The Socialist party is leading local elections in the Spanish Andaluia region Sunday and may occupy 41-44 seats of the 109-seat parliament, official TV said, citing exit polls.
The conservative People' party is losing ground and might settle with 32 or 35 seats, the polls showed.
Podemos party, which has been campaigning against austerity, is emerging strong and might occupy up to 22 seats, while the Cuidadanos might settle for six or seven seats.
The People's Party won the 2012 elections and occupied 50 seats. The socialists trailed with 47 seats.
Some 6.5 million people, or 20 percent of Spanish voters, headed to polling stations in Andalusia's eight provinces earlier today, and the turnout was registered at 58 percent.
Today's elections are considered a tough test for the ruling party, which is losing ground, and the recently emerging anti-austerity measures Podemos and Ciudadanos parties.
The Andalusian election is the first of three local votes leading up to a year-end national election that will measure voters' sentiment and electoral preferences.