Santiago Abascal says Vox wants an understanding with the PP to protect the Senate after PSOE and Frente Amplio agreed to run together. He also accused Pedro Sánchez of seeking to steal the election and called for a mass turnout.
Santiago Abascal accused Pedro Sánchez of seeking to manipulate the 29 November general election and urged Spaniards to turn out in large numbers. The Vox leader made the claims in a video statement sent to the media.
His party also wants an agreement with the PP over the Senate.
Abascal said Vox was willing to reach an understanding to protect the chamber after PSOE and Frente Amplio, along with several left-wing regional parties, agreed on 17 October to run together for the Senate under the name Senado de Progreso. The pact covers 47 constituencies: 43 provinces and four island constituencies in the Balearics. Reports named Izquierda Unida, Movimiento Sumar, Más Madrid, Més and Ceuta Ya among the partners. The agreement is for the 29 November vote. Abascal made his proposal on 19 October after a meeting of Vox’s National Executive Committee, speaking at the party’s headquarters on Madrid’s Bambú Street. He offered no terms or details on which constituencies might be involved.
Reports citing Vox sources say the party could stay out of certain constituencies. That would leave the way open for the PP and could prevent a split in right-wing votes from reducing the number of senators those parties elect. In most Spanish provinces, four senators are elected, and each party can field up to three candidates. El País reported that Vox won no Senate seats directly in the 2023 election. The reports describe a possible course of action. Abascal’s statement confirmed a willingness to negotiate, not a final arrangement. He said Vox remained open to an understanding to protect the Senate, but did not say whether that could mean withdrawing candidates in some provinces or fielding fewer candidates.
The latest position follows Abascal’s weekend pledge to do what was necessary to keep Spain from depending on Sánchez, covered in an earlier report.
Abascal also alleged that Sánchez was prepared to steal the election, pointing to the prime minister’s stated intention to continue governing one way or another. He linked that claim to the peaceful housing encampment at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and the general strike unions called for 11 November, accusing Sánchez of using them to influence the next general election.
He further claimed the Tribunal Constitucional might be used to change the electoral census. The remark referred to an appeal by the Defensor del Pueblo against the precautionary suspension of voting rights for naturalised citizens under the ‘ley de nietos’.
Abascal urged voters to remain alert until 29 November. He said a mass response at the ballot box was the way to prevent what he described as electoral theft.
