- Written by Guy Hedgecoe
- BBC News, Madrid
Spain's Socialist Party, led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, won a regional election in Catalonia, despite pro-independence parties losing ground.
The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), led by former Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa, made a huge leap forward and emerged as the clear winner.
With 99% of the votes counted, they secured 42 seats.
Support for independence has fallen to 42% from 49% in 2017, according to the Catalan government's statistical institute.
In the campaign leading up to this election, the issue of Catalonia's relations with the rest of Spain had been pushed into the background by other challenges such as the region's drought and housing crisis.
Former regional president Carles Puigdemont's hard-line group Together for Catalonia (JXCat) came in second with 35 seats, regaining its position as the region's main pro-independence force, ahead of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC). did.
Overall, however, nationalist parties lost support and were no longer able to control local councils, a blow to the independence movement.
Still, pro-independence parties have extracted significant concessions from the central government in recent years and continue to demand an independence referendum.
The minority ERC government, Pere Aragonés, called off snap elections after failing to muster enough support to pass the region's annual budget.
Mr Sánchez will see the result as vindication of his policies in Catalonia, particularly the controversial amnesty law that benefits nationalists facing legal action for separatist activities. .
The amnesty, which is on the verge of being passed by Spain's parliament, has sparked fierce opposition from right-wing opponents.
Illa hailed the result as “a new era for Catalonia.” He said that among the factors that ensured this result were “the policies implemented by the Spanish government and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. I express my gratitude and gratitude to them.”
The amnesty law is a condition for JxCat and the ERC to provide parliamentary support for Sanchez's inauguration, allowing him to form a new national government last November.
Puigdemont fled the country after leading a failed secession bid in 2017, but is expected to benefit from an amnesty and return to Spain. He campaigned from the south of France ahead of this election.
Despite the Socialist Party's victory, it will not be easy for Illa to form a government, given that he is likely to need support from the ERC and the far-left coalition Communs Smar.
Mr. Puigdemont called for the ERC not to participate in a coalition government that includes the union's member PSC. Instead, he suggested that the two main pro-independence parties should seek to form a government, as they had done in the past before relations broke down.
“If the ERC is willing to rebuild the bridge, so are we,” Puigdemont said.
But with Catalonia's parliament divided by unionist and secessionist loyalties and left-right divisions, post-election negotiations are likely to be lengthy. If a new government is not formed, new elections will be held.
The conservative Popular Party (PP) has made a significant leap forward, becoming the fourth largest party in Catalonia, followed by the far-right Vox. In contrast, Ciudadanos' self-proclaimed centrists lost their parliamentary representation just seven years after becoming the region's leading force.
Meanwhile, the new far-right party League of Catalonia won two seats on the back of an uncompromising platform based on separatism and anti-immigrant policies.