The conservative People’s Party (PP) of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy topped Spain’s general election but fell well short of an absolute majority amid a surge in support for anti-establishment parties. Despite garnering the most votes, the center-right People’s Party (PP) had its worst result ever in a general election as Spaniards angered by high-level corruption cases and soaring unemployment turned away from the party in droves.

With 99% of votes counted, Rajoy’s party was seen winning 122 seats in the 350-strong parliament, well below the 186 it now holds – and 54 short of the 176 seats needed for an absolute majority. The opposition Socialists came second with 91 seats, trailed by newcomer parties Podemos and Ciudadanos, which took third and fourth places respectively. Anti-austerity Podemos was credited with 69 seats, while the more business-friendly Ciudadanos took 40, bringing Spain’s traditional two-party system to an emphatic end.

In Spain, the fragmented vote heralded a new era of pact-making, shattering a two-party system that has dominated Spain since the 1970s and casting a pall over an economic reform program that has helped pull the country out of recession.