• High turnout of ‘active’ Podemos supporters rejects PSOE-Ciudadanos pact
• Socialists say only conclusion is all Podemos voters against Rajoy government
The Socialist party (PSOE) on Monday brushed off a rejection by Podemos supporters of its reformist pact with centre-right Ciudadanos party over the weekend in an online voting process marked by a low turnout (37 percent) of total registered Podemos supporters, but a high turnout (72 percent) of supporters the party determined at the last minute to be “active” and therefore eligible to participate in the vote.
Despite the fact that the 149,513 Podemos supporters who did vote outstripped the 90,000 Socialist party members who participated in a similar internal PSOE referendum vote approving pact with Ciudadanos in February, Socialist party spokesman Antonio told reporters Monday that the only conclusive result to come out of the Podemos pact is a certainty that 100 percent of Podemos voters do not want to see the conservative Partido Popular government of acting-President Mariano Rajoy remain in power.
Podemos claimed that 88 percent of the 149,513 eligible active participants in its online referendum voted against joining the PSOE-Ciudadanos pact, while 93 percent voted in favor of Podemos’ alternative proposal for a left-wing coalition government that would include PSOE. The level of participation is the highest for Podemos of any online voting process, but represents the lowest percentage turnout of the total registered party supporters in the Podemos online voting database over the past two years.
► Read More in Spanish at El Periódico, El Mundo and El Diario …
► Read More in English at The Local and Reuters …
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