OREANDA-NEWS. The Congress of Deputies of the Spanish parliament approved the candidacy of the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, Pedro Sanchez, for the post of Prime Minister.

In the first round of voting, which took place on January 5, Sanchez failed to secure the support of the absolute majority of deputies (minimum 176 out of 350). For approval in the second round, the politician needed a simple majority of votes. He was supported by 167 deputies, 165 voted nay, 18 abstained from voting.

The early elections were organized after the failure of all attempts of the Socialist Workers’ Party to form a stable government. During the campaign, the parties focused on topics that split the country: Francoism and Catalonia. According to public opinion polls, no one managed to achieve a decisive advantage.