Madrid, May 13, (dpa/GNA) – Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has hailed the victory of the regional offshoot of his national Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in the parliamentary elections in the region of Catalonia.

According to projections from votes counted, the big winner of Sunday’s election was the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC), while the separatist parties were projected to have lost their parliamentary majority in the regional parliament.

Sánchez congratulated PSC top candidate Salvador Illa “for this historic result achieved in Catalonia,” in a message posted on social media platform X. “We socialists are once again the top force.”

“Starting today, a new stage begins in Catalonia to improve the lives of citizens, expand rights and strengthen coexistence,” Sánchez continued.

GNA