Spain: Polls suggest Socialists win elections

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Socialist Party led by current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is seen leading Spain's elections as polls closed on Sunday.

Surveys on Spain’s national elections indicate that Spanish Parliament will remain fragmented, but the Socialist Party will win the elections.

One major survey, conducted by GAD3 for Spanish Television (RTVE), suggests that the Socialist Party will overtake the conservative Popular Party with more seats in the Parliament, but a governing coalition could be difficult to form.

176 seats are required to obtain a majority in Spain’s Parliament. The poll suggests that even if the Socialist Party, predicted to win 116-121 seats, joins up with Unidos Podemos to form a left-wing coalition, it would still not be enough to rule the country.

If the poll is accurate, the left-wing bloc would need to join forces or win support from separatist parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country to form a government.

The survey also predicts that Vox, the first far-right party to gain significant political representation in the Spanish Parliament in the country’s democratic history, will gain between 36-38 seats.

This is Spain’s 3rd national elections in four years. The political fragmentation in the country, which had been dominated by two parties prior to 2015, has led to political instability.

The exit polls in 2016 forecast that far-left Podemos party would come in second place. That prediction, however, did not materialize when the votes were counted.

Data suggests turnout has been very high with 61% casting ballots by 6 p.m. (4 p.m. GMT) – nearly 10 percentage points higher than the 2016 elections.