Far-right party wins seats in Spain's Andalusia region
Spain's far-right Vox party won 12 seats in an election in Andalusia Andalusia while polls indicate that current regional leader Susana Diaz will remain far from obtaining an absolute majority.
Electoral members count ballots after the Andalusian regional elections at a polling station in Ronda, Spain, December 2, 2018.
Spaniards voted Sunday in a regional election in southern Andalusia, the first major electoral test since Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez took power in June.
As Spain's most populated region with nearly 6.3 million voters eligible to cast ballots, a good result for the Socialists would give a boost to Sanchez's minority government.
Polls forecast a victory for current regional leader, Susana Diaz, whose Socialist party has ruled Andalusia since 1982. But polls indicate that Diaz will remain far from obtaining an absolute majority and likely need to strike deals with the opposition to govern.
Spain's far-right VOX party leader Santiago Abascal delivers a speech next to regional candidate Francisco Serrano as they celebrate results after the Andalusian regional elections in Seville, Spain December 2, 2018.
The election is also the first since the opposition conservative Popular Party chose Pablo Casado as its new leader after former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy lost a no-confidence vote and was toppled by Sanchez.
In Sunday's vote, the anti-immigrant, extreme-right Vox party is trying to win its first seats in a regional parliament in Spain.
Andalusian Regional President Susana Diaz casts her vote for the Andalusian regional elections in Seville, Spain, December 2, 2018.
Two members of Vox shouted insults at Diaz when she submitted her ballot early Sunday in Seville. Vox said both people had been removed from their positions as voting monitors due to "inappropriate behavior."
The regional government says that turnout as of 2:00 pm was 29.9 percent, a 4 percent decline from comparable elections in 2015.
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