PP wins Spain's general election but new government is unclear

The results of Spain's general election held this Sunday, 23 July, have left the formation of the next Spanish government unclear and dependent on the support of Catalan and Basque independence parties.

The conservative Partido Popular, led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has won the election, gaining 136 of the 350 seats in Spain's Congreso.

The Socialist PSOE, led by current prime minister Pedro Sánchez, gained 122 seats, making it no longer the most-voted party.

The result leaves neither of the two main parties with an absolute majority and deals with smaller groups will be necessary before a new government can be formed.

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However, even with the PP joining forces with hard-right Vox, this right-wing bloc would not reach the overall majority mark of 176.

The PP had been forecast as Sunday's winner and was expected to join forces with hard-right Vox to allow Feijóo to be elected as the new prime minister.

Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, won 33 seats on Sunday, leaving the combined votes of the two parties a few seats short of an absolute majority.

This could leave the door open for a repeat of a left-wing coalition government.

At the other end of Spain's political spectrum, left-wing group Sumar, led by Yolanda Díaz, (which includes Podemos and Izquierda Unida, among others) gained 31 seats on Sunday.

PSOE and Sumar therefore would need the support of Catalan and Basque pro-independence groups to be able to get enough MPs' votes to form a government.

In Malaga province, which sends 11 MPs to the Congreso, with 99 per cent of votes counted the PP had five seats, PSOE three, Vox two and Sumar one.

In 2019, the PSOE won the election with 120 MPs and formed a government in coalition with left-wing groups. The PP gained 89 seats in 2019 and Vox 52.