The Galician nationalist bloc is going into the election with Néstor Rego as lead candidate in the province A Coruña in Spain’s parliamentary election Parliamentary election. Voting for the Congress of Deputies and Senate takes place on 29 November. The official election campaign begins on 13 November and ends on 27 November.
The Bloque Nacionalista Galego, or BNG, aims to increase its influence in Madrid, according to its leadership. Rego has been a member of the Congress of Deputies since 2019 and was his party’s sole representative in the chamber during the past two legislative terms. He is now seeking to return. Spain’s parliament was dissolved in early October.
The BNG’s national spokesperson, Ana Pontón, presented the lead candidates for the four Galician provinces on 24 October. Alongside Rego, Carme da Silva heads the list in Pontevedra, Olalla Rodil is the leading candidate in Lugo and Noa Presas in Ourense. The organisation’s National Council approved the lists.
At the presentation of the candidacy in A Coruña in late October, Pontón urged voters to rally behind the BNG. She presented her party as an alternative to the conservative People’s Party and the right-wing Vox party. According to a report by broadcaster Cadena SER, Rego defended his party’s parliamentary work and accused nationwide parties of forgetting their election promises. These are the candidates’ political assessments, not independently established facts.
The issues the BNG is highlighting in the election campaign include affordable housing and public services. The party also points to negotiations over the AP-9 motorway, additional train seats on the Atlantic corridor and debt relief for Galicia. These details do not make clear which measures have already been implemented.
During the past legislative term, Rego supported, among other things, the election of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and some of his government’s proposals. However, according to public broadcaster RTVE, he voted against the labour market reform and the pension reform. His party was therefore not an unconditional partner of the government.
Under the official election decree, the newly elected chambers are to hold their inaugural sessions on 23 December.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).