In the last hour before polling stations closed in Extremadura, the authorities increased their calls for participation with the aim of reversing the downward trend observed throughout the day. As the Junta de Extremadura announced, a total of 434,731 people had gone to vote by 7 p.m., a number lower than the 491,428 voters registered in the same section during last year’s call. The main news was the decline in participation, which at 6:00 p.m. stood at 50.65%, a difference of 6.47 percentage points less compared to last year.
As the Government of Extremadura reports in its updated newsletter, the decline in citizen mobilization was repeated not only at the regional level, but also in both provinces that make up the Community. The official report, cited by regional information platforms, confirmed that the trend of lower voter turnout affected Badajoz and Cáceres equally, although with some nuances in the data. In Badajoz, participation reached 49.93%, representing 268,397 voters, a decrease of 6.94 points compared to the last edition. In Cáceres, the participation rate increased to 51.86% with 166,334 votes counted, a result that also represents a decrease compared to the previous period.
Hourly monitoring by the Board of Directors’ Information Office made it possible to establish that the decline in participation during the day was relatively evenly distributed throughout the Extremadura territory. Sources from the Extremadura regional government confirmed that the decline manifested itself steadily in each previous period, without registering a significant increase during the day.
As the afternoon progressed, and in view of the continued decline in visitor numbers, the regional authorities reiterated their institutional message and appealed to the democratic responsibility of citizens. Speaking in Mérida, regional government spokesperson Elena Manzano publicly acknowledged the decline in mobilization both at the provincial level and across the region. Manzano expressed: “There are still two hours left to exercise this right to vote”, stressing the importance of participating together with those who have already voted in order to “decide the future of our region together with the rest of the Extremadurans who have already done so so far”, as published by the Executive Board.
The mechanism for updating and regularly publishing information is part of an institutional strategy aimed at facilitating transparent access to data for society and political actors, emphasized the Government of Extremadura. The autonomous body explained that the intention of disclosing the progress of the schedule was to give a clear idea of the development of the day and to allow an immediate analysis of the reaction of citizens to the call for elections.
In the final phase of the process, various areas of the regional board have undertaken new communication initiatives with the aim of increasing participation in order to counteract the downward trend compared to the previous election date. The Board reiterated the importance of citizen participation and emphasized that the visibility of information throughout the day aims to raise voters’ awareness of the role of voting in collective decision-making.
The provincial bulletin, published alongside the regional report, provided comparisons between absolute numbers and percentages relative to the total count, allowing differences between a province to be observed and historical trends in voting behavior to be assessed. These data allowed institutional managers to analyze the scope of actions promoted in terms of communication and mobilization incentives.
When closing the polls, the Government of Extremadura assumed that a more detailed analysis of the day would be carried out based on the final results of voter turnout and the impact of the measures implemented in the last section. Both political leaders and election observers continued to closely monitor the consolidation of the final data to determine the real impact of the initiatives promoted to increase voter flow.
As the board announced, the constant publication of information was aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability while allowing the identification of specific factors that could have influenced the significant decline in voter turnout compared to 2023. The Autonomous Administration’s reports highlighted the importance of comparisons over time, both to interpret the immediate result and to examine underlying trends in electoral mobilization in the municipality of Extremadura.
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