Spain’s parliamentary elections failed to find a clear winner, as both sides fell short of the majority of seats required to form a government. <\/p>\n
With almost all the votes counted in Sunday’s polling, the opposition center-right Partido Popular (PP) is leading with 136 seats.<\/p>\n
Even with the support of the far-right Vox party, which is set to win 33 seats, a possible coalition will not be able to reach an absolute majority of 175 in the 349-member Congress of Deputies, reports say.<\/p>\n
However, PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo has claimed victory.<\/p>\n
On the other side, the ruling center-left Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is on course to win 122 seats.<\/p>\n
Its likely coalition partner far-left Sumar has won 31 seats.<\/p>\n
Socialist leader and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says, “The reactionary bloc has failed.”<\/p>\n
Addressing conservative supporters, Feijoo said he will try to form a government. “Spaniards know we have gone from being the second force to the party with the most votes. I hope this doesn’t start a period of uncertainty in Spain,” he told a gathering at the party headquarters.<\/p>\n
The Popular Party, which had only 89 seats in the outgoing parliament, improved its position in this election by adding 47 more seats to its tally. And their vote share increased from 21 percent to 33 percent. <\/p>\n
But it is not enough for them to assure returning to power.<\/p>\n
In case coalition-building efforts fail to reach a positive result, the most likely prospect is the country heading to another election towards the end of the year, according to reports. <\/p>\n