Meritxell Batet From Socialists' Party Of Catalonia Elected As Head Of Spanish Lower House

Meritxell Batet from the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), which is the Catalan affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), was elected on Tuesday as the president of the Congress of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Spanish parliament, a Sputnik correspondent reported

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2019) Meritxell Batet from the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), which is the Catalan affiliate of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), was elected on Tuesday as the president of the Congress of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Spanish parliament, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

On Tuesday, both chambers of the Spanish parliament are holding their first sessions after the April 28 early election.

Batet, who had served as minister for territorial policy and civil service since June 2018, was elected as president of the Congress of Deputies in the second round of voting � she fell one vote short from an outright victory in the first round.

The session was also attended by four Catalan politicians � Jordi Sanchez, Jordi Turull, Oriol Junqueras and Oriol Junqueras � who are jailed over their involvement in organizing the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

Their attendance was authorized by the Supreme Court, but the parliament is expected to suspend their mandates soon in line with its regulations as well as criminal procedure law, according to El Pais newspaper.

Another PSOE member, Manuel Cruz, was elected on Tuesday as president of the Senate, the upper chamber of the Spanish parliament.

On April 28, Spain held its third election in four years. According to the official results, PSOE won 123 seats in the 350-member parliament, 38 more than it won in the 2016 elections. The People's Party finished second with 66 mandates, followed by the Citizens Party with 57 seats, and Unidas Podemos with 42 seats.