BBC News
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image captionPere Aragonès is tipped to become the region s new leader
Separatist parties in Spain s semi-autonomous Catalonia region will boost their majority in the local parliament, near-complete results suggest.
With more than 99% of votes counted, the three parties are on course to get 74 seats in the 135-strong assembly, up from 70 in the outgoing parliament.
That would allow them to govern, despite splits on major issues.
Meanwhile, the unionist Socialist Party also looks likely to win a large share of the vote.
Turnout in Sunday s election was just over 53%, the lowest in modern times.
The backdrop of this election was far removed from the last one, just over three years ago, says BBC World Service Europe regional editor Danny Aeberhard.