Spaniards will cast their ballots Sunday to elect a new Congress and Senate after four years of being governed by socialist Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
Spain's parliament comprises a lower house, the Congress, and an upper house, the Senate.
There are 350 deputies in the Congress who are directly elected for a four-year term. 1,131 candidates will ran for the 350 seats.
In the Senate, 208 members are directly elected for a four-year tenure, and another 56 are appointed by Spain's autonomous regions. 1,235 candidates will compete in the election.
Among the total population of 45.1 million, some 35.1 million Spaniards are eligible to vote, including 1.2 million overseas voters.
Voting at mainland polling stations begins at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) and ends at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT). In the Canary Islands to the west, it begins and ends an hour later.
The initial official results are expected at around 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT).
The newly elected chambers are scheduled to convene on April 3 after King Juan Carlos proposes a candidate for the post of prime minister through consultation with leaders of the main parties.
The southern region of Andalucia is also holding an election for its regional parliament.
During the elections in 2004, the Socialist Party (PSOE), led by current prime minister Zapatero, gained 164 seats in the Congress. While the Popular Party (PP), spearheaded by Mariano Rajoy, won 148.
The Catalan party CiU and Esquerra Republicana seized 10 seats and eight seats, respectively. They were followed by the Basque Nationalist Party with seven and United Left five.
Analysts say that neither the PSOE nor the PP are likely to win an absolute parliamentary majority, and nationalist parties from Catalonia and the Basque Country will play an important role when forming the new government.
Source: Xinhua
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