What happened in the Spanish elections? Everything you need to know as the Conservatives fail to get a majority after the country went to the polls

The result of the latest early elections in Spain has left the country in a political limbo after no party was able to secure an absolute majority.

The inconclusive result occurred after the controversial decision of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to call a vote.

But what exactly happened in the Spanish elections? What will happen after the surprise results?

Read below everything you need to know about the Spanish election result and what it means for Spain going forward.

What happened in the Spanish elections?

The conservative Popular Party (PP) emerged victorious, but failed to obtain the number of votes required for an absolute majority.

Polls of Spain’s 37 million voters predicted a takeover by the right-wing Popular Party and far-right Vox party.

However, the right-wing bloc performed below expectations, leading Sánchez to declare: “The reactionary bloc has failed.”

Despite the fact that the PP accumulated 136 seats in addition to Vox’s 33, the bloc fell seven seats short of the overall majority of 176 seats needed to form a new government.

After suffering defeats in local and regional elections, in May Sánchez called national elections, which were held this weekend while the main cities endured maximum temperatures of up to 40°C.

Many voters told Spanish media they voted early to avoid the scorching heat, while electric fans have been installed at polling stations to try to keep people cool.

Despite high growth and low unemployment, Sánchez has been a polarizing figure in Spanish politics, having come under fire after introducing reforms on abortion and transgender rights.

What will happen after the electoral results in Spain?

With no clear winner emerging from the election results, Spain now faces a period of political uncertainty.

The inconclusive result means another election could be held before the end of the year.

Despite coming out of the elections with the highest number of votes, the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has distanced himself from Vox.

Vox has emerged as a more right-wing alternative to the Popular Party, the former being a strong opponent of separatist movements across the country that have divided its citizens for decades.

Despite the fact that the first far-right government in Spain since the fascist government of General Franco ended in the mid-1970s was considered a real possibility, the PP-Vox coalition has not won enough seats for an absolute majority this time around.

The split results have seen the Catalan separatist party Junts (Together) emerge as Sánchez’s potential kingmaker.

However, there is the possibility that Junts will call for a referendum on the independence of northeastern Catalonia, a cost that Sánchez would probably consider too risky to pay.

Avoiding the threat of the PP and Vox represents a surprise victory for Sánchez, but leaves Spain in uncharted political territory to move forward.