Spain's Pedro Sanchez secures another term, ending four-month deadlock

Madrid: Spain's lower house of parliament on Thursday voted to make Pedro Sanchez prime minister for another term, ending a protracted deadlock after an inconclusive general election in July.

His Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) had reached separate deals with a number of regional parties to earn their backing, including a contentious bill on amnesty for Catalan separatists that has sparked protests across Spain.

Sanchez's bid garnered 179 votes in favour and 171 against, with no abstentions. The "nays" stemmed from the conservative People's Party, the far-right Vox and the People's Union of Navarre's lone lawmaker.

PSOE's hard-left ally Sumar, Catalan pro-independence parties Junts and ERC, Basque parties PNV and EH Bildu, Galicia's BNG and the Canary Coalition all voted for Sanchez, who has governed Spain since 2018.

Many Spaniards are angered by the amnesty bill, which would exculpate politicians and activists who took part in an attempt to separate Catalonia from Spain that reached its apex in 2017. The bill was registered in parliament on Monday.

As the vote was completed, protesters outside parliament shook barricades erected by police and shouted their dissent.

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, whose PP won the most seats in the July vote, walked across the chamber to shake Sanchez's hand as leftist lawmakers applauded and cheered, while Vox party leader Santiago Abascal walked out.

Feijoo, who accused Sanchez of undermining the rule of law over the amnesty, on Wednesday called for mass protests on Saturday Nov. 18.

The European People’s Party (EPP) said on Thursday that the European Parliament had approved its request for a debate next week on whether the amnesty threatens judicial independence in Spain.