Spain is voting in repeat general election on Sunday in efforts to end its worst political stalemate in recent history. With aftershocks from Brexit still being felt, all eyes are on the leftist Podemos party which calls for structural reforms of the EU.
Over 36 million Spaniards are eligible to vote Sunday, with four big parties and six smaller regional ones expected to win seats in the 350-strong assembly. Turnout was 51.17 percent at 16:00 GMT, according to official data. Voting will close at 18:00 GMT, when the first exit polls will appear.
The election comes after political parties that won seats in parliament last December failed to form a government, throwing the country into political limbo.
Opinion polls, conducted before the Brexit referendum, suggest that this time around the parliament will be as fragmented as the previous one, with the conservative Popular Party (PP) coming first without a majority, followed by Podemos. The upstart leftist party, similar to Greece's ruling Syriza party, rejects EU-backed austerity measures and is likely to replace the 137-year-old Socialist party as the main left-wing force.
"A sad day for Europe. We should change our path. Nobody would like to move away from an honest and united Europe. We should change Europe," Pablo Iglesias tweeted, reacting to the referendum results in Britain.
The conservatives however have warned the public against voting for "populists."
"Populism may end up having very negative consequences for people, vote for PP," said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
With the world still feeling the aftershocks of the UK referendum to leave the EU, questions remain about how it will affect the results of the Spanish vote.
"With this economic crisis and stock markers now plummeting, of course, Brexit is going to have an impact on the elections in Spain," a woman in the streets of the Spanish capital told RT.
"Brexit might boost the number of people voting for populist parties like Podemos, as well as the number of those wanting Spain to stay within the Union," one resident of Madrid told RT.
Like most of other respondents, he was confident that Spain would never follow Britain’s example.
"Spain doesn't have the sort of economic independence the UK has, and I think this country needs the EU more than Britain," he added.
"I think Brexit can contribute to the agenda of some Spanish parties. However, due to Brexit they could lose a number of voters, who wouldn't like to see the same thing happen here in Spain. I don't think Spain will leave the EU. Anti-EU sentiment is a rare thing here in Spain," another man added.
Analysts are not expecting a high turnout, due to Spaniards' disillusionment with politicians who were unable to come to terms with each for months.
