• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Spain Election Ends 2-Party Rule; Conservatives Lose Majority

teleSUR

Published 20 December 2015

The results will make it difficult for the ruling Popular Party to form a center-right, majority coalition government.

Spain's Conservative Popular Party (PP) has maintained its position as the party with most seats in Spain's Congress, despite losing a significant number of seats from last election.

The PP won the most legislators with 122 seats, followed by the Socialist party, or PSOE, with 91 seats, according to an announcement from the country's electoral authority. The left-leaning Podemos party came third with 69 seats, while business-friendly Ciudadanos party gained 40 seats in its first election.

"The time of alternating governments in Spain is over," said Podemos Party leader Pablo Iglesias.

Polls closed in Spain's general elections at 8 p.m. local time as newcomer parties Podemos and Ciudadanos prepare to enter the Parliament, putting an end to decades of a two-party government system.

According to the Interior Ministry, the voter turnout was estimated at around 73 percent, slightly higher than the last general elections in 2011.

Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Spain's new leftist Podemos party said the election was 'historic' as he cast his ballot in a working class neighborhood of Madrid.

"After tonight, I am sure the history of our country will change,' he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Albert Rivera the leader of the center-right Ciudadanos said, 'This is a new era,' and added that he and other young Spaniards who weren't alive during the nation's 1939-1975 dictatorship 'didn't experience the first democratic transition (and) are experiencing a second one.'

Political analysts predicted voters were likely to punish the two traditional parties on Sunday for failing to address a decade of economic crisis, characterized by dramatic levels of unemployment and deep social inequalities. Both Podemos and Ciudadanos have promised to increase government transparency and crack down on corruption.

Source: teleSUR