MADRID (Sputnik) — During Wednesday's first round of voting, 170 members of parliament, mainly from Rajoy's People's Party and the Citizens party, voted for, while 180, mainly from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the left-wing Podemos and regional parties from the Basque Country and Catalonia were against. Rajoy thus failed to clear the necessary 176 mark and faced a second round of voting on Friday.
Friday's results were identical to the first round, with 170 votes for and 180 against.
"Spain urgently needs a government which can deal with the most imminent challenges. We are facing an unprecedented situation," Rajoy said after the vote, accusing the Socialists of undermining the formation of a coalition government.
Coalition talks will now resume and Spain could face the third consecutive elections this year if they fail.
