The PP wins the elections with fewer seats, Vox and CHA surge, and the PSOE matches its worst result

The People’s Party has won the elections again in Aragon, but it’s a bittersweet victory, as it lost two seats and will remain dependent on Vox to form a government starting Monday. Meanwhile, Pilar Alegría ‘s Socialist Party ( PSOE) matched its worst result ever, the one Javier Lambán obtained in 2015, and the Aragonese Union (Chunta Aragonesista) doubled its results, consolidating its position as a leading force to the left of the Socialists under Jorge Pueyo.

Thus, the distribution of deputies has left 26 for the PP (28 in 2023) and 33.9%, 18 for the PSOE (five less) and 24.5%, fourteen for Vox (seven in 2023) with 17.85%, six for CHA (three more) and 9.69%, two for Aragón- Teruel Existe, only for its main province and one less than three years ago with 3.61% of the entire Community; and the remaining one for Izquierda Unida-Movimiento Sumar (2.94%), which has disputed it with the PAR (7,597 votes and 1.27%) for a good part of the night.

The Aragonese and Podemos parties (5,701, 0.95%) are left out of the Cortes and, in fact, Se Acabó la Fiesta has obtained more votes than both, despite not entering parliament: 16,296 votes and 2.72%.

BY PROVINCE

The distribution of seats by province, with the PP winning in all three , leaves the 35 seats in Zaragoza divided as follows: fourteen for the PP, nine for the PSOE, seven for Vox, four for CHA, and one for IU-Sumar. In Huesca, which awards 18 seats: seven for the PP, five for the PSOE, four for Vox, and two for CHA. And in Teruel (fourteen seats): five for the PP, four for the PSOE, three for Vox, and two for Aragón-Teruel Existe.

In total, 223,891 Aragonese voters cast their ballots for the PP , 158,515 for the PSOE, 116,890 for Vox, 63,540 for CHA, 23,260 for Aragón-Teruel Existe, and 19,194 for IU-Sumar. Voter turnout reached 67.54%, one percentage point higher than in 2023, despite those elections being held concurrently with the municipal elections.

The first snap elections in Aragon’s history have left a scenario very similar to the one before they were called, as Azcón can only form a coalition with Vox or with a theoretical abstention from the PSOE, which has not yet been considered this Sunday. The machinery of coalition-building starts up again on Monday, with March 3rd as the date for the constitution of the Cortes , marking the beginning of the new legislature.

For the moment, this Sunday has ended with Jorge Azcón (PP) asserting himself as the only one capable of forming a government, despite acknowledging the loss of two seats. Pilar Alegría (PSOE) has called for the formation of a new opposition. Alejandro Nolasco (Vox) and the national leader, Santiago Abascal, have celebrated results that make them the key to forming a government. Jorge Pueyo (CHA) stated that it is “a good result” for his party, but bad for Aragon due to “the advance of the far right.”

Tomás Guitarte (Aragón-Teruel Existe) lamented that the presence of national leaders may have “diluteed” regional issues. María Goikoetxea (Podemos-Green Alliance), who failed to win a seat in the Aragonese Parliament, lamented that today Azcón is even more a hostage than he was yesterday to those who want to restrict and limit our freedoms. For Marta Abengochea (IU-Sumar), the coalition brings “solid ground” and “certainty” for the working class. “This result reflects what the people of Aragón want:  more Vox and less Aragón. We did what we could with our limited power; the Aragonese conscience said this could be ungovernable; I believe it is,” said  Alberto Izquierdo (PAR).