undecided voters, a country divided at voting time

With our correspondent and our special correspondent in Madrid,

The head of the Spanish government, pedro sanchez, puts his mandate into play this Sunday, July 23, after having called early elections less than two months ago. This risky decision was taken the day after the debacle of the left in the regional and municipal elections, while a good part of the Spanish population is on vacation. One unknown remains: that of abstention and undecided people who could tip the scales in favor of the right or the left, reports Diane Cambonour correspondent in Madrid.

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During his last electoral campaign meeting, this Friday evening in Getafe, in the suburbs of Madrid, the head of government, the socialist Pedro Sanchez, who is given as the loser in the latest polls, sent a direct message to the undecided. ” I ask a last effort and to all the undecided and I ask them to vote socialist. I tell them : “It’s just one day to vote, and four years of social progress and freedom,” he said.

According to the National Institute of Statistics, 20% of Spaniards were still undecided a week ago on the choice of their vote, but also on whether or not to go to the polls. ” I am quite undecided, because I no longer feel represented. I’ve always been a leftist voter, but I’m disappointed how these parties care more about the bosses than the workers “says David, who says he is tired of these repeated elections. Especially since this campaign was laborious for the main candidates, the socialist Pedro Sanchez and conservative Alberto Nunez Feijoo.

Abstention is also likely to be high among young people and if they decide to vote, their choice is made at the last moment. Nearly 13% of them choose the same day which candidate to vote for. Laura, 23, has already made her choice. ” I do not think I will vote in these elections, because my vote is in no way decisive, it is useless “, she says. The record for postal voting, with some 2.6 million ballots, suggests strong mobilization for a ballot that promises to be very tight.

Young people attracted to extremes

This year, more than 1.6 million voters will vote for the first time in the legislative elections. This young vote counts, but it is characterized by a certain attraction for the extremes, reports our special correspondent in Madrid, Romain Lemaresquier. Like many other countries in the European Union, young Spaniards are indeed increasingly receptive to the discourse of far-left and far-right parties.

Some want to defend achievements, like Carla, 20, who will vote for the first time in legislative elections and who does not hesitate to explain why she will give her ballot to Sumar, the new far left party, many of whose members come from Podemos, another far left party. ” I vote in favor [de Sumar, NDLR] for the policies they have put in place for the LGTB community, but also for social policies, especially what has been done for working-class neighborhoods. So yeah, I think that’s the party I agree with the most overall. “, she believes.

While some favor progress in terms of the rights of vulnerable people and against gender-based violence, others, of the same generation, think quite the opposite. Angela, 21, will also be voting for the first time. But his choice is on the extreme right: I lean towards Vox, not only for the economic question, but also for social questions like abortion, euthanasia and of course feminism. The feminist movement today does not represent me. In my opinion, this is a very important thing: Vox is the party that best defends women. »

However, Vox refuses to address gender violence, speaking instead of intra-family violence. Still, these extreme positions are attracting more and more young people, which was particularly the case during the last far-right meeting in Madrid, which attracted more supporters than the conservatives of the Popular Party.

Citizens pissed off about losing their holidays

One of the difficulties in organizing these elections will have been the constitution of the polling stations. In the country, the citizens who make up these polling stations – and there are more than half a million – are drawn by lot and do not have the right to refuse, except in rare exceptions. Some Spaniards could not go on leave.

If some are lucky enough to be able to opt for postal voting, which is the case for more than 2.6 million voters. Others had to draw a line under their leave. And if the State is committed to reimbursing the costs that have already been incurred, this is not the case for everyone. Like Sarah, a 22-year-old actress who was appointed president of her polling station three weeks ago. ” I had taken tickets and I sent them, but they told me that they could not do anything because I had taken them after the publication in the Official Journal, when I should have sent them before the implementation of this law “, she says.

Sarah laughs it off, but she won’t have a summer vacation this year, as she returns to work four days after the election. And it’s not the only one concerned…” The truth is that I think it pissed off a lot of Spaniards. There are people who had already prepared their holidays. Changing everything is a lot of money. Or, they simply can’t ask for holidays on other dates. It’s true that with postal voting, it’s easier, but people who, like me, have been drawn, it really bothers them! I guess this is a strategy to get the government to get more votes. But I don’t know if they’ll make it “, she judges. Sarah is still proud to participate in this electoral process, but she says she is undecided.

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