Spain’s conservative opposition Popular Party (PP) is ahead of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s ruling Socialists (PSOE) but still lacks a decisive majority ahead of this month’s general election, according to two opinion polls published on Saturday by Reuters, News. ro quotes.

Pedro SanchezPhoto: Office of the President of Ukraine / DPA / Profimedia

To win an absolute majority of the 350 seats in the lower house of parliament needed to form a government after the July 23 election, the PP will almost certainly have to unite with the far-right Vox party, according to opinion polls.

A poll by GAD3 for the right-wing ABC newspaper showed the PP could win 37.2% of the vote, or 152 seats, compared to the PSOE’s 28.5% of the vote and 115 seats.

According to the poll, the PP will win more votes than the PSOE and the far-left Sumar party combined.

Sumar would get 25 seats or 11.4% of the vote, while Vox would get 11.7% of the vote or 29 seats.

According to the poll, which polled 6,501 people by phone between June 29 and July 14, that would give PP and Vox a combined margin of just over 176 seats needed for an outright majority.

The margin of error of the poll was 1.2%.

Sánchez called snap elections after the left’s poor showing in regional elections in May

Meanwhile, the PP’s vote share fell slightly, according to a 40dB poll for El Pais, a center-left newspaper.

The PP will get 32% of the vote or 133 seats, down one place from the previous poll published on Friday, while the PSOE will get 28.3% of the vote or 109 seats, unchanged from previous polls.

Vox’s share of the vote will remain unchanged at 14.6% or 39 seats, while Sumar will get 13.8% of the vote or 38 seats, five more than the poll published on Friday.

The poll for El Pais included telephone interviews with 2,000 people between July 10 and 14, with a margin of error of 2.2%.

Elections were due in December, but Sánchez called snap elections after the left failed to deliver in May’s regional elections, apparently hoping to catch the PP in the wrong place and force it into the campaign while it negotiates an equally awkward coalition after local election agreement with Vox.