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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea

13 February 2021 Catalonia goes to the polls on Sunday 14 February to elect the 135 deputies of the regional Parliament, in the unfavorable context of the Covid pandemic that raises fears of high abstention.



Numbers in hand there are three political forces in an equal situation, PSC (Party of Socialists of Catalonia), ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia) and JUNTS (United for Catalonia).



The tip of the balance in these elections are the undecided voters who represent about 37% of the voters.

In all, about 5.6 million entitled to choose their representatives in the

four electoral districts

of

Barcelona

,

Girona

,

Tarragona

and

Lerida

.



The latest polls show a very fragmented political situation, with a slightly advantageous position for the former health minister, Salvador Illa, who managed the pandemic crisis, 22% socialist candidate.

The Spanish socialist premier, Pedro Sánchez, is betting on it a lot to recover ground, but the victory is tough, even with the votes of Podemos' allies.



The independence parties of the current alliance, Junts for Catalunya, the formation of Carles Puigdemont, at 20%, and Esquerra Republicana (Republican left, ERC) at 21%, are slightly down but still strong.



The relationship between the central state and the autonomous community will depend on the electoral results: Junts hypothesizes the unilateral declaration of independence while the republican left ERC prefers the path of dialogue. 



The vote is strongly marked by the pandemic

.

For fear of contagions, the request to vote by mail has increased by 300%, with over 270,000 citizens who have come forward, while 25% of the tellers have pulled back.



Election day operations will be quite complex.

Admission to the polling stations has been regulated based on epidemiological needs: from 9 to 12 people considered at risk will vote (over 65, patients with previous pathologies and pregnant women);

from 12 to 19 it will be up to non-risk voters, and from 19 to 20 to positives and their closest contacts.



For the definitive results, taking into account the need to account for a record postal vote to be distributed, however, to the seats to which individual voters belong, it will be necessary to wait for Monday or even Tuesday if the health situation makes the night ballot inadvisable.