Madrid (EFE).- Almost 37.5 million Spaniards are called to participate this Sunday in the sixteenth elections to Cortes Generales while the parties, in a scenario in which absolute majorities are not expected, do the math on the seats needed to govern.
The 22,562 polling stations, equipped with fans and water bottles, will open their doors at 9:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m.
It is an unusual electoral day, with many Spaniards on vacation and a forecast of high temperatures, but the Secretary General of Communication, Francesc Vallès, was convinced this Saturday that it will take place “without any type of incident.”
They do not expect problems in the constitution of the polling stations, which will begin at 8:00 a.m., and the device is prepared so that the day develops “with total normality.”
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) forecasts an almost general rise in temperatures for this Sunday, which will be significantly high in areas of the interior of the peninsula and Mallorca.
Historical record of voting by mail
The main heads of the list -Pedro Sánchez, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Santiago Abascal and Yolanda Díaz- plan to vote in the morning, all four in Madrid.
The trip to the electoral college will be avoided by the more than 2.47 million Spaniards who have already cast their vote by mail, a historic figure in an election.
More than 2.62 million people requested it and 94.2% (also a record percentage) have sent their ballots to the corresponding polling station, which will put them in the ballot box once the polling stations close and before starting the general scrutiny.
According to Correos data, the number of votes admitted is 99% higher than that registered in the general elections of April 2019 (1.24 million) and 82% higher than that of June 2016 (1.35 million), which held the record until now.
More than 90,000 agents deployed
A total of 90,282 agents from the National Police, the Civil Guard, regional bodies and municipal police officers participate in the security device designed for this event.
The Secretary of State for Security established in an instruction the measures considered necessary to guarantee the right to vote freely and safely, the guidelines for the coordination of the different bodies and the protection of infrastructures considered “critical”.
An extraordinary cybersecurity device has also been established to prevent and respond to possible attacks on networks or electoral information systems, administrations and relevant actors during the day.
The General Directorate of Traffic, for its part, will implement a special device to facilitate entry to large cities in the afternoon, before the schools close, with reversible and additional lanes on the main roads that connect with the coast and areas of second homes.
220 million budget
For the regional and municipal elections in May, 203.6 million euros were budgeted and two months later, another 220.8 million will be spent for these elections.
Almost half, 101.5 million, have been allocated to Correos, which has formalized 19,400 reinforcement contracts.
Participation and first results
The Government will offer a first press conference at 10:30 to inform about the constitution of the tables and the opening of the schools.
The first participation data, corresponding to 2:00 p.m., will be known at 2:30 p.m., and the Executive will appear again to update the information at 6:30 p.m.
At around 10:30 p.m., depending on the progress of the count, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, will give a press conference with the provisional data, which can be consulted live on the website https://resultados.generales23j.es and through the application 23J General Elections 2023.