The beginning of the election campaign for the election of deputies to the Galician and Basque Parliaments started last midnight. Elections are to be held on March 1 and will decide the governments of both nations for the next 4 years.

One option less in the Basque Country
The most remarkable fact in the Basque electoral campaign is the absence of one political option: the Basque pro-independence leftist lists, represented until recently by parties such as Batasuna or Basque Nationalist Action (ANV). Spanish Supreme Court has decided that D3M and Askatasuna "abertzale" lists belong to the "entourage of ETA and Batasuna", and has not allowed them to run in this election.

The Communist Party of the Basque Lands (PCTV), the last leftist pro-independence party contesting elections, had 9 out of 75 seats in the Basque Parliament. It remains to be seen whether its supporters will go for other nationalist parties such as Aralar (1 seat in 2005 election) or Eusko Alkartasuna (7 seats). It is likely, though, that leftist pro-independence voters choose the void vote to express support for the prohibited parties.

The campaign will also focus on the race between the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and the Socialist Party of the Basque Country (PSE), the two parties that currently hold the most seats in Parliament. According to polls by CIS (Center for Sociological Research [pdf]), support for both forces is very close: PSE could win 26 seats compared to the 18 it won in 2005, a result that would leave the party on the verge of forming government, an unprecedented situation in the country. The polls also predict that PNV may increase its support, but only few seats ahead of PSE (it would win 27 or 28 seats compared to the 22 it won).

BNG (Galician Nationalist Block) expects to rise
As regards Galicia, not many changes are expected. It seems likely that the Socialist Party of Galicia (PSG) and the Galician Nationalist Block (BNG) will form coalition again if they win more seats together than Popular Party's (PP). PSG and BNG have called on voters to participate, as they believe abstention favours PP.

According to online journal A Nosa Terra, BNG's candidate, Anxo Quintana, declared during the inauguration of the campaign that "each vote for BNG is a vote for respect towards Galicia and for a new Statute of autonomy."

CIS's poll shows a scenario [pdf] in which PSG and BNG could form coalition for the second time, since Socialist might win 1 more seat, Galician nationalists might keep their seats or even lose 1, while PP might lose 1 or 2.

Further information:

• In Euskadi, eitb.com: Los partidos arrancan la campaña, Gara: El Estado español echa a la izquierda abertzale del Parlamento de Gasteiz, El Correo Digital: D3M dice que "estará en las elecciones" pese a la decisión del Constitucional i berria.info: D3M eta Askatasuna baliogabe utzi ditu Espainiako Auzitegi Konstituzionalak.
• In Galicia, A nosa Terra: Comeza a loita pola presidencia da Xunta, Vieiros: Conta atrás de promesas, ansia e incertezas i La Voz de Galícia: Comienza la campaña.
• CIS' website

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