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Supporters of the People’s Party gathered in front of the Madrid headquarters.
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- author, writing
- Rolle, BBC News World
2 hours
Spain voted in snap elections this Sunday that were marred by extreme heat and produced worse results than polls suggested.
With more than 95% of the votes counted, the conservative People’s Party (PP) led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo is leading the Socialist Party (PSOE) of current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
With these results, The PP would get 136 seats compared to 122 for the PSOE.
The far-right party Vox is third with 33 seats and the left-wing coalition Sumar is fourth with 31 seats.
The Congress of Deputies has 350 seats, so 176 are needed to have a majority. With the current results, neither of the two major parties can govern alone.
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The polls pointed to a clear win for Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
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The President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, has brought forward the elections following the results of the regional elections in May.
The Deal Calculator
After the intense vote recount, which results in a narrower than expected result, the calculations begin on who will be able to form a government.
The polls predicted an overwhelming victory for the PP, albeit without an absolute majority, which would force them to turn to Vox for support for the government.
Should the PP and Vox not secure a sufficient majority to form a coalition, which is most likely the case, the Socialists will have the opportunity to form another government as they have more opportunities to forge alliances with other parties.
“There are a number of stubborn political forces that understand that this country has changed and left the bipartisanship that has existed for about 30 years.” Now we have to adapt to a more diverse parliament with third parties and peripheral forces. And Núñez Feijóo cannot reach an agreement in this new context,” writer and political analyst Daniel Bernabé told BBC Mundo.
An unusual election day
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Summer elections are unusual in Spain.
Despite the unusual nature of the call in mid-July Participation over 70%a level slightly above that of the November 2019 general election.
Many citizens used to vote to escape the scorching heat.
Many others spoke out in favor of postal voting.
Spain had never held elections in the middle of summer before, and temperatures reached 40ºC in parts of the south.
Electric fans were turned on at the polling stations to cool people down.
“Voting at this time of year is appalling… it should be banned,” 80-year-old Maria Suner told AFP at a polling station in Madrid.
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