Elections in Spain under way after massive protests

Madrid (CNN) -- Spaniards voted in local and regional elections Sunday after a campaign overshadowed by week-long protests in Madrid and other cities over the nation's deep economic crisis.

Despite a court-approved ban on demonstrations the day before the elections, the demonstrations continued on Saturday.

Polls predict the ruling Socialist Party will suffer deep losses to the conservatives in voting for all 8,000 Spanish city and town mayors and for presidents of 13 out of the 17 regional governments. The outcome is viewed as a bellwether for national elections due no later than March 2012.

The Socialist government did not order the police to disband the peaceful demonstrations on Saturday, despite the electoral board's ban that said the day prior to balloting should be a day of reflection, without politicking.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said earlier that police would not create even more problems than already existed in the streets.

Rubalcaba voted early on Sunday, shortly after polls opened at 9 a.m. Rubalcaba is widely expected to seek the nomination of the Socialist Party as candidate for prime minister in the next general elections.

The current prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, announced last month he would not seek a third term.

His government has been squeezed by Spain's 21% unemployment rate, the highest in Western Europe, and a financial crisis that prompted unpopular austerity measures.

That's what helped start a wave of protests May 15, when Spaniards using social media sites like Facebook convened demonstrations that attracted large crowds.

The protests against the political and financial establishment continued and gained force throughout last week, as demonstrators set up encampments in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol plaza and at emblematic plazas in Barcelona and many other Spanish cities.

Overall, reports indicated that tens of thousands took to the streets across the nation in the past week, and news media attention on the protests quickly overshadowed the campaign.

The sprawling tent city in Madrid's Puerta del Sol plaza includes a kitchen, a painting workshop to churn out protest placards, a communications office to answer media inquiries and even a day care nursery.

Young people dominated the protests on Saturday, but there were also families with young children, senior citizens and many people who have jobs and said they're concerned about the nation's future. Spain has a 42% jobless rate for people ages 16 to 24.

"Everybody here is a volunteer, and everything started very small, but we got organized very fast and it started growing very fast," said Juan Lopez, a protest spokesman and Internet technology manager who is currently unemployed.

"People want to participate," said Sofia de Roa, a spokeswoman for the protesters. "This is a fiesta of democracy."

Protesters decided on Sunday to stay at least another week in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol plaza, said Juan Lopez, a protest spokesman.

"The assembly has just approved that," Lopez told CNN by phone. The protesters have divided themselves into decision-making bodies they call assemblies, which debate and then vote on issues.

Lopez said the decision applies only to the protest in Madrid, which has been the largest in Spain. Barcelona and other cities would make their own decision.

"We are trying to coordinate," but he added that, so far, nationwide collaboration is not in place.

Zapatero, the prime minister, said in an interview with SER radio on Friday that voters ultimately will decide whether and how much change will be made.

"It's just before elections when the Spanish politicians usually hear the voice of the people," Lopez said. "Now on Monday, we have to see how this develops and what the answer is. The best-case scenario, which is the one we would like, is that they will come down here as citizens to hear us, and to make a new and better Spain."

A total of 34 million Spaniards are eligible to vote on Sunday, including 500,000 foreigners, mainly from other European Union nations, who have established residency in Spain.

About 100,000 police officers are on duty to maintain safety. The polls close at 8 p.m., and results are due later Sunday.

Several representatives of the protests told CNN the demonstrations will continue even after the elections. But Spanish media reported that in various cities, the protester assemblies - their decision-making bodies -- had not yet decided how long the protests would continue.

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