Pedro Sánchez was inaugurated as head of government with a majority of 179 seats to 171.

On Thursday afternoon, the Spanish Parliament began voting to elect Pedro Sanchez, and in a vote at the speed of light, He voted in favor of his appointment as the new Prime Minister by a majority of 179 seats versus 171 seats.

The voting process was public. Every representative, 350 in number, was summoned and had to vote the answer “Yes, no or no”. Sanchez needs 176 votes in favor to be elected. His agreements with other political formations confirm him around 179.

Vice President of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, celebrated the inauguration of Pedro Sanchez as president.

He said in a post on his account on X, “The yes majority becomes a government. Let’s go for more.”

Diaz confirmed in statements to the media that “in the name of the Spanish government, we will continue to obtain the rights.” In addition, he thanked all the people who made it possible on June 23, “and now we will fulfill our mandate.”

The vote was held on Thursday after almost two days of debate between party leaders that was almost entirely focused In the controversial amnesty agreement for Catalan separatistsThis is what Sanchez accepted in exchange for his decisive support for his re-election as prime minister.

There were no last minute surprises. Sánchez had the support of six small partiesThis allowed him to reach the absolute majority of 176 parliamentarians needed for re-election and form another coalition minority government with the leftist Somare group.

Spain left the inconclusive national elections on 23 July A very divided parliament. Popular Party, centre-rightIt was the most voted But he did not receive enough support in Parliament to form the government because of his alliances with the far-right Vox party.

The Socialists ranked second with 121 seats in the 350-seat assembly, but have now won the support of 179 lawmakers after reaching a series of agreements.

It remains to be seen whether Sanchez You will be able to maintain this support over the next four years.

The amnesty agreement signed by the Socialists led by Sánchez with two Catalan separatist parties, which include 14 parliamentarians, It would relieve hundreds of Catalan independents who were in legal trouble After the illegal attempt to secede from the region in 2017, which sparked the biggest crisis in Spain in several decades.

Amnesty law It will benefit former Catalonia regional president Carles PuigdemontHe is a fugitive from Spanish justice and is considered public enemy number one by many Spaniards.

Despite the inherent contradictions, the Catalan and two other Basque parties announced that they would support Sánchez on Thursday, even though they had informed him of this. It must comply with the economic and political agreements reached with each of them.

The Spanish judicial system criticized the amnesty proposal. The European Union is reviewing it.

The proposal sparked street protests supported by the People’s Party and Vox, Who accuse Sanchez of betraying the nation to remain in power. Protests outside the Socialist Party headquarters in Madrid turned violent last week and again on Wednesday evening.

With information from the vanguard and agencies