No clear majority in Spain's election with 80% of votes counted

[MADRID] Neither the rightist or the leftist political bloc in Spain was holding a clear majority in Sunday's national election, according to a tally of results from the interior ministry with 80 per cent of votes counted.

By party, the Socialists of Spain's outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez led with 123 seats in the 350-seat parliament while centre-right Ciudadanos would have 57 seats.

There was speculation before the election about a possible coalition between them though both parties' leaders have ruled it out. The preliminary data would give them a potential parliamentary majority.

The right-wing mainstream conservative PP party was pegged at 65 seats, far-left Unidas Podemos at 42 and far-right Vox at 24.

REUTERS