Spain's election: No party received enough votes to form a government

There was no clear winner in Spain's election on Sunday, with both the governing Socialists and opposition center-right Popular Party failing to win the 176 seats needed to form a government.

With 100% of the votes counted, the Popular Party won 136 seats and the Socialists won 122 seats. The Socialists fared better at the polls than expected, while the Popular Party underperformed. "Spain has been clear," Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told supporters in Madrid. "The bloc of devolution, of retrocession, that wants to take back all we have achieved, of machismo, has failed."

The far-right Vox Party, which has called for an end to progressive laws for women and a reversal of LGBTQ+ rights, lost 19 of its 52 seats, but had it been able to garner a little more support, Vox could have formed a conservative coalition with the Popular Party. This would have put Spain "on the cusp of its furthest right government since the death of its longtime dictator Francisco Franco in 1975," The Washington Post reported.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sanchez could stay in power if the blocs opposed to both the Popular Party and Vox throw their support behind him. If no governing coalition can be formed and there's a hung parliament, Spaniards may have to head to the polls yet again; already, there have been five elections in eight years.