Socialists win in Spain

With nearly all the votes counted in Spain’s general election, results showed the Socialists under the leadership of Pedro Sanchez gained the most votes with 123 seats but fell well short of a majority (176 seats).

Vox was set to become the first far-right party to sit in Spain’s parliament since 1982.

The Popular Party lost a massive number of seats in parliament. The right-wing mainstream conservative PP party were cut down to 66 seats, with centre-right Ciudadanos at 57 seats and far-right Vox at 24 seats.

Far-left Unidas Podemos won 35 seats.

There was a high voter turnout at over 75 per cent compared to 66.4 per cent recorded for the previous election in June 2016..

The left-wing bloc (Socialists and Podemos), with 157 seats altogether, currently seems to be in a better position to form a government than the right-wing bloc (Popular Party, Ciudadanos and Vox) at 146 seats.

Speaking to reporters after partial results were announced, Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias said his party and the Socialists had “the willingness to work together in a coalition government.”

In order to remain in power, Sanchez would have to form an alliance not just with left-wing Podemos but with at least one separatist party from Catalonia.

 

Via Euronews