THE BIG DAY FOR FOREIGN VOTERS

THE Balearics goes to the polls today with the biggest ever turn out of foreign voters expected for the local elections.
A total of 153'405 European Union citizens from countries outside Spain and from Norway will be voting in the municipal elections today according to information from the Office of Electoral Census. The same source also signals that this voting figure will reach 12'499 in the Balearic Islands.
More than half of those people eligible to vote are British (44'826) or German (31'813).
The French follow with (20'031), the Italians (18'586) and Portuguese (10'880).
Whenever European Union citizens resident in Spain have shown enthusiasm to take part in local elections, Electoral Law ensures they enjoy the same rights of suffrage as Spanish Nationals. Likewise Norwegian citizens resident in Spain can vote in municipal elections by virtue of the existing accord between Spain and Norway which was signed 6 Februray, 1990. Nearly half a million European Community citizens and Norwegians reside is Spain, of which 153'405 have formally shown their intention to vote in the municipal elections. The majority of the population of these non Spanish Nationals are found in concentrated numbers in the Balearic archipelago and coastal regions of the mainland. Hence Alicante witnesses a total of 34'736, there are nearly 18'000 in Málaga and a total approaching 15'000 in the two provinces of the Canary Islands. There are also significant numbers in Barcelona (16'253) and in Madrid (13'470).
A total of 13 new autonomous parliaments have to be created by the end of June with all the new MP's confirmed and regional autonomous governments established. The first regional government to sit will be in Madrid on June 10 and the first sitting of the newly elected Balearic parliament will be around June 20.

The local election results will be checked and studied during the next week and any official complaints have to be lodged on June 1 and 2 with appeal submitted on June 3. The Central Electoral College then has five days to study and rule on the appeals. Apart from regional parliaments, 51 new members to the senate will also be dependent on the results and they will be elected by the respective regional parliaments.