Supporters of the opposition Popular Party are expecting strong gains Spain’s governing Socialists party has suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections, early results show.
With 91% of municipal votes counted, the centre-right Popular Party (PP) had almost a 10-percentage point lead, the interior ministry said.
Voting took place amid mass protests against high unemployment and the government’s handling of the economy.
Demonstrators holding sit-ins in Madrid and other cities said rallies would continue for another week.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero conceded his party had been resoundingly defeated but said he had no intention of calling early general elections.
He said three years of economic crisis had taken their toll.
“It destroyed thousands of jobs. It is a crisis that had profound effects on citizens’ morale. I know that many Spaniards suffer great hardship and fear for their futures,” he said.
“Today, without doubt, they expressed their discontent,” he added.
However, he vowed to pursue reforms to try to improve the economy until the end of his mandate. At this point, a general election must be held by March of next year.
Jubilant PP supporters celebrated outside their party headquarters in Madrid as the final votes were counted.
The party was also heading to victory in virtually all of the 13 regional government up for grabs.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government has been struggling to overcome recession and create jobs.
Spain’s overall jobless rate soared to 21% in the first quarter of this year, the highest in the industrialised world. Youth unemployment stands at 45%.
Meanwhile, thousands of young protesters remain camped out in squares across the country.
What began as a sit-in in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square a week ago has turned into a national protest movement popularly known as 15-M.
About 30,000 people were estimated to have occupied the central Puerta del Sol square in the run-up to the vote.
The protests, which have also taken place in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao, have so far been peaceful.
Demonstrators defied a government ban on political protests on the eve of the election.
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