Voter turnout in this Sunday's Spanish general election has fallen moderately across the Spanish state, with Catalonia also following the trend. According to official turnout data at 6pm, with just two hours until the polls close, 56.86% of registered voters in Spain had cast their votes, while in the previous elections on April 28th the figure was 60.74% at 6pm, a decrease of 3.88 percent across the Spanish state. In Catalonia at 6pm, 59.75% had voted, 4.35% less than the 64.20% recorded in April at the same time - a slightly greater fall than the average across the Spanish state.
Breaking this down by the four Catalan provinces (which are also the electoral demarcations), in Barcelona 60.43% had voted at 6pm (in the previous elections it was 64.79%); in Girona, 59.40% had exercised their right to vote (in April it was 63.69%); in Lleida, the 6pm turnout was 56.49%, contrasting with 60.60% in April, and in Tarragona it was 57.65% (down from 62.35%).
Throughout Catalonia voting has been taking place normally despite some speculation in recent days that there could be impediments to exercising the right to vote, which for the moment have proved to be absolutely false.
Polling centres close at 8pm, although if there are people still waiting to vote at that time, they will be allowed to cast their ballots.
Catalans will elect 48 deputies from the total of 350 that are in the Spanish Congress. These are broken down on a basis roughly proportional to population amongst the four electorates: 32 are in Barcelona; 6 in Girona; 4 in Lleida and 6 in Tarragona. For Spain's upper house, the Senate, Catalan voters will choose a total of 16 senators, 4 per province. See our election guide for more details on how this works.
Four points down in Spain
In Spain as a whole, the decrease was a little short of four points, -3.88%, with turnout until 6pm situated at 56.86%, according to data provided by the Ministry of the Interior. In the elections of April 28th this year, voter participation at the same time was 60.74%.
In the past, lower turnouts in Spanish general elections have tended to benefit the parties of the right. However, the vote on April 28th this year had a high turnout, particularly in Catalonia, so even if participation appears to have fallen compared to the last election, today's figures are still relatively high compared to other recent Spanish general elections.