Spanish Socialist Party comes first in Catalan elections after falling in separatist vote – POLITICO

The Socialists won 42 of the 135 seats in the Catalan parliament, with almost all votes counted. The separatist Junts party of Carles Puigdemont, the man who as Catalan president in 2017 attempted to declare independence from Spain, came in second with 35 seats, while his fellow separatists ERC won 20 seats, the others being further behind.

The election leaves Puigdemont’s future uncertain. Before the vote, he pledged to leave active politics if he was not elected regional president, telling POLITICO that he had “the right to rest after these very difficult years.”

On Sunday, Catalan voters also gave a boost to the center-right Popular Party, which saw its share of seats increase from three to 15.

This is a developing story.