A motion of no confidence has been passed in Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy following a corruption scandal.

It passed by 180 votes to 169 with one abstention.

He is the first Spanish prime minister to lose such a vote since Spain transitioned to democracy in 1977.

Deputies were asked individually in the lower house of parliament, the Congress of Deputies, whether or not they supported the motion on Friday morning.

This was done in an individual roll-call of deputies.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, bottom right, waves as members of his party applaud him during the second day of a motion of no confidence session at the Spanish parliament in Madrid | Image: Francisco Seco/AP/Press Association Images

This means Pedro Sánchez, the leader of the opposition PSOE party, is the new prime minister.

Mr Sanchez (46) is expected to take office by Monday, after King Felipe VI swears him in.

He is also expected to appoint his cabinet next week.

Mr Sanchez has already committed to respecting a budget passed by Mr Rajoy.

He has also promised to start talks with the Catalans over their bid for independence, but said he will not give them another referendum.

His party has a narrow majority in the 350-seat lower house.

Pedro Sánchez smiles at the start of the second day of a motion of no confidence session at the Spanish parliament in Madrid | Image: Francisco Seco/AP/Press Association Images

Mr Rajoy told the Spanish parliament he was proud of his record.

"It has been an honour to leave Spain better than I found it. Thank you to all Spaniards and good luck," he said.

The vote of no-confidence came after 29 former members of his conservative Popular Party were convicted of corruption last week.

The Spanish National Court found bribes were offered to former officials in exchange for public contracts.

The party also received a fine as a beneficiary of the kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. </s> Spanish lawmakers on Wednesday reaffirmed their confidence in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as they voted down a no-confidence motion brought by the anti-austerity Podemos party.

MADRID: Spanish lawmakers on Wednesday voted down a no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy brought by the anti-austerity Podemos party.

The motion had not been expected to garner the majority of votes needed to oust Rajoy given the Socialists had said they would abstain and the liberal Ciudadanos and other smaller regional parties had said they would vote against the proposal.

But the move from Podemos was primarily aimed at portraying the party as leader of the opposition to the centre-right government at a time when the Socialists have just picked a new leader and are struggling with falling support, analysts say.

"We are on the right track to build up an alternative majority," Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias said after the vote.

"Today, we are one step closer to removing the People's Party from the institutions."

The motion was rejected with 170 votes against, 82 votes for and 97 abstentions, roughly in line with the breakdown when Rajoy was voted in as prime minister last year, showing there has been no change in the balance of power in parliament.

Rajoy, who has secured support for the budget and obtained as a result at least two years of stability, said he was satisfied with the outcome of the vote.

"It has been rejected by a wide majority and this means we will be able to keep working," he told journalists. </s> The Latest on moves to oust Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (all times local):

Mariano Rajoy has told the Spanish parliament that he is proud of his record as prime minister in brief remarks ahead of a no-confidence vote that appears set to give the power to the opposition Socialists.

Rajoy told lawmakers on Friday: "It has been a honor to leave Spain better than I found it. Thank you to all Spaniards and good luck."

Rajoy's likely removal follows corruption convictions last week involving former members of his conservative Popular Party.

Backed by a narrow majority in the 350-seat lower house, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez appears set to become prime minister-designate. The final vote has been called for 0900 GMT.

Socialist opposition leader Pedro Sanchez is on the brink of ending Mariano Rajoy's more than six-year reign as Spanish prime minister in what would be the first ouster of a serving leader by parliament in four decades of democracy.

Barring last-minute surprises, a no-confidence vote that would oust Rajoy and make Sanchez prime minister-designate is expected to pass by a narrow majority in parliament's 350-seat lower house.

Rajoy's likely removal follows corruption convictions last week involving former members of his conservative Popular Party.

The prime minister wasn't in the Congress of Deputies on Friday morning when the debate resumed on the motion ahead of a final vote. He didn't attend Thursday afternoon either, going instead to a central Madrid restaurant with some members of his cabinet. </s> Spain’s parliament on Friday ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party’s corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over.

An absolute majority of 180 lawmakers voted for the motion to loud applause and shouts of “Yes we can,” converting Rajoy into the first prime minister to be ousted by such a vote since Spain transitioned to democracy in 1977.

The bespectacled 63-year-old leader got up and shook hands with Sanchez before leaving the lower house without a word.

Rajoy had already admitted defeat minutes before the vote, knowing that an absolute majority of lawmakers as diverse as Catalan separatists and Basque nationalists had pledged their support for the no-confidence motion.

“It’s been an honour — there is none bigger — to have been Spain’s prime minister,” he told parliament, with lawmakers from his conservative Popular Party (PP) giving him a standing ovation.

Sanchez, Spain’s 46-year-old opposition leader, had instigated the no-confidence motion last week after a court revealed details of a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999-2005.

After years of anger over the scandals tainting the PP, corruption finally got the better of the party and sealed Rajoy’s downfall.

“Today we are signing a new page in the history of democracy in our country,” Sanchez told parliament prior to the vote.

But PP lawmaker Rafael Hernando told him he would be entering the prime minister’s office “through the back door” after failing to win 2015 and 2016 general elections.

“For the first time we may get a prime minister who didn’t win elections,” he retorted.

In order to push through the no-confidence motion, the Socialists, who hold just 84 of the parliament’s 350 seats, had to cosy up to parties they had previously clashed with, like Catalan separatists and the anti-establishment Podemos.

As such, even if he has pledged to govern long enough to restore “institutional stability” before calling early elections, Sanchez‘s new government will likely be highly unstable.

Podemos has already asked to be part of his new government.

Aitor Esteban of the Basque PNV nationalist party, whose support proved decisive for the motion’s success, on Thursday warned that such a minority government would be “weak and difficult, complicated.”

“This is going to be a constant bing, bang, boom.”

Although Rajoy survived a similar no-confidence vote last year, Friday’s ballot draws a line under his rollercoaster time in office which began in 2011 and saw him implementing drastic spending cuts before winning re-election in 2015 and 2016.

Despite winning the last two votes, he lacked the absolute majority of his first term.

He put Spain back onto the path of growth after a devastating economic crisis although unemployment remains sky-high, jobs precarious and many complain inequalities have risen.

But his term in office was also marred by a series of corruption scandals involving former PP members.

Last week the National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to a total of 351 years in jail.

It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.

Rajoy became Spain’s first sitting prime minister to give evidence at trial when he was called as a witness last year.

In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony “should be questioned”.

During Thursday’s pre-vote debate, Rajoy said the corruption case “does not concern members of the government” and repeated the party’s argument that only a tiny number of its politicians have been tainted by corruption.

He also hit back by listing the many graft cases involving the Socialists over the years.

“Are you Mother Teresa of Calcutta? With what moral authority do you speak?” he told Sanchez. </s> Tomorrow, a no-confidence vote could be held in the Spanish Parliament. The present situation is such that it appears that the sitting Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, could end up losing that vote, as the socialist contender, Pedro Sanchez, is already staring down the barrel of an absolute majority in backing from the members of the parliament. The absolute majority victory of 176 votes would allow Sanchez to immediately assume power, while he is presently expected to see better results than that.

Should Rajoy lose this vote, as is expected, then he would become the first Spanish Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote. With two pro-independence parties supporting Sanchez, his victory in the parliamentary vote would put him in a position to be able to conduct constructive dialogue with the Catalonian secessionists. Between the Catalonian secession movement and the economic crisis that has gripped the Southern European nation, Rajoy’s record of failure to bring a viable solution to these issues has brought a lack of confidence in his leadership abilities, not less than issues of corruption.

The Basque Nationalist Party will vote against Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence motion, Cadena Ser radio and La Sexta television said on Thursday, in a move that would almost certainly force him from office. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez needs an absolute majority of 176 votes to become Spain’s new Prime Minister, and information from various parties suggested he had now secured 180. Rajoy’s departure would trigger a second political crisis in southern Europe, further unnerving financial markets already wrongfooted by failed attempts to form a government in Italy three months after a national election. It was not clear if Rajoy could resign before the vote takes place on Friday to avoid the humiliation of becoming the first Spanish Prime Minister to lose a no-confidence vote. Rajoy did not attend the afternoon session of the debate on Thursday. If he did, the motion would automatically become groundless and the government of the People’s Party would go into caretaker mode until a new prime minister is sworn in, something which could take several weeks or months. If the vote did go ahead and Rajoy lost it, then Sanchez would immediately become Prime Minister.

This change of government in yet another Southern European nation is taking place almost simultaneously with the changes that are occurring in Italy, where, after three months, a Prime Minister has managed to take office with his delegation of ministers to head the country’s government. Earlier in the week, the sitting President vetoed the incoming Prime Minister’s ministerial lineup, largely over the nominated Minister of Finance, who was of a disposition hostile to the Eurozone and the common currency, thereby stoking fears that Italy could exit the common currency under such a government. Today, however, Giuseppe Conte successfully brought his revamped line up to their posts, ending months of uncertainty surrounding the political position of Italy and its participation in the bloc.

Donate Gift €20 or more and we'll send you our super awesome mug absolutely FREE! Your donations allow us to hire more writers and broaden our reach to those seeking the truth. Will you help expose the lies of the mainstream media? As a reader of The Duran, you are well aware of all the propaganda and disinformation reported by the mainstream media. You know how important it is to bring real news to light. Please support The Duran and help us keep reporting on news that is fair, balanced, and real. </s> Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is poised to be ousted from office after a Basque party on Thursday gave its decisive support to a no-confidence motion over a corruption case, making it all but certain to succeed.

Bar any last minute u-turns, this will be the first time since Spain transitioned back to democracy after the 1975 death of Francisco Franco that a prime minister is toppled by a vote of no-confidence.

In parliament, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) said its five lawmakers would vote against Rajoy, who was conspicuously absent from the lower house, with just a bag placed on his seat, after earlier launching a staunch defence against the motion scheduled for Friday.

This gives the main opposition Socialist party, which filed the motion, the absolute majority of 176 votes needed for it to pass.

It will also put paid to the 63-year-old’s rollercoaster time as prime minister that saw him come to power in 2011 and implement drastic spending cuts before winning elections again in 2015 and 2016, though without the absolute majority he had in his first term.

He put Spain back onto the path of growth after a devastating economic crisis although unemployment remains sky-high, jobs precarious and many complain inequalities have risen.

His term in office was also marked by a series of corruption scandals involving former members of his Popular Party (PP).

That prompted the no-confidence motion, which was filed last week after a court said it had uncovered a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999 and 2005.

The National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to jail. It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.

Rajoy became Spain’s first sitting prime minister to give evidence in a trial when he was called as a witness last year, prompting calls for him to resign.

In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony “should be questioned”.

Earlier on Thursday, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez demanded Rajoy step down, arguing he had lost credibility after the court ruling, though the PP’s number two Maria Dolores de Cospedal later ruled out his resignation before the vote.

“Your isolation, Mr. Rajoy, is the epitaph of a political period, yours, which is over,” the 46-year-old former economics professor said in parliament.

In a bid to secure the PNV’s support, Sanchez vowed to stick to Rajoy’s 2018 budget, which included concessions to the Basque Country and an increase in pensions demanded by the tiny party.

The PNV, which governs the northern Basque Country with the Socialists, gave Rajoy the crucial backing he needed to pass the budget earlier this month.

The Socialists, who hold 84 of the parliament’s 350 seats, also have the support of anti-establishment party Podemos and a string of regional parties, including two Catalan separatist groupings.

“The party is over,” said Joan Baldovi, a representative of tiny regional party Compromis, an ally of Podemos.

Sanchez has pledged to call a fresh election if the motion succeeds but only after governing long enough to restore “institutional stability”.

Bar any change, Rajoy will become the first Spanish premier to lose a no-confidence vote.

There have been three other such votes since Spain returned to democracy following the death of long-time dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, including one against Rajoy last year.

During Thursday’s debate, Rajoy said the corruption case “does not concern members of the government” and repeated the PP’s argument that only a tiny number of its politicians have been tainted by corruption.

“The PP has had corrupt people, I acknowledge it but the PP is not a corrupt party,” he said, before accusing Sanchez of “opportunism at the service of personal ambition”.

Rajoy also hit back by listing the many graft cases involving the Socialists over the years. </s> • The Spanish parliament has forced Mariano Rajoy out of office in a vote of no confidence.
• Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the opposition party, is now the Prime Minister.
• Rajoy’s no-confidence vote came after a court convicted his former aides of running a slush fund for his party’s campaign.
• Rajoy admitted defeat earlier in the day before voting started.

Mariano Rajoy has been ousted as Spain’s prime minister after a parliamentary no-confidence vote forced him out of office.

Out of 350 members of parliament, 180 lawmakers voted in favour of Rajoy’s ouster, 169 voted against, and one abstained.

Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the opposition Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE), is now Spanish Prime Minister. He tweeted on Thursday, ahead of the vote: “I propose a socialist, joint and European government that will comply with the EU and the [Spanish] Constitution.”

Sanchez filed a motion for the vote of no confidence after a court convicted Rajoy’s former aides of running slush funds to help finance election campaigns for his Popular Party. Rajoy has long denied any knowledge of the funds, and said he had not taken any illicit payments.

Rajoy, became prime minister in 2011, admitted defeat before the Spanish parliament began the no-confidence vote on Friday. He told the Spanish parliament:

“It has been an honour to be the president of the Government of Spain, it has been an honour to leave Spain better than what I found. I wish my substitute could say the same when he comes. I wish it for the good of Spain.

“I think I have fulfilled the mandate of the seat, to serve the life of the people. If anyone has felt injured in this House or beyond, I apologise. Thank you all, especially to my party.

Six opposition parties of the parliament’s lower house said on Thursday that they would reject him in the vote.

Rajoy did not attend Thursday’s parliamentary session and was found hiding out with a handful of close advisers in an upscale restaurant for about eight hours.

His removal from Spain’s premiership triggers the second major political crisis in Europe in a week, as Italy finally cobbled together a coalition after a populist election almost brought the country to the brink of chaos. </s> MADRID — The Latest on moves to oust Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (all times local):

Spanish media are reporting that regional Basque nationalist lawmakers will back a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, bringing closer the conservative’s replacement by a Socialist-led government.

The five votes of the Basque Nationalist Party, or PNV, are seen as key for Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez to win the vote in the lower house of the Spanish parliament. An absolute majority of 176 votes are required in the 350-seat chamber.

Spain’s public broadcaster TVE and leading El Pais newspaper quoted unnamed sources from the ruling Popular Party who had been informed by the Basques of their decision.

A PNV spokeswoman told The Associated Press she couldn’t confirm the reports.

Rajoy himself wasn’t in his seat in early Thursday afternoon, when the chamber resumed the no-confidence debate after a lunch break.

Spain’s opposition Socialists have tried to persuade smaller parties to support their bid to oust Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government as they opened a tense parliamentary debate on their no-confidence motion.

Addressing lawmakers, Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez promised Thursday to uphold a recently negotiated national budget that includes substantial benefits for Basque nationalists. Voters from their legislations would allow Sanchez to oust Rajoy.

He urged the prime minister to step down after his ruling Popular Party was fined as beneficiary of a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme

The prime minister fought back. He told lawmakers it made no sense to seek a no-confidence vote based on the graft ruling because the National Court’s verdict “doesn’t include any criminal punishment” for his party.

The Spanish parliament’s lower house is debating whether to end Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s nearly eight years in power and replace him with the leader of the Socialist opposition.

Rajoy refused to resign after his conservative Popular Party was fined as beneficiary of a large kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. In a damaging ruling last week, the court questioned Rajoy’s claim that he and other top officials were unaware of the party’s illegal accounting.

Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez, who is leading the no-confidence vote against Rajoy, would instantly become the country’s prime minister if he wins 176 or more votes in the 350-seat Congress of Deputies on Friday.

His opening speech Thursday proposing an alternative government will be watched by other opposition lawmakers who are still undecided on whether to oust the government. </s> Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has survived a vote of no-confidence brought to parliament by the anti-austerity Podemos party to denounce rampant corruption.

The motion was backed by 82 legislators, with 170 voting against it and 97 abstaining, prompting it to fail on Wednesday.

The vote had not been expected to succeed, but it was brought to parliament by Podemos to put pressure on Rajoy's ruling right-wing Popular Party (PP), which has been hit by a series of corruption scandals.

It was also an occasion for other opposition parties to express their differences in a highly fragmented parliament that has forced Rajoy to head up a minority government following successive inconclusive elections in 2015 and 2016.

"We are on the right track to build up an alternative majority," Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias told Reuters news agency after the vote.

OPINION: The difference between right and left-wing populism

Rajoy said he was satisfied with the outcome of the vote. "It has been rejected by a wide majority and this means we will be able to keep working," he told journalists.

The vote followed a 16-hour debate in which Rajoy faced off against Iglesias, who was proposed as an alternative candidate for prime minister, but lacked sufficient support in the lower house.

Rajoy defended his government's record in creating jobs and boosting growth that has lifted Spain's economy out of recession.

Iglesias and his supporters highlighted graft investigations into the funding of the ruling party. Iglesias said Rajoy would be remembered as "the president of corruption".

Rajoy argued there were corruption cases in all parties, but that it was not the norm and no case involved members of his government.

But Rajoy has been dragged into one of the most damaging of the cases, an alleged kickbacks-for-contracts scheme. He is set to testify as a witness in the case on July 26.

Opinion polls regularly show corruption is a major concern in Spain after high unemployment.

Rajoy heads a minority government and his party, with 134 seats, counts on the support of the centrist Ciudadanos party's 32 deputies and several others.

The leading opposition Socialist party, with 84 deputies, is considering presenting its own no-confidence motion, but on Wednesday decided to abstain rather than be seen supporting Iglesias, whom it deems to be an anti-establishment populist.

Podemos emerged in 2013 from grassroots protests that swept across the country during the five-year severe economic recession that ended that year.
The Government of Mariano Rajoy is ousted after a motion of no confidence passes 180–169. Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Workers' Party is sworn in as the new Prime Minister. This is the first time in Spanish history that a vote of no confidence has resulted in a change of government.