On Thursday August 17, Spanish MPs elected Socialist Francina Armengol as President of the Lower House.
The former president of the Balearic Islands won by an absolute majority with 178 votes, while Popular Party candidate Cuca Gamarra received just 137 votes.
Armengol is known for her pro-Polisario stance. She was one of the few senior PSOE figures to openly oppose Pedro Sanchez’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara, announced on March 18, 2022.
Armengol’s election by an absolute majority as President of the Lower House brings Pedro Sanchez one step closer to a second term at the head of a left-wing coalition government, with the far-left Sumar movement as his partner and the support of Catalan and Basque formations.