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| - Catalonia voted Sunday in a close election overshadowed by the pandemic and which Madrid hopes will unseat the region's ruling separatists more than three years after a failed bid to break away from Spain. With Spain still grappling with a third wave of coronavirus infections, the vote in the wealthy northeastern region was held under tight health restrictions to reduce the risk of contagion. Voters had to wear face maks, use disinfectant gel provided at polling stations and stand apart while lining up in rainy weather to cast their ballots. To help spread out voters, polling stations were set up in spacious venues such as food markets, the area around FC Barcelona's football stadium and the bullring in Tarragona. While some 5.5 million people are eligible to vote, as of 6 pm turnout stood at 45.7 percent, compared with 68.2 percent at the same time during the previous election in December 2017. "I hesitated until the last minute whether to come vote or not," Cristina Caballero, a 34-year-old child educator, told AFP at a Barcelona polling station. "I think these elections should have been postponed." The regional government tried to put off the elections until the end of May because of the pandemic but the courts blocked that move. Voting is due to close at 8 pm (1900 GMT), with the final hour reserved for people infected with Covid-19 or undergoing quarantine. During this time polling staff will wear gloves, facial screens and protective gowns. While more than 40 percent of the 82,000 people assigned to help staff polling stations on the day had asked to be recused, all polling stations were operating normally as of noon, according to the Catalan government. Still, some people tapped for polling station duty expressed concern. "Of course we are afraid, I just had cancer and am still on sick leave, but I was called up," Eva Vizcaino, a 54-year-old office worker, told AFP at a Barcelona polling station. "The last hour is especially frightening, when people with Covid come." Results are expected around midnight. Polls had suggested the Socialists -- who govern at the national level -- were neck-and-neck with the two pro-independence parties that have governed Catalonia together for the past five years. Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is hoping this election, the fifth in a decade, will end their rule. He took part in several rallies to support the Socialists' top candidate, former health minister Salvador Illa, who enjoyed high visibility because of his handling of the coronavirus crisis. But even if Illa's Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) comes out on top, polls suggest separatist parties together could once again manage a ruling majority despite deep divisions since the failed 2017 independence bid. If that happens, it would be a repeat of the last election in December 2017 when the stridently pro-unity Ciudadanos won the most seats but was unable to form a government. The main question then is which of Catalonia's two main separatist parties will come out stronger -- the hardline JxC -- "Together for Catalonia" -- or the more moderate ERC. In the December 2017 election, JxC was ahead, forming a 66-seat coalition with ERC. If the tables are turned in ERC's favour, it would likely ease tensions and facilitate the tentative reconciliation that Sanchez's government has sought to broker since coming to power. Sanchez came to lead Spain's government in 2018 thanks in part to support from Catalan separatists, and his minority government relies on them to pass legislation. "An ERC executive would maintain the current ambiguous approach of criticising Madrid rhetorically but not adopting any unilateral measures," said Antonio Barroso, an analyst at political consultancy Teneo. "In contrast, a government headed by JxC would probably lead to a more confrontational stance." dbh/ds/gd
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