Voting began at 9 am (0700 GMT) and will close at 8 pm (1800 GMT), when exit polls will be released. Experts say the final result is expected to be decided by fewer than a million votes and fewer than 10 seats in the 350-seat parliament.
Sánchez announced early elections after the left’s defeat in local elections in May, but his gamble to outwit opponents may backfire.
Opinion polls show Alberto Núñez Feijoa’s centre-right People’s Party is likely to win the election, but will need a partnership to form a government Santiago AbascalFar right-wing Vox. It will be the first time an far-right party has entered government since the end of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in the 1970s. Many Spaniards are angry that they were called to vote when they were on holiday at the height of the sweltering summer. Postal votes hit an all-time record of 2.47 million, the Postal Service reported Saturday, as many people choose to cast their ballots from the beach or the mountains.
“The status quo scenario and a hung parliament is still a real possibility, with a combined probability of 50% in our view,” Barclays wrote in a recent note to clients, citing a low margin in favor of the PP and overall uncertainty regarding polling and voter turnout.
The outcome may depend on whether Feijoo or Sánchez have the support of enough smaller parties to form a coalition government.
The Prime Minister’s Minority Socialist (PSOE) government is currently in coalition with the far-left Unidas Podemos which is running in Sunday’s election under the Sumar platform.
It has passed progressive laws on euthanasia, transgender rights, abortion and animal rights, and has told voters that such rights could be taken away if the anti-feminist, family values-oriented Vox is part of the next government.
Sánchez, in office since 2018, has seen his tenure as prime minister marked by crisis management – from the COVID pandemic and its economic effects to the politically divisive consequences of the failed 2017 independence bid in Catalonia.
Experts say PP leader Feijoo, who has never lost an election in his native Galicia, has sold himself as a stable and safe pairing, betting on his reputation for nerdiness that could appeal to some voters.
The formation of a new government depends on complex negotiations that could take weeks or months and could even end in new elections.
Such uncertainty could reduce Madrid’s effectiveness as the current host of the six-month rotating presidency. European Union Its spending with the Council as well as the EU COVID Recovery Fund.