According to an opinion poll published on Sunday, the conservative People's Party (PP) in Spain has extended its lead over the ruling Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) ahead of the upcoming

election. However, the PP would still require the support of the far-right Vox party to form a government.

The poll, conducted by Ipsos for La Vanguardia newspaper from July 3 to July 6, surveyed 2,000 individuals. It indicated that the opposition PP holds 35% of the votes, while the PSOE stands at 28%.

The far-left Sumar party is projected to win 13%, slightly ahead of Vox with 12.6%. These results come ahead of the scheduled election on July 23.

Based on the voting projections, the PP would secure between 138 and 147 seats in the 350-member lower house, while the PSOE would secure between 102 and 112 seats.

Vox, which is the PP's most likely coalition partner, would win between 32 and 39 seats. Sumar is projected to secure between 31 and 39 seats.

If the poll's predictions hold true, a right-wing coalition between the PP and Vox could secure up to 180 seats, granting them an absolute majority.

Alternatively, the PP and Vox together could secure up to 170 seats, surpassing a left-wing alliance between the PSOE and Sumar, which the poll projected to win no more than 150 seats.

The national election was called by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Party following a poor performance in regional elections held in May.

All previous polls have consistently indicated that the PP would emerge as the party with the highest number of votes in the upcoming election. Photo by Emnamizouni, Wikimedia commons.