (12) have an absolute majority of 39 of the 75 total seats in the Parliament of Vitoria, as announced by the electoral authority. Therefore, the coalition would lose two seats.
Like EH Bildu, the PNV of the previous regional government head, Iñigo Urkullu, also has a nationalist orientation and demands more self-determination for the Basques from the central government in Madrid, but appears less radical. Urkullu (62), in power since 2012, no longer presented himself as the top candidate this time. Most likely, he will be replaced as head of government by his party colleague Imanol Pradales (49).
The terrorist organization ETA had waged a bloody battle for decades for an independent Basque Country in Spain. In its approximately 3,000 attacks, 857 people were killed and around 2,600 injured. In 2018 the organization announced its dissolution. The Basque Country is now one of the richest autonomous regions in Spain. (dpa)
