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Spain may faces third general election

Xinhua, September 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Spain faces a third general election after acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy failed to gain enough support on Wednesday in the investiture.

The People's Party (PP) leader Rajoy obtained 170 votes in favor and 180 against after 11 hours of debate at the Spanish Congress of Deputies. He needed an absolute majority in this first attempt, the support of 176 members of the Congress of Deputies.

Rajoy had the support of centre-right party Ciudadanos (32 seats) and regional party Coalicion Canaria (one seat) while on the other hand, another six political parties voted against, including the main opposition party, Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE), whose leader Pedro Sanchez had already announced his opposition to a government led by Rajoy.

Left wing Unidos Podemos (71 seats) and regional parties ERC (nine seats), PDC (eight seats), PNV (five seats), EH Bildu (two seats) voted against.

Members of the Congress of Deputies will meet again on Friday in order to vote again when Rajoy would need absolute majority or the abstention of 11 deputies. If he has not got enough support, Spanish King Felipe VI could start another round of meetings in order to choose another candidate.

If it is impossible to form government, Spain would hold general election for the third time in a row which is scheduled for Dec. 25.

Rajoy had asked the Socialists for abstention but Sanchez has always said that his party would vote against Rajoy.

"You will be responsible for forcing Spain to hold a third general election," Rajoy said to Sanchez during the debate.

He reminded the leader of the Socialists that the PP had won the elections twice (in 2015 and 2016) with more votes and seats than the PSOE, which had the worst results in history.

Meanwhile, Sanchez said that "nobody can ask us to support what we want to change", assuring that his party votes against because of "coherence, commitment and for the sake of our country".

He said Rajoy had not got enough support because of "a lack of credibility and the policies implemented" over the last four years.

Pablo Iglesias, from Podemos, thanked Sanchez for not supporting Rajoy and encouraged him to say whether he wanted a third general election or forming an alternative government without Rajoy.

Spain held general election for the second time in six months last June after December, 2015. The results left a hung parliament with political parties unable to reach agreement in order to form government. Endit