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We just received this translation into English from Herri Batasuna.  Olatz
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>>EVALUATION OF ELECTORAL RESULTS

This election has been very much alike a General Election (Elections
for the Spanish Parliament) or at least, there are several reasons to
understand it in this way.

First of all, participation has been one of the highest in the
electoral history of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.  Abstention was
29.4%, similar to the 28.5% registered in the past General Election of
1996, where the government of the Spanish State was to be resolved.

Even before the electoral campaign started, the Spanish nationalist
parties P.P and P.S.O.E. did all their best to present these polls as
a general election.  The main leaders of their parties at state level
came together with ministers and presidents or former ministers and
former presidents to canvass in the Basque Country.

Likewise, after the historic Lizarra-Garazi Agreement -which the PP
and PSOE did not sign-, these parties considered this election to be a
Plebiscite of self-determination, and tried to awaken the greatest
passions to take the "vote of fear" to the ballot boxes.  Finally, all
their endeavours have resulted in a massive participation of voters,
and in the fact that more than an autonomous election, these polls
have seemed to be a referendum for those who agree or disagree with
the Right to Self-Determination.

On the other hand, the last electoral reference point is precisely the
general election of 1996 and not the autonomous elections of 1994.
Therefore, when examining these elections, it is essential to make the
pertinent comparisons with the elections to the Parliament of Madrid,
instead of the previous polls to the Parliament in Gasteiz.

Regarding political considerations, we find that:

The P.N.V is the clear winner of the elections, with 348 000 votes
accounting for 27.9% of all the votes.  This party increases 32 000
votes with regard to the general election.  They have got the best
results since this party split in two in 1986.  Surprisingly, they
have got 43 000 votes more compared to the autonomous elections, but
they have lost a seat in the parliament, even if they have increased 2
points with regard to the general elections.  Still, this party has in
fact a significant increase in votes and electoral weight.

EA, with 108 000 votes, makes up 8.7% of the whole.  This party
increases 5 000 votes regarding general polls, and although they have
3 000 votes more than at the autonomous elections, surprisingly again,
they lose 2 seats and 1.5 points with respect to the autonomous
elections, but only 0.6 points regarding general polls.  In this case,
the fact is that they keep their place with a slight increase in
votes.

EH, with 223 000 votes beats the historic record of the Basque
nationalist left:  they take up 17.9% of the votes, they get 69 000
votes more than at the general polls and 63 000 more than at the
autonomous polls.  They got 3 seats more, and increase 1.7 points in
comparison with the autonomous polls and 5.5 points with the general
elections.  These results show this group is the actual winner of
these elections.

The P.P. gets 250 000 votes -20.1% of all the votes-, but they only
increase 19 000 votes compared to the general elections.  However,
they got 103 000 votes more in comparison with the autonomous polls.
They got 5 seats more and increase 5.6 points in relation to the
autonomous elections and 1.5 points to the general polls.  The P.P.
clearly increases votes, which come from other Spanish groups such as
the P.S.O.E. and U.A.  It should be borne in mind that these are the
first elections in which the P.P. is representative of the Government
in Madrid, and this fact always carries many votes with it.

The P.S.O.E gets 218 000 votes representing 17.5% of the whole.  This
party loses 71 000 votes compared to the general elections of 1996,
although they increase 44 000 votes copared to the autonomous polls of
1994.  This increase in votes makes them get 2 seats more.  However,
they have the same percentage as at the autonomous polls and lose 6.5
points in comparison with the general polls.  Against the illusion of
an increase in votes, they have actually lost thousands of votes as
well as their leading role among Spanish people which now belongs to
the P.P.

UA gets 15 000 votes and 12% of the whole.  They did not take part at
the general elections where many of their votes were for the PP.  The
only reference point is the autonomous polls of 1994 and compared to
them, they have lost 12 000 votes, 2.5 points and 3 seats.  There is
no doubt that they are the main losers of this election where the
Spanish votes have gone for pragmatism.

IU, with 70 000 votes (1.2%) have lost 46 000 votes compared to the
general polls of 1996 and 22 000 to the autonomous polls of 1994.
They have lost 4 seats, 3.7 points with respect to the general polls
and 3.4 to the autonomous ones.  It is very clear that they have lost
a large amount of votes.

Thus, the signatory parties to the Lizarra Agreement have got 746 000
votes -those who excluded themselves from this settlement only 483
000- and they have got 43 seats as opposed to 32 seats of those who
did not sign the agreement.

The Basque nationalist groups make up 106 000 votes more than at the
general election of 1996, and 109 000 more than at the autonomous
election of 1994.  Therefore, there is a high increase in the Basque
nationalist votes but they keep the same 41 seats.  It must be
underlined that it is mainly the Basque nationalist left supporting
independence that has increased the nationalist vote, although the
P.N.V and E.A. have also got more votes.  And moreover, it is the
Basque nationalist left that makes all the nationalist keep their
seats due to their increase in 3 representatives, when the P.N.V loses
1 seat and the E.A. 2 seats.  The nationalist left is in a better
co-relation of forces within the Basque movement for independence.

The Spanish or State groups lose 98 000 endorsements in comparison
with the general elections of 1996, that is, they move back as much as
the supporters of independence move forward.  However, these Spanish
parties get 113 000 new votes compared to the autonomous elections of
1994.  The reason why is that participation at that time did not reach
60% when participation has been 70 % in this case.

There is no doubt that the P.P. is the one who has crearly profited
from this increase in Spanish votes, which makes him become the clear
Spanish leader, leaving the P.S.O.E. behind and practically
eliminating UA in Araba.  IU has never got many supporters in the
Basque Country, but besides, mass-media has played a key role for
their results since they first backed this party and then ignored
them.  Thus, they have come to be the clear losers of these polls,
although in fact, they have lost less votes than the P.S.O.E. compared
to the general polls of 1996.

In addition, it must be said that the most furious pro-Spanish and
anti-Basque people used to reward the P.S.O.E. -the organizer of the
G.A.L. and of the state repression- through ballot boxes.  But today
those who turned the workers' votes into Spanish votes, have now
turned the Spanish votes into right votes.  At present, the PP is the
new manager of the state repression against the Basque Country, it is
them who imprisoned the National Executive of Herri Batasuna, and
closed down Egin,... And consequently, at these elections, they have
also received their reward from the Spanish and anti-Basque people who
have appointed them to deny democratic rights to the Basque People.

But, in fact, the actual reading of this election is the following:
-there is a clear and obvious support to the Lizarra-Garazi Agreement
in Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa; -a clear and obvious advance of the
movement for independence against pro-Spanish positions; -and, a
convincing success of the Basque Nationalist movement for
independence.

Bilbao, 26th October 1998<<