Dossier
Spanish election 2015: Canary Islands, Asturias, Castile and the rest of Spain
The two main Canarian-only parties -Canarian Coalition (CC) and New Canarias (NC)- formed an alliance for the 2011 Spanish election, but this time they are running separately.
CC says its MPs will exert pressure in the Spanish legislature to obtain the approval by the Spanish Parliament of a reform on the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands, which the Canarian legislature passed in March 2015. Even more, CC say the islands could get a "special status" within a "federal" Spain if the Spanish Constitution is amended over the next term.
NC, for its part, is running in an alliance with Spanish centre-left PSOE. The Canarian party leaders argue that both NC and PSOE "share something essential: [the goal of] a constitutional reform in which the Canary Islands can stand out." If any of the NC candidates is elected on Dec 20, they will not be joining the Socialist group, but will be independently sitting in the mixed group.
In addition, another Canarian party is running for election in one of the two islands' constituencies, Las Palmas: the Movement for the Unity of the Canarian People (MUPC), the only Canarian pro-independence party standing for election this time. MUPC argues the Canary Islands continue to be colonized by Spain, which gives them the right to self-determination.
According to some polls, CC could capture 1 or 2 seats; other surveys say the party could be left with no seats. Meanwhile, NC has an option to get 1 seat. MUPC has little to no chance of obtaining any seats.
Asturias
Two Asturian parties are standing for election. Pro-sovereignty Asturian Left (IAS) has formed an alliance with Spanish federalist IU. IAS candidate being placed 8th on the list, the party has no real chance to earn a seat.
Regionalist party Foro Asturias is also standing for election, in an alliance with Spanish centralist Popular Party (PP). Foro advocates the continuation of conservatives policies by PP's Mariano Rajoy at the Spanish government over the next four years. Surveys say Foro will have one seat as their main candidate is placed 2 in the PP-Foro list, with many chances to be elected.
Asturian alliance Compromisu por Asturies is not standing for election, but has called their supporters to vote for Podemos, with which it has been working since 2013.
Castile
The only Castilian party calling for Castilian sovereignty in this election is Castilian Left (IZCA), which runs in a joint alliance with United Left (IU) under the Popular Unity (UP) banner. IZCA supports UP lists all over Castile and formally stands for election in the Valladolid constituency only. The pro-sovereignty party has virtually no chance of winning a seat since its candidate is places 4th in Valladolid's UP list, which according to polls will not be returned in any case.
Territories where only regionalist or autonomist parties are standing
There are two territories in Spain where no pro-sovereignty party is running, but instead regionalist or autonomist parties do. This is the case for Extremadura, where Extremadura Unida party is standing on its own. The party defines itself as "non-nationalist" and says it "full accepts Spain's unity."
In the lands of the former Kingdom of León, the Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) stands for election under a platform demanding the establishment of a new autonomous community in Spain made up of the provinces of León, Zamora and Salamanca.
None of those parties are predicted to win any seats, according to surveys.