Spain’s Socialist PSOE party win general election, but fail to get majority, as far-right Vox party gains first seats

SPAIN’S ruling Socialist PSOE party is set to win the 2019 Spanish General Election, but will fall short of a majority, early results have indicated.

After 70% of the votes are now in Pedro Sanchez’s party is set to take 123 seats in Parliament, compared to just 65 for the conservative PP party.

Meanwhile the PSOE’s former coalition partner, the left-wing Podemos party, is set to gain 42 seats, which would mean both requiring the support of smaller parties, in order to enter Government.

Meanwhile Vox is set to gain 23 seats, which would make it the first far-right party to enter Parliament since the 1970s when General Franco’s dictatorship ended.

Current polling suggests the centrist Ciudadanos party would gain 57 seats.

The PP are heading for the worst ever performance, and along with Vox and the Ciudadanos, currently look like they will be unable to form an agreement to enter Government, as happened at the Andalucia regional elections in December.

If the PSOE and Podemos want to form a coalition Government, they are likely to need the Catalan nationalists’ support to gain the required majority of 176.

Voter turnout at the elections is high, at around 75% and could be on track to beat the 1982 record of 80%.