Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday announced an early general election for April 28.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez waits for his Luxembourger counterpart ahead of a meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid on February 14, 2019. [Photo: AFP/Gabriel Bouys]

The Socialist Party leader Sanchez made the announcement in a statement to the press from his official residence in the Palacio de la Moncloa in Madrid, less than 48 hours after his government's proposals for the 2019 budget were defeated in parliament.

"After talking with my ministers in a cabinet meeting, I propose dissolving parliament" in early March, read the statement, adding that King Felipe VI has been informed of the decision.