Spanish Parliament To Vote Thursday On Sanchez Coalition: Official

Madrid, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 14th Nov, 2023) The Spanish parliament will vote Thursday to confirm the new government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who is assured of a majority after securing the support of Catalan separatists.

Parliamentary debate will begin Wednesday at 1100 GMT with a vote of confidence expected Thursday, said lower house president Francina Armengol.

In exchange for the votes of the Catalan separatist parties, Sanchez agreed to a controversial amnesty for those involved in a failed 2017 secession attempt.

With the support of the far left, with whom he has ruled for the past three years, as well as parties representing Basques, Catalans and the Canary Islands, Sanchez can expect to receive 179 votes, with 176 needed for a majority.

Sanchez’s Socialists came second in legislative elections July 23 but Alberto Nunez Feijoo, head of the Popular Party, which came first, was unable to cobble together a working majority in parliament, leaving the door open to Sanchez to try.

Last Thursday he secured the support of seven deputies from the movement of Catalan independence leader Carles Puigdemont.

The amnesty plan, which has severely split Spanish public opinion and prompted hundreds of thousands of people to rally against it across the country Sunday, was tabled in parliament Monday.

Its objective is to “heal the wounds and resolve the political conflict” in Catalonia, the minister of the presidency Felix Bolanos told a press conference, adding that he wanted a vote on the bill “as quickly as possible”.

One of the consequences, once adopted, will be the lifting of arrest warrants including against Puigdemont, who could then return to Spain after six years in exile in Belgium.

“This bill is impeccable from a constitutional point of view,” Bolanos said, adding he wanted to reassure Spaniards about the measure.

“People who had concerns” can “look to the future with optimism,” he said.