Spanish PM faces fresh blow in key Andalusia vote

Corruption investigations into his family and former top political allies have eroded Sanchez's popularity at home, even as clashes with US President Donald Trump and Israel increase his standing abroad.

Regions wield wide-ranging powers in areas including health, education and housing in Spain's decentralised political system, making the election in the country's most populous region especially significant.

Andalusia -- a sun-soaked tourist magnet famed for its Mediterranean beach resorts and historic cities such as Seville, Granada and Cordoba -- was governed by the Socialists for almost 40 years.

But polling suggests the main conservative Popular Party (PP), which came to power in the southern region in 2019, will again defeat the Socialists in their historic heartland.

Whether PP leader Juanma Moreno would achieve another majority was unclear, which could make far-right party Vox a kingmaker -- a scenario that played out after recent regional elections in Extremadura, Aragon and Castile and Leon.

After resounding defeats for the left in those regions, another drubbing in Andalusia would be particularly painful for Sanchez, whose candidate is his former deputy and ex-finance minister Maria Jesus Montero.

'Huge weight'

The turnout at 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) was 37.2 percent, three percentage points up on the last election in 2022, when the Socialists slumped to their worst-ever result in Andalusia.

Amid Socialist fears that a low turnout will harm their chances in regional polls that tend to mobilise fewer voters, Montero urged Andalusians to flock to the polling stations before their closure at 8:00 pm.

"We are always concerned about the participation in elections being adequate," she told reporters after casting her ballot in Seville.

The PP's Moreno alluded to the national repercussions of the vote in Andalusia, home to almost nine million people -- roughly 18 percent of Spain's population.

"What happens in Andalusia clearly determines other things as well," Moreno told journalists after voting in the coastal city of Malaga, describing his region as "a highly unique land with huge weight".

The PP has presented Montero as the face of central government failures -- as finance minister she failed to pass a budget during the current parliament -- and tainted by Socialist corruption scandals.

A vote for PP leader Juanma Moreno "is worth double: to ensure Andalusia wins and to change the government of Spain", the party's national leader, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told a final campaign rally on Friday.

The PP has agreed coalition governments with Vox in Extremadura and Aragon and not ruled out cooperation at rhe national level if a general election, expected in 2027, yields inconclusive results.

That has set it apart from other mainstream European conservative parties, which have insisted on a "sanitary cordon" against the far right.

In his final campaign address on Friday, Sanchez urged Andalusians to back Montero, "a tenacious, committed, hard-working woman with convictions", to avoid Vox entering the regional government with the PP.

Polling stations in the region opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) and were due to close at 8:00 pm.