The leader of the Podemos party, Pablo Iglesias, told his supporters that this is a “historic” day for Spain. “We are starting a new political era in our country,” he said.
Spain’s left-wing block is set to win an absolute majority in the Spanish Parliament, with 99 percent of votes counted. The Socialist Party is projected to win 90 seats, while the anti-austerity party, Podemos, is to get 42.
The ruling People’s Party is at 123 seats.
Prime Minster Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Partido Popular (PP) party still took the largest share of the votes, though it will lose its parliamentary majority when the results of its left-wing rivals are combined.
The year-old Cuidadanos, considered a reformist, pro-business party, came in fourth place.
Voter turnout was 71 percent, two percentage points higher than in the previous election.
A total of 176 seats are necessary to win a majority in Spain’s 350-seat chamber of deputies, meaning that PP, predicted to have 124 deputies at most, will have to strike a deal with one of the runners-up to remain in power.
It should be the party with the most seats – the People’s Party – that should try to form the government first, the leader of the Socialist Party Pedro Sanchez said. He added that people have voted “for the left and for change.”
There are no specific rules stipulating how or when the new government must be sworn into office, and deputies could call for a new vote, if no consensus is reached.
Since Spain’s transition to democracy, following General Franco’s death in 1975, there has never been a coalition government. Without outright majorities, biggest parties have relied on support from minor factions on individual vote
