Spain's PM Rajoy Seeks Congress' Approval to Rule, Again

The president of Spain’s Congress, Ana Pastor, announced on Thursday a new debate to analyze the nomination of Mariano Rajoy to be the country's next prime minister.

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The first vote will take place on August 31 and will require an absolute majority of 176 lawmakers. The second voting round will be on September 2, and Rajoy would only need a simple majority to be voted in as the new head of the government.

Ciudadanos party leader Albert Rivera said on Thursday that Rajoy had accepted all the conditions imposed by his political group to form an alliance to help Spain achieve a ruling coalition.

Before this last election, acting Prime Minister Rajoy from the conservative Popular Party had met with Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist PSOE, which had finished second, hoping to build a coalition government.

Both leaders failed to reach an agreement to form a government, leaving the country in a political deadlock and forcing a second election for the first time in Spain’s history.

If Rajoy fails to win enough votes this time around, Spain's King Philip VI would have two months to call for new elections for a third time, which would be held on Dec. 25.