Updated

A poll shows three parties are evenly matched three weeks ahead of the general election that will determine who governs Spain for the next four years.

The survey by private pollster Metroscopia — published Sunday by newspaper El Pais — shows the ruling conservative Popular Party has the support of 22.7 percent voters ahead of the Dec. 20 election against 22.6 percent for the centrist newcomer Ciudadanos (Citizens) party and 22.5 percent for the main opposition Socialist Party.

The radical leftist Podemos (We Can) party, led by pony-tailed professor Pablo Iglesias, lags behind the others, obtaining 17.1 percent of the vote in the poll.

Metroscopia says the poll quizzed 1,200 adults in a Nov. 23-25 survey and has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.