SPANISH Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) came first in the country’s general election on Sunday but with fewer seats than in April, leaving a working majority even further out of reach.

The PSOE won 120 of 350 seats, down three, and its favoured coalition partners Unidas Podemos (UP), a socialist alliance including Podemos and the Communist-led United Left, lost seven seats to end up with 35.

The parties of the right and far right made gains — with the conservative Popular Party gaining 22 seats to make 88 and the fascist Vox winning 52, 28 more than in the April election and making it larger than UP for the first time.

Mr Sanchez declared victory and said he would work “to obtain a progressive government,” but it is unclear how he will muster the required 175 seats for a majority. Co-operation with Catalan separatist parties has suffered after Spain’s imposition of lengthy jail terms on many of their leaders.