THE PARTIDO POPULAR strengthened its control of the Murcia regional assembly following Sunday’s elections, gaining five seats- two short of an overall majority.
It means that the PP’s Fernando Lopez Miras will remain as president with 21 seats but needs votes or abstentions from the far-right Vox party as has previously been the case.
Vox got five extra seats to take their tally to nine while the PSOE socialists lost four seats and now stand at 13 representatives.
Unidas Podemos hung on to their two seats but the centrist Ciudadanos were wiped out with the loss of all six of their seats.
The result means the PP have remained in power in Murcia since 1995.
“We have won decisively in the best result since 2011 and Murcians have given us what we have asked for,” said Lopez Miras.
In the municipal elections, coastal areas like San Javier and San Pedro stayed in PP hands and Los Alcazares remained strongly under PSOE control.
The PP became the largest single party in Cartagena while pacts and deals will be needed to sort out Torre Pacheco and La Union councils.
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