Sunny weather, religious celebrations, and family and leisure plans are marking a Sunday in which political leaders have called on Andalusians to vote massively. At 18:00, the turnout percentage was 52%, three points above the last elections, held on June 19, 2022. During the morning, the day has passed without surprises. The voting has taken place with “absolute normality,” as specified by the Andalusian Minister of Health, Presidency, and Emergencies, Antonio Sanz. The 10,403 polling stations set up in the 3,759 schools have been established with hardly any incidents. During the day, 6.8 million Andalusians out of a total of 8.7 million are called to vote.
“I know there are many communions today. Don’t leave it until the last minute, because the after-meals get long and then it’s a drag to go vote,” warned the Popular Party candidate, Juan Manuel Moreno, who is fighting to retain the absolute majority achieved four years ago. Meanwhile, the Socialist candidate, María Jesús Montero, has called for mobilization to counter the Popular majority, trusting in the power of the hidden vote: “Today is a very important day to decide our future, that people come to vote with enthusiasm, hope, and joy, keeping very much in mind the future we are playing for in our land (…) We will see this afternoon if we have managed to mobilize,” she admitted.
The candidate of Por Andalucía, Antonio Maíllo, was the first candidate for the presidency of the Junta to vote, shortly after 10:00. “Today is a beautiful spring day, it’s a great day and there is a need for mobilization to go vote,” he encouraged. The candidate of Adelante Andalucía, José Ignacio García, made a similar call: “Today we all have the same power and we must take advantage of it,” he urged. The Vox candidate, Manuel Gavira, urged that there be a “government that has clear priorities” and that “gets involved to get Andalusians out of the mess we are in.”
The first polling station to be established was the Santa Lucía cultural space in Pedroche (Córdoba), at 8:00 and 16 seconds. And the first province to complete the formation of the polling stations was Almería, at 9:11. It was followed by Córdoba, which had them formed two minutes later, at 9:13.
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Among the undecided who decided their vote at the last minute, Rocío and Jorge, at the Bienestar Social polling station in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), found their polling station with little traffic. “It depends on the time. Also, there is a large elderly population in the center,” explained Rocío, a teacher, who was wearing a t-shirt in defense of public education. Jorge said he had doubts about his vote until the end: “I had doubts until this last week, but within the same political spectrum.”
Among the minor incidents, the absence of ballots in certain schools, some polling station presidents who had to be replaced, or some janitors and other problems locating the keys to a venue stood out, according to the Government delegate, Pedro Fernández.
No data until 20:43
Three schools in Seville, Málaga, and Cádiz will close later due to problems in the formation of their polling stations. The last to finish voting will be CEIP Azahares in Sevilla Este, whose closure is scheduled for 20:43. From that moment on, the counting data will begin to be disseminated via the website or the mobile application. However, the polls will be known at 20:00. Abroad, more than 302,000 Andalusians residing outside Spain are called to vote, according to the INE. The provinces with the most voters abroad are Málaga, Granada, and Almería.
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