Latest political news, live | Pact of PP and Vox to maintain the majority in the Senate: the ultras do not appear in six provinces and the popular ones, in three

The Popular Party and Vox reached an agreement this Thursday to regain their majority in the Senate and put a stop to the left, which will compete together in 43 provinces under the Senate of Progress brand. Under the agreement, the PP, for the first time in history, will not appear in three provinces (Guipuzkoa, Girona and Tarragona), while the ultras withdraw from six (Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Cádiz, Valencia, Castellón and the Balearic Islands). The objective of this pact closed in extremis is to reach three-fifths of the territorial chamber, the reinforced majority that is needed to make appointments such as that of the magistrates of the Constitutional Court.

The general secretary of the popular party, Miguel Tellado, has described the agreement as “good news” to “protect the center-right majority in the Senate against the movements of the radical left.” Meanwhile, the Government's spokesperson minister, Elma Saiz, has “unmitigatedly” condemned the violence of the riots and looting that occurred on Saturday night in Barcelona. “I would wonder who wins with these episodes, because the one who wins in the chaos and hatred is the extreme right,” he assured.

The general secretary of Vox, Ignacio Garriga, has said that they are "sure that the rest of the opposition will reciprocate this gesture" after the pact reached with the PP, by which the ultra formation withdraws its list from the Senate in six constituencies and will present a single candidate in another 14. Garriga has described the pact as "a gesture that can be useful" and has stressed the differences between both formations: "PP and Vox are very different parties, with different speeches; we have always said it."

The deputy general secretary of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), Oriol López, explained this Monday that his party will also have candidates in Valencia, Castellón and the Balearic Islands, thanks to electoral coalitions with Més and Compromís. Therefore, he added, it is being considered that within the campaign Gabriel Rufián will also hold rallies there, details that will be known in the coming days.

Podemos sources assure that the party will not present candidates for the Senate in the Valencian Community or in the Balearic Islands, where it has reached agreements with the Frente Amplio to attend Congress. The formation rejects the pact reached between the Frente Amplio and the PSOE to present itself with a single ballot to the Upper House. However, it will go to the Senate in the rest of the territories.