Since 1977, ruling Popular Party and opposition Socialist Party have ruled the country. While polls show conservatives leading, far-left Podemos and business-friendly Ciudadanos have disrupted Spain’s two-party politics.
Early exit polls show Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party leading, while Podemos has made gains against Ciudadanos and the Socialist Party.
Complete results are expected by late Sunday night.
Voter turnout at Spain’s general elections on Sunday exceeded more than 58 percent, slightly up from 57.7 percent at the last such elections in 2011.
The political climate in the country as shifted as newcomers Podemos and Ciudadanos made significant gains at the polls, ending a nearly three-decade long tug-of-war between the ruling Popular Party and veteran opposition Socialist Party.
“The two-party system is coming to an end,” said 26-year-old engineering student Victor Beltran, after voting for the far-left party Podemos in Madrid, according to the Reuters news agency.
“I know that the party I voted for will not get a majority, but I want to see how the parliament works with several strong parties that have to reach consensus,” Beltran added.
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History in the making
Spain has struggled with high unemployment rates – coming second in the EU behind Greece – despite it having one of the fastest-growing economies in the 28-nation bloc.
While Rajoy has claimed credit for steering the Iberian country out of an economic recession, leaders of the startup parties Ciudadanos and Podemos have described the mainstream parties, especially the right-of-center Popular Party, of being out of touch with citizens’ issues.
Albert Rivera, head of the business-friendly Ciudadanos and youngest out of the four party leaders, said Spain was entering a “new era.”
Young Spaniards “didn’t experience the first democratic transition [and] are experiencing a second one,” Rivera said after casting his vote in a working class suburb of Barcelona.
Pablo Iglesias, the leader of far-left Podemos, echoed similar sentiments, hailing Sunday’s vote as “historic.”
Spain “is going through a new transition,” Iglesias told supporters as he cast his vote in a working class neighborhood in Madrid. “After tonight, I am sure the history of our country will change,” Iglesias added.
