Spain's conservative opposition People's Party (PP) retained its absolute majority in the northwest region of Galicia on Sunday in a close-run regional election.
Alfonso Rueda, the victorious Galician regional president, said it was a victory for common sense.
"Everybody was talking about Galicia today. Everybody was expectant about Galicia. Everybody was watching us," Rueda said following his win.
The right-wing PP won 40 seats in the 75-seat regional assembly, The Galician Nationalist Bloc finished second with 25 seats followed by the Socialist Party with nine seats.
The party’s national leader, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, was regional president from 2009 until 2022 when current president Alfonso Rueda took office.
The PP has ruled in Galicia for 15 years, and the victory strengthens Feijoo's position as the main opposition to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The region is one of Spain's most conservative and the birthplace of long-time dictator Francisco Franco.
