35 Years of Elections in Catalonia: From Autonomism to Independencism

Résumé 0

Since celebrating the first democratic elections in Spain in June 1997, Catalonia has had eleven of its own general elections (Congress of Representatives and the Senate) and 10 elections for the Catalonian Parliament. Throughout these 35 years the voting behavior of the citizens of Catalonia has been characterized by two singular facts: a notable difference of electoral turnout according to the electoral roll and a largely different vote, depending on whether they were choosing the Government of Spain or Catalonia, through respective parliamentary elections. The electoral confrontation in Catalonia has traditionally moved into two political-ideological axes. On one side is the left-right dimension and on the other side is the national axis, derived from the feeling of belonging to Spain or to Catalonia, and consideration of the best way to fit Catalonia into the Spanish State. The most significant change which has developed in the past three years has been the growing support for the option of an independent Catalonia in Spain, something which has become a top preference for Catalonian citizens.