Landslide victory for new party

Casimiro Curbelo (image: islandconnections.eu)

The new party of Casimiro Curbelo, the long-time president of La Gomera's government, has won just over 50% of the votes cast in the local elections 2015. Curbelo had started the new party called ASG, which stands for 'Gomera Socialist Group', after he failed to be selected as the candidate by the PSOE (Span. equivalent to the Labour Party) of which he had been a staunch supporter and member for many years. The formation of the new political entity proved very divisive and many of his former party colleagues switched allegiances and joined the new party. Labour gained only three seats in the election while the new ASG won ten seats and a very comfortable absolute majority in the cabildo, the island's governing body, which has 17 seats.

Curbelo has weathered many a political storm unscathed and was involved in many controversies which he all survived, but not many had expected him to do that well in last Sunday's poll. His position now is stronger than ever and his ASG party not only has control over the island's government, but won many seats in all the municipal elections on La Gomera, as well as winning three of the four seats La Gomera has in the Canarian central parliament and as there was no clear winner there the ASG's support may even be needed to form the new Canarian government.

Many commentators have called last Sunday's landslide win by the ASG ''Curbelo's revenge''. In a press conference yesterday he himself stated that '' a new political period inspired by consensus, dialogue and citizens' participation has begun on La Gomera''.

Below are the detailed results of Sunday's poll, which had a very respectable turnout of nearly 77% :