The PP managed last night, thanks to the vote of Spaniards living abroad, to snatch a seat from the PSOE. The final vote count of the Electoral Census of Absentee Residents (CERA) for Madrid fell massively on the popular side, so that, since it is a direct transfer, those of Alberto Núñez Feijóo would eventually have 137 seats for the 121 they had that the socialists retreat.

The day started very early and, after a few days of waging a battle to impose each one’s story, the PSOE, the PP, Vox, Sumar and Junts, among others, agreed to hold their breath until solve the count.

Despite the fact that, one after the other, the first eight seats in play for a handful of votes did not suffer any alteration, the national leadership of the PP continues to trust that the battle for Madrid will be decided in its favor because, at least, the president of the The Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, did not “use him with an abstention from Junts to be invested”. And so it will be finally, so that Carles Puigdemont’s abstention from training is insufficient.

With their eyes fixed on the pavilion enabled in the Casa de Campo, in the west of the city, the respective members of each party examined in detail the ballots in each of the 72 ballot boxes arranged with the ballots deposited during the weeks before the ballot boxes arranged in the consulates.

All with the aim of defending any vote in favor or, on the contrary, canceling those who could add to the rival ballot box. “Each one will count and they will fight to the last”, predicted yesterday from the area of ??Sumar a regional deputy who participated in this same count four years ago. And the duration of the process, until almost midnight, was the proof.

There were no surprises outside of Madrid. Not even Girona and Tarragona, where the differences were very small, saw Sunday’s results altered. In the first, the PP started with a disadvantage of 363 ballots compared to Junts. But his 275 votes were insufficient compared to his rival’s 336. While in the second, the PSC won by 658 votes to 200 Junts, although they were insufficient.

Nor in Almeria, Córdoba and the Balearic Islands, where the PSOE was the winner of the respective CERA vote counts without enough difference to propitiate any alteration of the distribution of seats already established to alleviate those of Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the most voted force in the three constituencies.

Much less in Navarre, where the Socialists simply certified their partial victory on Sunday, or in Ourense, where the Popular Party did the same to confirm itself as the dominant force throughout Galicia.

Cantabria was also suspended due to the delay caused by three boxes that arrived when the count had already begun. But the dancing seat remained in the Vox box office.

Finally, 233,688 residents abroad exercised their right to vote, which represents 10.04% of the 2.3 million Spaniards registered in the CERA. This data represents an increase of 6.85% compared to the 2019 elections, when 145,853 residents abroad exercised their right to vote out of a census of 2,130,754 citizens. An increase contributed to by the disappearance of the requested vote system. This mechanism forced voters to carry out confusing preliminary procedures that, in many cases, pushed those affected to desist from exercising their right to vote.

The highest turnout was registered in London, where 18.8% of the census – 17,662 Spaniards – voted, ahead of Paris -15.17% for a total of 13,952 people – and Buenos Aires -6.22 % of the census and 18,921 voters.

Once the scrutiny is over, the deadline will be opened for the representatives of the candidatures to present the claims they consider appropriate to their respective provincial electoral boards. And once all appeals have been resolved, which may ultimately reach the Central Electoral Board, or when the deadline for their presentation has passed without any having been presented, the proclamation will be made, presumably on Monday of the candidates who have elected results.