Many thanks for your company. We’re wrapping up the liveblog with this quick look back at a remarkable few hours
On an extraordinary day for Spanish politics, the ruling Partido Popular (PP) took the most votes but fell well short of a majority, raising the prospect of a coalition government
With 99% of the votes counted, the PP was on course to take 123 seats in the 350-seat legislature. Led by Mariano Rajoy, the current prime minister, they won almost 29% of the vote, leaving them with a third fewer seats than they received in the 2011 election
The Socialists came second, with 90 seats and 22% of the vote
Two new parties could now hold the balance of power in a future coalition government: the anti-austerity Podemos won 69 seats, the centrist Ciudadanos 40
Rajoy has said he will try to from a “stable government” as Spain “needs security and confidence”
Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Podemos, has Pablo Iglesias has hailed the birth of “a new Spain” and the death of decades of two-party politics
The ruling People’s party should be the first party to try to form a government as it was the party with the highest number of votes, the leader of the opposition party PSOE said late on Sunday.
“The most voted political force should try and form a government,” Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez told supporters. “Spain has voted for the left. Spain wants change but the vote shows the PP as the leading political force.” (Via Reuters)