Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government announced the steps after Spain warned the European Union of a cyber campaign of "disinformation and manipulation". Polls close at  1900 GMT on Thursday, with partial results expected one hour later. With electronic counting banned, polling stations will inform a private firm tasked by the central government of their individual manual count by phone. The firm will announce results as they come in, and it is estimated that by around  2100 GMT,  some 80 percent of the votes will have been counted, giving a clear indication of the winner. The government's official count will begin on December 24, with final results to be announced within three days.