Outgoing Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he will try to form a new government after his conservative Popular Party won the most seats in a general election but lost its absolute majority.
“I will try to form a government, a stable government,” he told supporters gathered outside his party’s headquarters in Madrid yesterday.
“We will need to talk a lot, negotiate and reach agreement,” he added as hundreds of supporters chanted: “Spain! Spain!”
The Popular Party won 28.71 per cent of the vote, giving it 123 seats in the 350-seat parliament, well short of the 176 seats needed for an absolute majority and down from 186 seats in the outgoing assembly.
The Socialists came in second with 90 seats while two newcomers, anti-austerity party Podemos and centre-right Ciudadanos, came third and fourth respectively.
Podemos captured 69 seats while Ciudadanos got 40 seats, putting an end to over 30 years of dominance by the Popular Party and the Socialists.
