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Spanish election: Polls close in fourth vote in four years | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Voters in Spain returned to the polls for the fourth general election in as many years. | |
In the last election in April, the governing Socialist Party won the most seats but fell short of a majority and was unable to form a coalition. | |
Spain has not had a stable government since 2015. | Spain has not had a stable government since 2015. |
Polls closed at 20:00 local time (19:00 GMT), but the election was overshadowed by unrest in Catalonia and the rise of the far-right Vox party. | |
Results are expected on Sunday evening. | |
After April's vote, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez entered coalition talks with the leftist Podemos party, but talks collapsed - causing them to miss a September deadline to form a new government. | |
At a closing rally on Friday, Mr Sánchez had told supporters: "There are only two options: either vote for the Socialists so that we have a government, or vote for any other party to block Spain from getting a progressive government." | |
Mr Sanchez is thought to be at an advantage given his current position as caretaker leader, despite having never won a parliamentary majority. | |
But the latest opinion polls before voting began showed none of the parties winning a majority. | |
Instead, they showed Socialist Party (PSOE) in the lead again, but with fewer votes than in April's election, and the conservative People's Party (PP) and Vox making gains. | |
The election comes less than a month after Spain's Supreme Court handed out lengthy jail sentences to nine Catalan independence leaders, over their role in organising an outlawed referendum in 2017. | |
The move triggered protests and violence on the streets of Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia. | The move triggered protests and violence on the streets of Barcelona and other cities in Catalonia. |
The Catalan crisis dominated the election campaign, with parties on the right - Vox, the PP and the centre-right Ciudadanos - taking a hardline anti-separatist stance. | |
Support for Vox surged in the last election, with the party winning 24 seats in parliament with more than 10% of the vote. Meanwhile, the PP suffered its worst-ever general election performance. | Support for Vox surged in the last election, with the party winning 24 seats in parliament with more than 10% of the vote. Meanwhile, the PP suffered its worst-ever general election performance. |
Who won seats in April? | Who won seats in April? |