Spain

Spanish PM calls early election after ballot losses

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday announced a snap election for July 23 after his left-wing coalition government suffered heavy losses in regional ballots on Sunday.
FILE PHOTO: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears after he casts his vote at a polling station during Regional elections, in Madrid, Spain, May 28, 2023.
FILE PHOTO: Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears after he casts his vote at a polling station during Regional elections, in Madrid, Spain, May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Juan Medina
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By Inti Landauro

MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called a snap election for July 23, a day after his left-wing coalition government suffered heavy losses in regional ballots to the opposition conservatives.

"Although yesterday's elections had a local and regional scope, the meaning of the vote conveys a message that goes beyond that," Sanchez said in a televised speech. "I believe it is necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people."

Sanchez had previously said he wanted to see out a full term in office and that national elections would take place in December, near the end of Spain's rotating presidency of the European Union, which begins on July 1.

Members of an electoral table hold a ballot of the Spanish far-right party Vox, as they count the ballots of the local elections, in Ronda, southern Spain May 28, 2023.
Members of an electoral table hold a ballot of the Spanish far-right party Vox, as they count the ballots of the local elections, in Ronda, southern Spain May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Sanchez's Socialists (PSOE) and their junior ally Podemos lost ground on Sunday, while the mainstream conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right party Vox performed better than expected.

The president of an electoral table wears a shirt with a protest message that reads "I am here because I have no other choice", as he watches a man casting his vote at a polling station during the local elections, in Ronda, southern Spain May 28, 2023.
The president of an electoral table wears a shirt with a protest message that reads "I am here because I have no other choice", as he watches a man casting his vote at a polling station during the local elections, in Ronda, southern Spain May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

The PP potentially took as many as eight regional governments from the Socialists, depending on how successful the opposition party is in negotiating alliances with Vox.

Folders of Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and People's Party (PP) are seen on a table at a polling station during the local elections, in Ronda, southern Spain May 28, 2023.
Folders of Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and People's Party (PP) are seen on a table at a polling station during the local elections, in Ronda, southern Spain May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Belen Carreno; writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Giles Elgood and John Stonestreet)

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