Spain’s far-right Vox party more than doubled its number of lawmakers in the country’s fourth national election in four years, which delivered a deeply fragmented parliament, setting the stage for very difficult government negotiations, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The Socialists of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who had gambled that a repeat parliamentary election would strengthen his hand, finished first but with fewer seats than in the previous ballot in April and further away from a majority, the near-final official results showed.
“One way or another we’ll form a progressive government and unblock the political stalemate ... We call upon all the political parties, except for those that work against coexistence and foster hatred,” Sanchez said.
The figures pointed to a legislative stalemate with neither the left nor right having a majority.
The outcome will require party leaders to be creative, negotiate seriously this time and, for some, swallow their pride, after higher abstention rates on Sunday showed that voters are tired of being called repeatedly to the ballot box.