BILBAO, Spain (AP) - Moderate Basque nationalists won key elections Sunday in this picturesque region wracked by separatist violence, indicating voters want to move toward independence from Spain but not by violent means.
The Basque Nationalist Party and its coalition partner Eusko Alkartasuna- which both favor peaceful moves toward independence in this northeastern Spanish region - fell short of a majority in the regional parliament. However, with more votes than any other bloc, they won the right to try to form a government.
With 99.7 percent of votes counted, the coalition had won 33 seats, up from 27 in the outgoing 75-seat legislature, the Basque Electoral Commission said.
Euskal Herritarrok, considered the political wing of the armed separatist group ETA, saw its support drop sharply, from 14 seats to seven.
The Popular Party of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, vehemently opposed to Basque independence, won 19 seats and the Socialist Party, also against secession, took 13, the commission said. This gives the parties a combined two-seat increase over the 30 seats they held previously.
Turnout was a record 78 percent.
Pre-election polls had suggested that for the first time in two decades, parties opposed to independence could win control of the government in the semiautonomous Basque region. But intensive campaigning by anti-independence parties appeared not to have done the trick.
The Popular Party's main candidate, Jaime Mayor Oreja, said he was disappointed in his group's performance, but he welcomed the decline of the ETA-linked Euskal Herritarrok party.
``We would have liked to provide a government for the Basque country, but at least our alternative served to halve the vote of those who kill and murder,'' he said at a news conference in Bilbao.
Thirty-eight seats are needed to control the 75-seat Parliament, so the nationalists will need support from another party, either the Socialists or Euskal Herritarrok.
The Basque Nationalist Party drew scathing criticism from Madrid for allying itself with the ETA-linked party in the last legislature. But Euskal Herritarrok spokesman Arnaldo Otegi appealed to the moderates Sunday night to seek a similar arrangement this time as well.
``We call on the Basque Nationalist Party and Eusko Alkartasuna to make the most of these gains and join with Euskal Herritarrok to form a majority in parliament and make a clear push for sovereignty,'' Otegi told reporters.
Otegi blamed his party's poor showing on what he called a Spanish government ``campaign of fear'' that he said aimed to convince voters the nation would break up entirely if the Basque region gained independence.
Topping the electoral campaign was the issue of how to handle ETA, which has killed more than 800 people since 1968. Also up for debate was whether the wealthy region on the Atlantic coast should separate itself further from the central government in Madrid, 250 miles to the south.
The elections proceeded peacefully despite a bitter election campaign marred by the shooting of a Spanish ruling party senator and a car bombing in downtown Madrid.
By mid-afternoon only minor incidents had been reported: Pro-independence activists jostled the center-right Popular Party candidate for Basque regional president, Jaime Mayor Oreja; his party colleagues suffered a similar fate in Bilbao.
However, the 1.8 million voters largely cast ballots without problems.
``Around here things are absolutely tranquil,'' said Maite Bilbao, 31, from Gatika, a farming village in the verdant rolling hills outside Bilbao. ``People shouldn't be shot just for having different ideas.''
The election for the regional parliament was seen as one of the most important since the tiny, three-province region achieved partial autonomy in 1979 following the end of Spain's dictatorship.
Mayor Oreja's center-right Popular Party, in a partnership with its Socialist foes, had hoped to gain an overall majority and end 21 years of dominance by the Basque Nationalist Pary in the regional government, which wants Madrid to allow a referendum on self-determination.
Both parties have been frequently targeted by ETA gunmen, and hundreds of party members and relatives employ bodyguards and vary their daily routines to avoid being easy targets. ETA is accused of killing 14 Popular Party members since 1995, as well as several Socialist party representatives.
ETA, the Basque acronym for Basque Homeland and Freedom, was founded in 1959 during Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's campaign of repression against regional nationalism. It took up arms in 1968.
Most Basque nationalists abhor ETA's actions but want negotiations and a referendum to decide the future of the region. Basques have their own parliament, police force and health system, but the federal government in Madrid controls the security forces, foreign policy, border crossings and air and sea ports.
Madrid fears a breakaway could encourage nationalists in other regions such as Catalonia and Galicia.
Basque secession also would deprive Spain of a region that accounts for 9 percent of its gross domestic product. Its banks are major investors throughout Latin America while its chemical and metallurgical industries have rebounded from recession in the 1980s.
The Associated Press May 13 2001 7:46PM