More than 2,200,000 Basques and Navarrans go to the polls Sunday

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More than 2,200,000 Basques and Navarrans are eligible to vote May 27. At stake on Sunday are town halls, regional councils of the Basque Autonomous Community and the Navarre regional president.

In the Basque Autonomous Community, citizens will elect 2,609 town councilors and 153 county councilors including the Deputies of Araba, Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia. In Navarre, at stake are the local councilors, mayors and members of the Navarre parliament as well as the Navarran president.

In the previous local elections held in 2003, the Basque nationalist coalition PNV/EA won 870 seats, the PNV on its own 629, the socialist party PSE-EE 296, the conservative party PP 232, EA 103, the Basque communist party EB-Berdeak 79 and nationalist party Aralar 30.

Concerning the General Assemblies, the nationalist coalition PNV/EA won 27 seats in Bizkaia, 27 in Gipuzkoa and 19 in Araba; PP won 16 in Araba, 10 in Bizkaia and 8 in Gipuzkoa; PSE 12 in Araba and Gipuzkoa and 11 in Bizkaia; EB-Berdeak 3 in each of the Basque regions; conservative regionalist party Unidad Alavesa 1 in Araba and Aralar 1 in Gipuzkoa.

More than 1,100 voting booths open at 9 a.m. (0700GMT) and close at 8 p.m. (1800GMT). Near-to-final results are expected by 10 p.m. (2000GMT)