Deals start after no party wins majority in Catalan vote 02/11/2006 00:00

2 November 2006

BARCELONA — The center-right Catalan nationalists of the Convergence and Union party won the largest number of seats in Wednesday's elections for the regional parliament of Catalonia.

The CiU will have 48 of the 135 seats in the next parliament, electoral authorities said, representing a gain of two over the party's results in the 2003 vote.

Coming second with 37 seats - down from 42 in 2003 - was the Catalan branch of the nationally ruling socialists, followed by the leftist-nationalist ERC, with 21 seats; the conservative Popular Party, with 14; and the leftist ICV-EUiA alliance with 12.

The surprise winners were a new non-nationalist party called Catalan Citizens, who won three seats.

Turnout was under 60 percent, officials said.

The outcome opens up a broad range of possibilities in the formation of the next government of the northeastern autonomous region, whose capital is Barcelona.

The elections were called after the ERC was dropped from the Socialist-led governing coalition in June for opposing a revised Catalan autonomy statute the leftist party said was too watered-down.

Spanish political analysts have suggested the Socialists may seek to form a coalition with the CiU.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news