Andalucía Voters Head to Polls in Election Viewed as Test of Spain’s Political Trends

Voters in the southern Spanish region of Andalucía will cast ballots this weekend in an election viewed as an indicator of national political sentiment. The vote is the last major regional poll before Spain’s general election next year. Polls indicate the conservative People’s party is likely to win enough seats for an absolute majority in the 109-seat regional parliament.

Regional president Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla is forecast to come close to repeating the party’s 2022 result of 58 seats. The Spanish Socialist Workers’ party looks set to drop from 30 seats to around 27 or 28 in what would be its weakest performance in the region.

Vox is projected to hold steady or gain one or two seats from the 14 it won in the last election. Moreno Bonilla has described the “national priority” policy as an empty slogan and expressed confidence that his party will not need Vox support.

Housing The regional government faced criticism last year after more than 2,300 women were not informed of inconclusive mammogram results, leading to missed follow-up care. Campaigners said at least six women died as a result while the regional president stated no deaths occurred from the administrative failure.

A breast cancer support association president said the episode pointed to a wider collapse in public health services caused by increased use of private providers. She reported delays of up to three months for cancer surgery and 21 days for general practitioner appointments.

The regional president countered that his government had upgraded hospitals, equipment and capacity to reduce waiting times. Housing has also risen in prominence as cities including Seville, Málaga, Córdoba and Granada face pressure from overtourism.