Spanish village votes in 30 seconds

Spanish ballot papers

An entire Spanish village voted in less than 30 seconds in this weekend's local elections.

The seven registered voters of Villaroya, a small village in the La Rioja province, beat their own previous record of 32 seconds.

Salvador Perez, the incumbent mayor, has been in the role since 1973.

"I don't know if I'll get all seven votes, but it's almost certain that I will," he told Spanish media.

Mr Perez said that Villaroya's residents are "very well trained" and were ready to cast their votes as soon as polls opened this morning.

A mere 29 seconds and 52 hundredths later, Villaroya became the first seat in Spain to finish voting.

Mr Perez admitted his fellow countrymen were probably motivated by a sense of competitiveness with another Spanish village, Illán de Vacas in Castilla-La Mancha, which only has three registered voters.

Spain's local elections are seen as a test run for parliamentary polls due at the end of the year.

Twelve of the country's seventeen regional parliaments, and 8,000 town and city halls, are being contested.