Voter turnout among Catalans in this Sunday's double-barrelled vote was well up on previous elections at 6pm, two hours before the closure of the polls. In the elections to the European parliament, turnout had skyrocketed to 50.35% at 6pm, almost 15 points higher than at the same time five years ago, when 35.39% of Catalan voters had cast their ballots at 6pm. As for the second part of today's vote in Catalonia - the elections for municipal governments - the turnout was up almost six points on the 2015 vote, at 50.61%.
The bump in Catalan municipal turnout figures contrasts with the trend in Spain, where the figures at 6pm were practically the same as four years ago: 50.02% in 2019 as against 49.79% of 2015, according to the Spanish interior ministry. On the other hand, the increased interest in the European elections in Catalonia is also reflected in Spain - reaching 49.3%, whereas five years ago it was 34%. This is almost certainly favoured by the coincidence of the European electoral date with local body elections and, across much of the Spanish state, autonomous community (regional) elections.
Broken down across the four Catalan provinces, the turnout for the European polls has been highest in Lleida (52.43% compared to 32.86% in 2015) and Girona (52.35% compared to 36.27%). In Barcelona the figure was 50.17% (35.72% in 2015) and in Tarragona, 50.74% (33.58%).