Spanish general election summary 2019
We are about to close the live blog. Here are the most important developments from Sunday’s general election in Spain.
Socialist PSOE wins general election
With more than 99% of votes counted, the socialist party, PSOE, has won Spain’s 2019 general election and looks set to enter negotiations with Podemos to form a leftwing coalition government with prime minister Pedro Sánchez as leader. PSOE won 123 of the 350 seats in parliament.
Far-right surges on terrible night for mainstream conservatives
Sunday’s vote was a humiliation for the People’s party (PP), the traditional conservative party of government in Spain, as the anti-feminist, anti-immigration Vox party won 24 seats in parliament, the most significant victory by a far-right party since the end of Franco’s dictatorship. PP’s leader, Pablo Casado, admitted the election results were “very bad” after the number of seats in parliament held by his party more than halved from 137 in 2016’s vote to 66.
Catalan independence could slip off political agenda
It is too early to assert with certainty, but Pedro Sanchez could be free to form a government without relying on the backing of the Catalan separatists who demand an independence vote as the price for their support. The issue collapsed his government at the start of this year and caused Sunday’s election, but a Catalan independence vote could slip off the political agenda if no party in the ruling coalition supports it.
Thanks for following. Have a peaceful evening.
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PP leader Casado: ‘very bad’ general election results
It’s a completely different scene where the People’s party (PP) leader Pablo Casado is addressing his supporters. The mainstream conservative party has been humiliated tonight, winning just 66 seats in parliament, compared to the 137 they won in 2016.
While the PP will remain the official opposition party, Casado admitted it has been a “very bad” general election result and confirmed he had called the prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, to congratulate the PSOE on its victory.
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Spain votes 2019: prime minster Sanchez tells supporters PSOE will govern Spain
The leaders of the socialist PSOE, the People’s party and the Citizens party are addressing their supporters right now.
The outrageously handsome Pedro Sánchez, who is surely destined to continue as Spain’s prime minister, is in a celebratory mood after the PSOE won Sunday’s general election. Sanchez has assured the crowd that his party will govern Spain. His supporters are chanting “¡Viva España y viva el socialismo!”
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Spain votes 2019: socialist PSOE declared general election winner
Spain’s government spokeswoman has declared the socialist PSOE party the winner of Sunday’s general election, with more than 97% of votes counted.
The result means that prime minister Pedro Sánchez can enter negotiations to form a governing coalition with Podemos, led by Pablo Iglesias. The 165-seat alliance in parliament would still leave the leftwing bloc short of a majority but the government should be able to rely on the support of Basque nationalists and independent MPs.
Government spokeswoman Isabel Celaá said PSOE received nearly 7m votes.
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Spain votes 2019: Podemos open to leftwing coalition with socialists
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias is addressing his supporters and the media, and the former university lecturer has the face of someone who knows they are going into government. Iglesias said that his party is open to forming a leftwing coalition with prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s socialist PSOE party and urged his supporters to be patient. Podemos was born from the indignados movement and the fury over corruption and austerity, and has reshaped Spanish politics.
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Spain votes 2019: Vox leader salutes supporters
The Vox leader, Santiago Abascal, has just delivered a passionate speech to supporters in Madrid with his far-right, anti-immigration, anti-feminist party projected to win 24 seats with 96% of votes counted. When polls closed, it appeared Vox might win nearly 40 seats, but those projections have not materialised.
Abascal hit out at the traditional rightwing People’s party (PP), which has been humiliated in Sunday’s vote, blaming it for not being able to effectively oppose Spain’s leftwing bloc.
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Spain votes 2019: socialist PSOE will be biggest party in parliament
Sunderland South, are you watching? Less than two hours after polls closed on the Spanish mainland, more than 90% of votes have been counted. The seat share in parliament looks pretty steady with over 24m votes counted. The socialist PSOE have won 122 of 350 seats, the mainstream conservative People’s party 65, the Citizen’s party 57, Podemos 35 and the far-right Vox party 24.
Datos ya al 90%: el PSOE cede el escaño de Navarra y se queda en 122 https://t.co/5whqxzwsJ1 pic.twitter.com/kb5FdW73lm
— Ignacio Escolar (@iescolar) April 28, 2019
For those who have been following all evening, the anti-bullfighting party, Pacma, has failed to win a seat despite winning over 1% of the vote.
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Analysis: Sanchez free to govern without Catalan nationalist support
With nearly 90% of votes counted, it seems certain that Pedro Sánchez’s socialist party will be able to govern without the support of the Catalan nationalists that brought down his previous administration, leaving the pro-independence movement with a voice in parliament but little leverage. Sánchez should be able to reply on support from the Basque parties and independents to get the majority he needs in parliament.
In Catalonia itself, the story has been the rise of the Republican Left (ERC) led by Oriol Junqueras, currently on trial for his role in the illegal unilateral declaration of independence in 2017, at the expense of Together for Catalonia, the party of former president Carles Puigdemont. ERC even overtook Puigdemont in Girona, his heartland in the north of the region.
While Junqueras has taken a conciliatory line with Madrid of late, Puigdemont has continued to seek confrontation and it seems that voters have wearied of this approach. As well as supporting ERC, there has been a significant swing towards the socialists, especially in the Barcelona region, suggesting that voters want to focus on social issues rather than questions of sovereignty.
Junqueras said he was prepared to support a Sánchez government if it agreed in principle to a referendum on independence, something the socialist leader said he would never do. As things stand, he won’t need Junqueras and the Catalan issue looks set to lose its place at the centre of the national debate.
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How the far-right made a comeback in Spain
Vox might be disappointed with the 24 seats it is projected to win with more than 80% of votes counted, but Sunday’s election is still a storming victory for the far-right party formed by disgruntled members of the mainstream conservative People’s party, which has been humiliated in today’s vote.
But who are Vox? The Guardian’s Madrid correspondent Sam Jones has written an explainer about the end of Spain’s supposed immunity to far-right parties. Click on the link below to read about the anti-feminist, anti-immigration party calling for a “reconquest” of Spain.
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Spain votes 2019: terrible night for mainstream conservatives
One thing is clear already: Pablo Casado will not be the next prime minister of Spain. His People’s party party (PP) have had a terrible night. With more than 75% of votes counted and a turnout of over three quarters of eligible Spanish adults, PP’s number of seats in parliament looks set to more than halve, falling from 137 to 65.
Casado said he would not step down as PP leader if they were punished at the ballot box.
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Spain votes 2019: far-right Vox turnout below expectations
It’s all gone a bit quiet in Margaret Thatcher plaza in Madrid, where Vox supports have been watching the election results trickle in. Polls released immediately after voting closed indicated that the anti-feminist, anti-immigration party would win as many as 38 seats in parliament. But with two thirds of votes counted, Vox are on track to win nearly half of that, with 23 seats. That’s still 23 more than they had before tonight’s vote, but fewer than hoped.
Silencio y rostros serios entre los simpatizantes de #Vox los primeros datos del recuento enfrían el entusiasmo de la campaña pic.twitter.com/Cw50OJ8Cg3
— miguel gonzalez (@mgonzalezelpais) April 28, 2019
As the sociologist Jorge Galindo points out, Vox might be entering parliament, but it is already clear that the far-right party does so below its own expectations and at modest levels compared to other European countries.
Con más de la mitad de los votos contados, VOX sigue en un 10% y 23 diputados. Sí, la extrema derecha entra en el Congreso. Pero ya está claro que lo hace bastante por debajo de sus propias expectativas, y en niveles modestos comparados con otros países europeos. #28A
— Jorge Galindo (@JorgeGalindo) April 28, 2019
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Anti-bullfighting party awaits election results
One party to look out for is the animal rights group Pacma, founded 16 years ago to put an end to bullfighting in Spain. The party was on track to win a couple of seats in Friday’s polling, but despite winning just over 1% of votes so far, it looks set to miss out on a seat in parliament.
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Spain votes 2019: voter turnout 75.03%
Who said democracy was dying in Europe? Three-quarters of Spaniards eligible to vote did so on Sunday, according to the country’s interior ministry.
With more than 11 million votes counted, PSOE are projected to get 129 seats, PP 67, Citizens 54 and Podemos 32. The far-right party Vox received strong support in polling before Sunday’s vote, but that has not materialised into as many votes as they had hoped. The anti-immigration, anti-feminist, anti-Catalan party is projected to win 23 seats in the Spanish parliament.
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Spain votes 2019: collapse in support for PP
With 26.25% of votes counted, it appears that Sunday’s general election could be the worst in electoral history for the conservative People’s party (PP). In 2016, PP led by Mariano Rajoy won 137 seats, which looks set to more than halve with 66 in 2019.
Rajoy stepped down as leader of the People’s party (PP) in June 2018 after being ousted as prime minister in a no-confidence vote called amid anger over corruption within the party.
Spanish media show scores as votes are being counted. #28A
— Cas Mudde 🗣️ (@CasMudde) April 28, 2019
So far confirm expectations of:
1. Big victory for PSOE
2. Massive loss for PP
3. Big loss Podemos
4. Stagnation Cs
5. Big win Vox
6. Significant fragmentation
7. No right-wing coalition
8 Nationalists are kingmakers pic.twitter.com/UXzM1BKcfP
Spain votes 2019: 73.74% turnout
Ok, we’ve some something official. There’s been a huge general election turnout in Spain, with nearly three in four eligible adults voting. So far 10.56% of votes have been counted and the socialist PSOE party are projected to win 128 seats, the People’s party 65, and Citizens 47. The official results are projecting a much smaller number of seats for Vox at just 22, compared to some projections of 36-38.
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A divided Spain
Here’s how the final opinion poll works out in parliament, with the socialist PSOE party as the largest in government and a collapse in support for the conservative People’s party (PP).
But political risk specialist Antonio Barroso thinks the election results might exacerbate polarisation if they materialise.
Don’t know if these numbers will materialize, but if they do, the results might exacerbate polarization (high fragmentation in the right leading to outbidding + PSOE potentially needing support of secessionist parties) https://t.co/WzjqnUXI44
— Antonio Barroso (@abarrous) April 28, 2019
Despite this warning, prime minister Pedro Sanchez’s party are expecting a good night.
El PSOE espera una "buena noche". @Adrilastra: "Probablemente esta sea una buena noche para este gran partido de 140 años de historia"
— Daniel Basteiro (@basteiro) April 28, 2019
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This is an important point from journalist Matthew Bennett. The forecasts are not exit polls and there will be no official data until polls close in the Canary Islands in five minutes.
TV full of talking heads making forecasts based on the not-exit polls. No real results yet.
— Matthew Bennett (@matthewbennett) April 28, 2019
Polls: Catalans reject independence leader Puigdemont
If the forecasts are right, Junts per Catalunya, led by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, has been rejected by Catalan voters in favour of the more conciliatory Republican Left led by Oriol Junqueras, currently on trial for his part in the illegal declaration of independence in 2017, with 14 seats to Puigdemont’s five.
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What happens now?
There has been a cautious reaction to the flurry of polls published at 7pm London time as political analysts furiously work through possible combinations of parties that could govern Spain.
There are challenges for both the left and right wing blocs. Despite an apparent surge in votes for the far-right Vox party, support for the conservative Popular party (PP) has collapsed. A would-be right-wing combination between Vox, PP and the Citizens party would not reach the magic 176 seats required to control Spain’s parliament.
For the left-wing bloc, while the socialist PSOE party look set to be the largest group in parliament, prime minister Pedro Sanchez might still require support from Catalan nationalist parties even with the support of Podemos.
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Polls: socialists to win most seats, far-right Vox party surges
Various snap polls have been published and it’s looking good for the incumbent socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez, who will take 116-121 seats in parliament according the GAD3 poll, which was conducted yesterday.
The poll also shows that support for the anti-immigration, anti-feminist, anti-Catalan independence party Vox is set to get around 12% of the vote.
22. BREAK: the GAD3 poll (not from today, not an exit poll, up to yesterday).
— Matthew Bennett (@matthewbennett) April 28, 2019
- PSOE: 28.10%—116-121 seats
- PP: 17.80%—69-73 seats
- Podemos: 16.10%—42-25 seats
- Ciudadanos: 14.4%—48-49 seats
- Vox: 12.10%—36-38 seats pic.twitter.com/GhT1MhPbMB
Spain votes 2019: polls close
Spaniards have finished voting. We will have a post up on the latest polling data shortly.
Spain votes 2019: polls close in 15 minutes
We will have a snap poll at 7pm London time. Treat it with caution. They forecasted a big turnout for Podemos in June 2016 that did not materialise once the votes were counted.
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Vox and the Spanish feminist movement
An attack and sexual assault on a woman at the San Fermín festival in 2016 has been one of the galvanising points for the anti-feminist, far-right Vox party.
In December, a court in northern Spain upheld a controversial verdict that five men accused of gang-raping a woman at the running of the bulls festival in Pamplona two years ago were guilty of sexual abuse rather than the more serious offence of rape.
The ‘Wolf Pack’ case – so known because of the name the men gave their WhatsApp group – prompted protests across Spain and led the then-government to launch a review of sexual offences legislation. Vox has used the case to attack the feminist movement in Spain.
Journalist Meaghan Beatley wrote a long read on the subject for the Guardian earlier this week.
Voter turnout surges in Catalonia
Sunday’s vote is the first general election since the unofficial Catalan independence referendum in 2017, and Catalans are out in force to cast their vote. According to Spain’s interior ministry, nearly two thirds of eligible voters in Catalonia had voted as of 6pm local time (64.19%).
Remember, how the region votes could prove decisive to the hopes of the incumbent socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez who previously relied on the support of the Catalan and Basque nationalist parties to govern. Sanchez called the vote after the Catalan secessionists joined forces with rightwing parties to vote down his government’s budget. Whether Catalans back Sanchez or pro-independence parties could decide who governs Spain.
There’s “moderate optimism” in the Sanchez camp due to the high voter turnout, according to journalist Daniel Basteiro.
"Optimismo moderado" en Ferraz. "Contentos por la participación, que tradicionalmente beneficia a la izquierda". Nervios pero buenas sensaciones entre algunos de los colaboradores de @sanchezcastejon, que seguirá la jornada electoral desde la sede del PSOE.
— Daniel Basteiro (@basteiro) April 28, 2019
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Vox: the re-emergence of the Spanish far-right
Come 7pm London time, all eyes will be on the predictions for the anti-feminist, anti-immigration, anti-Catalan independence Vox party. They are expected to get around 10% of the vote. That share might be enough to form a right-wing coalition government with the conservative People’s party and the centre-right Citizens party.
If you want some background on Vox, Sam Jones’ dispatch from Seville in December is a good place to start. The far-right party won 12 seats in the Andalucían regional election at the end of 2018 and has gone from strength to strength since the unexpected surge.
Like all populist parties around the world, Vox has used social media to provoke and attack its opponents. Earlier today, the far-right party tweeted a Lord of the Rings meme with the caption “Let the battle commence!”. Vox is represented by Aragorn taking on an army of Uruk-hai, an advanced breed of orcs, at the battle of Helm’s deep. But in the meme, the orcs are replaced by the rainbow flag, the women’s movement symbol and many other groups and organisations that Vox oppose.
⚔🇪🇸 ¡Qué comience la batalla! #PorEspaña pic.twitter.com/TVgdcP1Kw5
— VOX 🇪🇸 (@vox_es) April 28, 2019
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Spanish interior ministry: 60.75% turnout with 2 hours to go
There’s been a big surge in voter turnout across Spain. More than 21 million Spaniards have voted as of 6pm local time, according to the country’s interior ministry. That’s 3.3 million more than the same stage in 2016, when the turnout was 51.21%.
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Spain votes 2019: everything you need to know
The first vote predictions won’t be out for a couple hours, so there’s plenty of reading time. Our Madrid correspondent Sam Jones will be filing updates from the Spanish capital throughout the evening and he’s written a very useful guide to Sunday’s vote.
What’s happening and how did we get here?
On Sunday 28 April, Spain will hold its third general election in four years. The poll was called by the country’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, after rightwing parties and separatist Catalan parties rejected his 2019 budget in February.
The Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) took office in June 2018 after using a successful motion of no-confidence to oust the corruption-mired People’s party (PP) government of Mariano Rajoy.
But Sánchez’s minority government, which has held only 84 of the 350 seats in the Spanish congress of deputies following the last general election in 2016, has faced an uphill battle.
Critics accuse Sánchez of taking too soft an approach to the vexed question of Catalan independence and being too beholden to the parties that helped him clinch power.
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Spain votes 2019
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Spain’s 2019 general election. I’m Patrick Greenfield and I’ll be keeping you up-to-date with the very latest from the third public vote in four years.
Polling stations across the country have been very busy, with 41.49% of eligible voters having cast their votes by 1pm London time. That’s a substantial increase from the last vote, when 36.87% had voted by the same stage. We will have another update on region-specific turnout figures from Spain’s interior ministry shortly.
The prime minister Pedro Sanchez and his Spanish Socialist Workers party (PSOE) are expected to receive the most votes, but that’s not the full story. The far-right Vox party are poised to achieve a national breakthrough and could become kingmakers in a right-wing coalition.
If there’s no decisive outcome, we will most likely do this all over again in a few months.
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