BARCELONA: Catalonia voted Sunday in a close election overshadowed by the pandemic and which Madrid hopes will unseat the region’s ruling separatists more than three years after a failed bid to break away from Spain.

With Spain still grappling with a third wave of coronavirus infections, the vote in the wealthy northeastern region was held under tight health restrictions to reduce the risk of contagion.

Voters had to wear face maks, use disinfectant gel provided at polling stations and stand apart while lining up in rainy weather to cast their ballots.

To help spread out voters, polling stations were set up in spacious venues such as food markets, the area around FC Barcelona’s football stadium and the bullring in Tarragona.

While some 5.5 million people are eligible to vote, as of 6 pm turnout stood at 45.7 percent, compared with 68.2 percent at the same time during the previous election in December 2017.

“I hesitated until the last minute whether to come vote or not,” Cristina Caballero, a 34-year-old child educator, told AFP at a Barcelona polling station.

“I think these elections should have been postponed.”

The regional government tried to put off the elections until the end of May because of the pandemic but the courts blocked that move.

Voting is due to close at 8 pm (1900 GMT), with the final hour reserved for people infected with Covid-19 or undergoing quarantine. During this time polling staff will wear gloves, facial screens and protective gowns.

While more than 40 percent of the 82,000 people assigned to help staff polling stations on the day had asked to be recused, all polling stations were operating normally as of noon, according to the Catalan government.

Still, some people tapped for polling station duty expressed concern.