(CNN) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a snap general election for April 28.

Sánchez made the announcement at a press conference in Madrid on Friday, saying: "I have informed the King. I will dissolve Congress and call for elections for the 28th of April."

The announcement comes two days after his Socialist government suffered a defeat in Parliament after failing to get its 2019 budget passed.

Spain's electorate is also set to vote in a series of local and European elections in May.

A busy electoral year follows on from December 2018 regional elections in the southern province of Andalucia, in which the far-right Vox party unexpectedly won 12 seats. </s> Spain's prime minister on Friday called a snap general election and revealed the date as April 28, paving the way for the beginning of campaigning.

Pedro Sánchez, 46, of the Socialist Party, said he was asking for parliament to dissolve and for the elections to be held one month ahead of regional elections in the country. </s> MADRID, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday called a snap national election for April 28, after losing a key budget vote.

“Between doing nothing and continuing without the budget and calling on Spaniards to have their say, I choose the second. Spain needs to keep advancing, progressing with tolerance, respect, moderation and common sense,” Sanchez said in a televised address to the nation following a cabinet meeting.

“I have proposed to dissolve parliament and call elections for April 28th.” </s> Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday called a snap national election for April 28th, potentially spelling months of uncertainty in the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy, where the political landscape is increasingly fragmented.

Sánchez called the election after parliament voted down his minority government’s budget bill.

“Between doing nothing and continuing without the budget and calling on Spaniards to have their say, I choose the second. Spain needs to keep advancing, progressing with tolerance, respect, moderation and common sense,” Sánchez said in a televised address to the nation following a cabinet meeting.

“I have proposed to dissolve parliament and call elections for April 28th.”

The demise of his socialist government comes after just over eight months in office.

Opinion polls show that no single party would win enough votes to govern on its own, with possible coalition scenarios pointing to lengthy negotiations between three or more parties - potentially including the far-right Vox.

Sánchez took office in June and had since been leading a government that depended on the votes of small regional parties to pass legislation.

He was thrown against the ropes this week when Catalan nationalist parties, at a time of heightened tension over an independence drive by their region, deserted to help defeat the fiscal bill.

Sánchez’s socialists are leading in polls, with estimates from the last few months averaging at 24 per cent, according to a poll of polls by daily El Pais.

But the conservative’s People Party (PP) and centre-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) would not be far behind and could theoretically form a coalition with Vox, as they did in the Andalusia region in December.

But Ciudadanos might baulk at teaming up with the far-right nationally, preferring instead a three-way alliance with the Socialists and anti-austerity Podemos.

Markets were little changed after Sánchez’s announcement.

Bond markets analysts have said any political impact on sentiment should be short lived given the country’s decent macro-economic outlook. – Reuters </s> Pedro Sánchez has led a fragile minority government since becoming prime minister in June CHEMA MOYA/EPA

Spain will go to the polls in April for its third general election in four years after its Socialist government failed to pass the national budget this week.

Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister who came to power only eight months ago, announced the snap election today for April 28.

“Between two options — not doing anything and continuing without a budget or giving Spaniards their say — I choose the second,” he said. “Spain needs to keep advancing, progressing with tolerance, respect, moderation and common sense.”

Mr Sánchez, 46, has led a fragile minority government since becoming prime minister in June, with the Socialists holding only 84 of the 350 seats in parliament. His party relied on the support of Basque and Catalan nationalist parties… </s> MADRID — Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain on Friday called for a snap general election in April, opening a new chapter of national turmoil as the territorial conflict over Catalonia continues to weigh on the country’s politics.

The announcement from Mr. Sánchez came two days after his minority Socialist government suffered a major defeat in Parliament, when opposition lawmakers banded together with Mr. Sánchez’s erstwhile Catalan allies to reject his budget plan.

Mr. Sánchez unexpectedly took office in June, but he was in a weakened state from the start because his Socialist Party held less than one quarter of the seats in Parliament.

His ascension was more a reflection of frustration with his predecessor, Mariano Rajoy, than an endorsement of his Socialists. </s> MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s socialist leader Pedro Sanchez on Friday said it would call a snap election if his party was to win the no confidence vote it put forward against Prime Minister Mariano over a graft case involving members of his People’s Party.

“Our motion of confidence has been put forward to form a socialist government and recover political and institutional normality. But we would then call snap elections as soon as possible,” Sanchez told a news conference. </s> Spain will hold its third general elections in four years on Sunday amid an atmosphere of indecision and rise of the far right.

Polls suggest that around 40% of the electorate was undecided just a week before the national vote.

Since 2015, when Spain’s predominantly two-party political system came to an end, the country has had major difficulties forming a government. In the 2015 elections, two new parties broke onto Spain’s political landscape – the far left Podemos Party and center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) Party. Prior to that, Spanish politics had been dominated by the Popular Party and the Socialist Party. However, issues including corruption, the economic crisis and the growing Catalan separatist movement gave rise to the new political parties.

Their entry into Spanish politics resulted in a Parliament so fragmented that politicians were unable to elect a government. As a result of the political deadlock, general elections were held in 2016. In 2016, the results of the national election were similarly inconclusive. However, after nearly 10 months with only a caretaker government, Spain’s parliament managed to elect the Popular Party, led by Mariano Rajoy, as the governing party.

Yet, with support from less than half of the Spanish Parliament, the government was toppled in 2018 by a motion of no confidence submitted by the Socialist Party. That is when Pedro Sanchez, the current frontrunner for Sunday’s elections, became Spain’s prime minister.

While Sanchez was able to pass some legislation including a 22% hike in minimum wage, he was unable to pass the 2019 budget and called another round of national elections in the hopes of improving Spain’s governability.

Although the latest polls show the largest voting bloc is undecided, they suggest that the Socialist Party is in the lead, followed by the conservative Popular Party, Citizens, Podemos and Vox. </s> Madrid: Spain’s parliament suspended on Friday the mandates of four Catalan lawmakers who were elected while in custody and on trial over their role in the failed 2017 separatist bid.

 The expected move could reduce the threshold of an absolute majority that acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez needs in the congress, or lower house, to be sworn in for a second term.

 His Socialists came top in a general election last month but failed to secure a majority in the assembly.

 However, if the four lawmakers cede their seats to replacements, Sanchez would once again need the help of Catalan separatist parties to be sworn in during an investiture vote expected in the first week of July. The mandates of Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull and Jordi Sanchez were automatically suspended because they are being held in custody while on trial in the Supreme Court, parliament speaker Meritxell Batet told a news conference. She said she had asked for a report to clarify what the threshold for an absolute majority will be in this case.

 The four men have been charged with rebellion for organising a banned independence referendum which was followed by a short-lived declaration of independence, sparking Spain’s worst political crisis in decades.

 The first three have also been charged with embezzlement of public money to stage the referendum, which was marred by a violent police crackdown.

 Catalan senator Raul Romeva, who is also on trial for rebellion and embezzlement, was expected to be suspended later by the Senate, parliament’s upper house. — AFP
Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez calls for a snap general election on 28 April and will dissolve the Cortes Generales on 5 March after failing to approve a government budget.