Pedro Sanchez received 167 yes votes to 165 no votes (Credit: AP)
Spanish Socialist Worker's Party (PSOE) leader Pedro Sanchez on Tuesday secured parliament's backing to form a government, putting an end to the country's almost a year-long political deadlock.
Sanchez, is congratulated by Spanish conservative People's Party (PP) leader, Pablo Casado, left, after winning the parliamentary vote. (Credit: AFP/Pierre-Philippe Marcou)
Amid tensions, the Spanish parliament has confirmed that Sánchez as head of the Spanish government in a very tight vote. In the first attempt to get parliament's backing on Sunday, Sánchez needed an absolute majority of 176 to become prime minister. He didn't get it.
Today, Sánchez only need a simple majority. He received 167 yes votes to 165 no votes. He has been backed by small regional groups. During the plenary, lawmakers have accused each other of succumbing to pressure to change their vote at the last minute.
The Socialist Party secured the abstentions of the 13 lawmakers from Esquerra Republicana, a Catalan pro-independence party. In return, Sánchez promised to start "political talks" with the regional Catalan government to try to solve conflict in the area.
Sanchez will govern in coalition with the left-wing party Podemos. This will the first coalition government in the country's recent democratic history.