Leftist block digs out advantage as 95% votes are counted in Spain

The leftist political bloc in Spain held the advantage over its rightist rivals in Sunday's national election, according to a tally of results from the interior ministry with 95 percent of votes counted.

The Socialists of outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez led with 123 seats in the 350-seat parliament with the far-left Unidas Podemos on 42, leaving the two parties combined 11 seats short of a majority.

The right-wing mainstream conservative PP party was pegged at just 65 seats, with centre-right Ciudadanos on 57 and far-right Vox on 24.