MADRID: Spain`s northern Basque Country votes in a regional election that polls suggest will be won by the left-wing separatist Bildu, seen as the heir of the political wing of the defunct armed separatist group ETA.

The outcome could leave Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez`s ruling Socialist Worker`s party in the difficult position of having to decide between two key parliamentary allies.

Polls predict a victory for EH Bildu, a coalition which has worked to disassociate itself from ETA whose bloody struggle for an independent Basque homeland claimed 850 lives before it rejected violence in 2011.

More than 700 polling stations opened at 9:00am with some 1.8 million voters eligible to cast their ballots for 75 lawmakers in the Basque regional parliament. By 1pm,participation stood at 28 per cent, officials said.

Voting closes at 8pm.

With a large following among young people thanks to its strong stance on social issues, Bildu has climbed steadily in the polls and now lool(s set to win the most votes.

`We are facing an opportunity for a change thatleavesbehindoutdated policies and ways of doing politics, and reverses the sense of inertia,` Bildu`s candidate for regional leader, Pello Otxandiano, told reporters after voting in his hometown of Otxandio.

`We`re making a massive appeal for people to get out and vote for change today.` If polls are correct, Bildu looks set for a historic win, inching ahead of separatist Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), a centrist faction that has ruled the region for decades.-AFP