seats, and with 98% of the votes counted at 4 am it was awarded the decisive 176th seat. Earlier in the night, the party's Secretary for Organization Txiki Benegas, Deputy Prime Minister Alfonso Guerra and González himself had commented that, notwithstanding the final outcome, the PSOE still remained the largest party by far and would lead the new government on its own, rejecting any coalition deal. The tight result could not hide the loss of nearly 800,000 voters and a clear erosion in support since 1986, which led opposition parties and some international media—such as the Financial Times, The Independent or The Times—to ask González for a change of direction in government, accusing him of acting "arrogantly" during his previous seven years in office. PP candidate José María Aznar found his party's results as "satisfactory", slightly improving on Fraga's result in 1986. Additionally, the PP had won the election in Madrid for the first time ever, considered as a symbolical feat as both Aznar and González were personally leading their parties's lists in the constituency. IU experienced a remarkable growth by doubling its 1986 results, with its leaders highlighting "the electorate's displacement to the left". On the other hand, the CDS lost votes and seats compared to 1986 and its result was commented as "not the one I expected for" by party leader Adolfo Suárez, who also acknowledged his public image had "deteriorated" in recent times. The breakdown of results would show a noticeable transfer of votes from the PSOE to IU in industrial and urban areas, with the Socialists holding their own in rural constituencies. Irregularities and judicial intervention During the days after the election, the 176th seat determining the PSOE's absolute majority remained in dispute. PP leaders voiced their concerns over a delay in the Ministry of the Interior's presentation of detailed results during the election night, during which the PSOE was awarded several seats by very few votes in the later stages of the vote tally; seats which ultimately proved decisive for the PSOE retaining its majority. In Barcelona, the PP claimed that its own tallies awarded the PSC–PSOE up to 5,000 votes less than those officially acknowledged by the Ministry, which would have resulted in them winning a 4th seat in the province from the PSC. Additionally, they alleged that this seat had changed hands from the PP to the PSC only when 99.98% of the