With almost 90 percent votes counted, ruling conservative Popular Party won 28.7 percent share of votes to 123 seats after the Spanish elections held on Sunday. The party led by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy received maximum votes yet lost absolute majority.

The election results indicated Spain is paving its path towards a coalition form of government. Prior to Spain, Greece and Portugal faced the same situation based on their governments’ imposition of spending cuts and tax increases as demanded by creditors to make up for debt crisis.

The majority of voters seemed to support those parties that rejected the austerity measures proposal put forth by Rajoy. The number of seats Rajoy won in 2011 was 182, which gave his party a full majority in Spain, while this time it lacked several votes to make it to the 350-member parliament.

The Socialists shared 22 percent votes to 90 seats, while Podemos won 69 seats and shared 20.6 percent of votes. Liberal Ciudadanos shared 13.9 percent votes with 40 seats. Spain’s deteriorating economic condition, corruption allegations and a separatist drive in the north-eastern region of Catalonia played integral roles in the Spanish elections of 2015.

According to political analysts, it seems difficult for PP to form a coalition this time because even if it gets combined with its most natural partner, Ciudadanos, its total number of votes would remain short of majority. The Socialists, however, are expected to form a mutual agreement with Podemos and Ciudadanos.

Soaring unemployment rates and disappointing austerity measures introduced by Rajoy were the two main causes that moulded the voters and prompted them to random voting rather than to support PP like they did in 2011 general elections.

“The two-party political system is over and we are entering a new era in our country,” The Guardian quoted Podemos’ Iñigo Errejón as saying.

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