Defiant spirit at polling stations

SPAIN: A determined spirit drove the people of Madrid to the ballot boxes yesterday to reinforce the message that terrorism …

SPAIN: A determined spirit drove the people of Madrid to the ballot boxes yesterday to reinforce the message that terrorism would not undermine their democracy, writes Aoife O'Reilly in Madrid.

"I feel a great responsibility and sense of duty to vote today, more than any other day," said English translator Mr Carlos Treviòo.

Voters came out in droves in a show of defiance against those responsible for last week's bombings that left 200 dead and over 1,000 injured.

"Nothing like this has happened before and people are more determined to cast their vote, even if they spoil them," said an official at the Fray Lus De Leon polling station in the Auguelles of north Madrid "The events of Thursday made me come out to vote today," said Mr César Sanchez Delgado, admitting that he might not have otherwise cast his vote.

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A sense of responsibility was just one of many emotions evident. There was also anger directed towards the Popular Party following claims that al-Qaeda carried out Madrid's bomb attacks.

Many voters believed that the party, by insisting that the Basque separatist group Eta was responsible, had deliberately manipulated the release of information for its own political ends.

The party's behaviour made Mr Delgado change his vote. "I am angry," he said.

"I think the government did not tell the people the truth because of the political situation. I am angry because there was no transparency." Mr Rafael Jimenez, a political science student, said: "The Spanish people reacted by condemning the terrorists but the government used the situation for electoral gains." Some, like 28-year-old Mr Alex Fernandez, were more extreme in their view, believing that the government was directly responsible for 11-M because it supported the Iraq war. However, most were upset because they felt they had been misled. "I think the PP has manipulated information and I feel angry towards them although I don't blame them for the bombing," said Mr Gabriel Garrascal.

A tremendous sense of grief and mourning hung over the elections as the victims of the bombings were never far from people's minds. "I feel great sadness, and a little fear and anger towards terrorists no matter where they came from or what they want," said Mr Treviòo.

His companion, Ms Sophia Perez, said she did not want to believe that the government had deliberately manipulated information for its own gain. "That would be too terrible to think." The anti-war campaigners believe the PP pointed to Eta because it was the most obvious assumption and because suggesting an al-Qaeda link would have caused too much panic and fear in the initial aftermath of the attack.

"If the PP is guilty of something, they are guilty of killing Iraqi people but they cannot be blamed for the bombings, and I think it was just easier and more convenient to blame Eta," said Mr Treviòo. "We are here today to decide if we want a real free country, free of people making decisions but not taking into account what the people want."

Others were sympathetic towards the PP and felt it had been put in a difficult situation. "People want the information now, but the party needs time to examine all the information," said Jaime Alberto Escartin.

Ms Esther Manzano of the communist party Izquierda Unida said: "Many people think the PP are strong and that they will take a strong stand against terrorism and will punish those guilty of terrorist acts."