After Brexit, Spain holds general election

People across Spain are casting their ballots for the second time in six months, in a closely watched election just days after Britain's shock decision to exit the European Union.

The election is pitting voters asking for change in a country with high unemployment against those who fear this would worsen the situation for Spain, which was on the brink of economic collapse just a few years ago. Yesterday's repeat vote comes after the four main political parties failed to agree on a coalition after December's general election resulted in a hung parliament.

Yet, opinion polls have suggested the new ballot may also not break the political deadlock. The conservative Popular Party (PP) is expected to come again first without a majority, while the on-the-rise left-wing Unidos Podemos alliance is tipped to overtake the centre-left Socialists in second place.

The centrist, business-friendly Ciudadanos is expected to come fourth. The Socialists and Unidos Podemos could potentially create a broad left-of-centre coalition.

Neave Barker, reporting from Spain's capital, Madrid, said there was a lot at stake in this general election. "Spanish people are going back to the polls for the second time in six months. They are fed up and they want to put an end to this political impasse."

Britain's surprise vote on Thursday to leave the EU has further added to the uncertainty, with the PP insisting on the need for "stability" in the face of "radicalism" and "populism".

It was a jab at the Unidos Podemos coalition, which rejects EU-backed austerity and pledges to fight for the least well-off. "If you want a united country and not a radical Spain, think about it, go for what's safe . . . vote for the Popular Party," Mariano Rajoy, acting prime minister, said in one of his last comments on Twitter before the obligatory day of campaign silence.

The Unidos Podemos coalition, led by Pablo Iglesias, has responded with a message of calm aimed at defusing this criticism. Analysts are not expecting a high turnout, due to the voters' disillusionment with the political class. After the vote, political leaders are expected to head back to the negotiating table, under more pressure this time to form a coalition. — Al Jazeera