Newcomer parties set for poll gains

About 12m voters will decide whom to support only at the very last minute

Spaniards voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election in which newcomer parties are expected to make big gains against the once-dominant conservatives and Socialists, ushering in a new and potentially volatile era of compromise politics.

With many people saying they want to shake up a political system they consider corrupt and unable to resolve Spain's economic woes, the outcome is the most uncertain in decades.