Election officials begin counting votes in Madrid after polls closed in an election where the right was expected to make a comeback. The vote took place just three weeks after Spain took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, and the expected shift to the right would deal a fresh blow to the European left. Polls closed at 1800 GMT and although Spain does not publish exit polls, figures from a last-minute Sigma Dos poll taken in the days before the vote, suggested Alberto Nunez Feijoo's PP would win 145-150 seats, falling short of the 176-seat absolute majority required to govern alone. IMAGES