Spain's rural regions become fierce battleground for votes

Spanish politicians are swapping campaign buses for tractors, buddying up with hunters and inspecting home-grown tomatoes in Spains often-neglected rural regions as they hunt for votes in Sundays general election, one of the countrys most polarized votes in decades.

The ballot comes as Spains traditional bipartisan political landscape — which used to revolve around the left-wing Socialists and the conservative Popular Party — has fractured into five main political parties, including a far-right populist newcomer. That has spurred a race for votes in Spains overrepresented hinterland, where nearly one-third of the seats in parliaments lower house are up for grabs.

Spains electoral rules grant a bigger say in parliaments lower house to provinces with shrinking populations. A few thousand votes in these areas can swing a win for one party or another, turning the every vote counts cliché into a reality for candidates far from the big cities.