Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced that Spain will go to the polls on 29 November following a failure of his minority governing coalition to pass key housing reforms in the Spanish Congress.
Sánchez now faces an uphill battle for re‑election, with polls indicating the Socialist Party trails the conservative People’s Party – and the stiff competition from a coalition with the far‑right Vox that many analysts expect to form a government.
In his televised statement, Sánchez warned of an "extreme‑right wave" that has appeared in other countries and urged Spain to remain a global exemplar of "peace, feminism and prosperity."
BBC correspondent Guy Hedgecoe reports.
Follow the BBC’s live coverage following Sanchez’s announcement.
