Spain has suffered its most fragmented and polarised election result since returning to democracy in the late 1970s after holding its fourth general election in four years last weekend.

The leader of Spain’s pro-market Ciudadanos party resigned after seeing its vote share crumble, while the hard-Right Vox party doubled its seat tally in Spain’s 350-seat legislature, emerging as a major force on the Right of Spanish politics.

The collapse of the centre in Spain’s political landscape was confirmed by the rise of anti-immigrant Vox that won 52 seats, stealing the thunder in an election nominally won by the Socialist (PSOE) with 120 seats - the lowest-ever total for a winning party.

Ciudadanos, which describes itself as Spain’s only centrist party, lost all but 10 of the 57 seats forcing its leader Albert Rivera to resign, warning his country not to succumb to the allure of extremism.

“It’s a bad result – no sugaring the pill or excuses,” Mr Rivera said while urging Spain’s mainstream parties to work together and “never allow Spaniards to be divided into reds and blues” - in reference to the country’s turbulent past.