February 22: 2008 Elections

Yesterday the documents arrived so I can vote by post in the March 9 elections. I was worried because at the embassy they told me they weren’t sure the papers would arrive since I didn’t show my passport when I registered as a temporary resident in Berlin. I had also heard that in the last elections the documents didn’t arrive on time and many people were unable to vote.

All those fears disappeared when I received a note from the postman saying I had to collect a registered letter at the post office in Karlshorst. I stopped by before going to work and didn’t open the envelope until I reached my office. Inside were all the ballot papers: In my electoral constituency (Ávila), 25 parties are running for the Congress of Deputies and 23 for the Senate. We could divide them into several groups:

Mainstream parties:

PSOE, Partido Popular and Izquierda Unida

Nationalist parties:

Tierra Comunera, Comuneros and Partido Comunista del Pueblo Castellano

Green parties:

Los Verdes, Los Verdes - Grupo Verde, Los Verdes de Europa and Partido Antitaurino Contra el Maltrato Animal

Parties aspiring to be mainstream:

Partido Social Demócrata, Ciudadanos, Unión Progreso y Democracia and Centro Democrático Español

Parties with extreme ideas :S

Six right-wing parties and one left-wing party

Blank-vote party:

Ciudadanos en Blanco

Unusual parties:

Partido Humanista, Partido Familia y Vida, Por un Mundo Más Justo, Partido Tradicionalista Carlista (apparently the “Abrazo de Vergara” wasn’t enough) and Alternativa Motor y Deportes (?)

Knowing people from Ávila, I doubt even 10% of the votes will go to parties outside the mainstream group. We’ll see.

My lab colleagues were astonished by the number of ballot papers and political groups, and in the mock election they held at lunchtime—trying to influence my vote—the Anti-Bullfighting Party won. What they didn’t know is that I had already decided my vote a loooong time ago.

This Monday the 25th I’ll send it by registered mail to Spain, and the cost (in theory) will be reimbursed in a few months (it doesn’t say how). May the least disappointing candidate win.