CATALONIA'S pro-independence parties are set to maintain their absolute majority at the December 21 election.
That's the result of the first tracking poll carried out by Feedback for The National, with five days left until Catalans cast their votes.
The National will reveal results from this ongoing survey daily, with two sets of results on the "day of reflection" next Wednesday, the day before the election, when campaigning cannot take place.
The pro-independence side are predicted to win with a range of 68-70 seats and 48.66 per cent of the vote.
Ciutadans, the largest unionist party, will win the election, but will not be able to put together an alternative governing majority.
The data collection for this first instalment ended at 4pm Spanish time on Friday, as the campaign enters its final stages.
Under the poll's prediction, the independence side (ERC, Junts per Catalunya and CUP) will be able to retain their absolute majority, getting more than the 68 seats needed of the 135 in the Catalan Parliament.
The unionists, formed by Ciutadans, PSC and PP, will come far behind, with 56-58 sears and 43.49 per cent of the vote.
The predicted turnout in the elections according to Feedback's poll will be a historic 82.36 per cent.
In the 2015 election, which already broke records, turnout was 74.95 per cent.
Ciutadans, the pro-Spanish party led by Inés Arrimadas, will come first with 33 seats and 24.18 per cent.
The favourite for the election race, imprisoned vice-president Oriol Junqueras' ERC will come second, with 30 deputies and 20.89 per cent of the vote.
In third place will be Junts per Catalunya, the party of president Carles Puigdemont, who has been forced to remain in Brussels, with 28-30 seats (19.49 per cent).
The Socialists of PSC, led by Miquel Iceta, will be in fourth place, with 17-19 seats and 13.67 per cent of the predicted vote.
In fifth place will be the pro-independence radical left-wing CUP, with 10 deputies and 8.28 per cent.
Catalunya En Comú-Podem, party of the alternative left led by Xavier Domènech with support from the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, are set to come sixth, winning 8-9 seats and 7.08 per cent of the vote.
The conservatives, whose candidate is Xavier García Albiol, will come last with six seats and 5.64 per cent.
The PP, the party of the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy, are to gain no ground at the ballot box after a brutal intervention in Catalan autonomy and the dismissal of the Catalan government, some of whom remain in prison or in exile, in response to the declaration of independence.
Catalunya En Comú-Podem will not decide the majority.
The fieldwork for the poll was carried out between December 8 and December 15, sampling 200 respondents daily. The method used was a telephone tracking survey, and sampled those with a right to vote in the December 21 election.
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