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Polls Open in Spain’s General Election

© REUTERS / Jon NazcaAn election worker prepares ballots ahead of Spain's general election at a school in Los Prados, a small hamlet near the city of Ronda, southern Spain
An election worker prepares ballots ahead of Spain's general election at a school in Los Prados, a small hamlet near the city of Ronda, southern Spain - Sputnik International
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Polls opened at 9 a.m. local time (08:00 GMT) on Sunday in Spain, as the country is due to vote in the general election with four political parties enjoying comparable levels of popularity - a drastic change since the last election in 2011.

MADRID (Sputnik) — About 36.5 million Spaniards are eligible to vote, 1.9 million of them live abroad. Some 22,900 polling stations opened in total across Spain and in Spanish embassies abroad.

During the last parliamentary elections, the People’s Party led by current country's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy received the support of over 44.5 percent of the electorate and obtained 186 seats in Parliament, which constituted an absolute majority.

According to polls, Sunday's election may put an end to the two-party system that existed for more than three decades.

A man carrying a dog casts his ballots in the Spain's municipal and regional elections at a polling station in Barcelona on May 24, 2015 - Sputnik International
Spain Elections End Two-Party System - Podemos Lawmaker
This year, polls forecast the ruling party a weaker support among the voters, but the party is still in the lead. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, its traditional rival, goes second in terms of support, while the left-wing Podemos could finish third, according to the most recent GESOP poll.

Another party, the Ciudadanos (translated as Citizens) center-left movement is expected to take the fourth place. The Spanish United Left-Popular Unity coalition, openly opposing the country's membership in NATO, is expected to come fifth.

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