THE pro-independence party of the Basque Country have achieved historic results in the recent Local and Provincial Election.
EH Bildu emerged from the municipal and province elections in the Southern Basque Country, surpassing even the most positive election forecasts.
The elections were for the Parliament of Nafarroa and the county parliaments of the Basque autonomous region provinces of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
The party say that “much like when we look at Scotland, the map is a completely different colour here" compared to throughout Spain.
The party breached its vote record -with 364,855 votes- and is now the largest municipal party with a total of 1,395 councilors, in addition to making major strides forward in the three province assemblies of the Basque Autonomous Community and in the Parliament of Navarre.
Results confirm the upward trend of the pro-independence, in the Basque Country and EH Bildu say they have the capacity to give answers to the main challenges in Basque society.
Leader Arnaldo Otegi stated in a press conference: “We are committed to leading the change that people demand, and we are open to building alliances for the benefit of the majority.”
Local and provincial governments will be established in the coming weeks, and EH Bildu holds key positions both in Gipuzkoa as the largest party and in Nafarroa, where the other leading parties would need support to get into office; as well as in several municipalities.
Speaking to The National, a spokesperson for EH Bildu said the result was a tremendous victory for the party and explained that even when tunrout has been done in elections, the party votes have increased.
They added: ““From a strategic point of view, we are happy to see that the largest political force in the whole of the Country (north and south) is the pro-independence left. This result is another strong step on the road to independence and we continue to work as if we are in the early days of a better nation.”
“Whereas the right and ultra-right had a good election throughout Spain, the Basque Country again demonstrated it is a different polity. Much like when we look at Scotland, the map is a completely different colour here.
“We believe people have rewarded EH Bildu's honesty and clarity over the years: we do as we say and we say what we do. Our competence and openness in office is also well known.
The party are now facing the challenge of a Spanish General Election.
The shift in the balance of forces in the Spanish state has led Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call an early general election, to be held on the 23rd July, after his party lost a number of institutions and provinces.
The party say they remain committed in their general election campaign to be “a fundamental pillar of the progressive and democratic resistance” to the right-wing parties.
