MADRID/VALENCIA--Upstart parties are expected to make strong headway in Spanish regional elections on Sunday, ushering in an era of coalition and compromise and potentially dampening Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's prospects of winning a second term later this year.
Rajoy's conservative People's Party (PP) is likely to win most votes in elections taking place in 13 of Spain's 17 regions and more than 8,000 towns and cities.
Opinion polls, however, indicate the PP may find it hard to govern in most regions and in some of the biggest cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, as leftist Podemos ("We Can") and centre-right Ciudadanos ("Citizen") split the vote and could join forces with other parties against the PP.
Appealing to voters disgruntled by widespread corruption and a recent deep economic crisis, Podemos and Ciudadanos have pledged to overhaul the two-party system that has dominated the political scene for 40 years and inject more transparency and accountability into Spanish politics.
They are both expected to increase their support base on Sunday, especially in the Madrid and Valencia regions, two PP bastions since the mid-1990s which will be closely watched as a bellwether for the national election, due in November.
Yet, with final opinion polls showing 30 to 45 percent of voters were still undecided ahead of the vote, and with analysts expecting turnout to rise due to renewed interest in politics, Sunday's outcome could deliver surprises.
REUTERS
