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In pictures: The investiture vote that saw Pedro Sánchez returned to power

Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Party was confirmed as the new prime minister by a razor-thin margin on Tuesday, after eight months of a caretaker administration

Jan 07, 2020 - 18:01CET

Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE) has been confirmed as the new prime minister of Spain following a tight vote inside Congress on Tuesday. His victory ends eights months of a caretaker administration.EFE

Pedro Sánchez (l) embraces Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, who will be a deputy prime minister in the new administration. This will be the first time in Spain’s modern democratic history that the country is led by a coalition government.Pierre-Philippe Marcou (AFP)

Unidas Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias (r) dries tears following Pedro Sánchez's victory on Tuesday. The Socialist Party and Unidas Podemos will now head a coalition government, something that has not been seen in Spain since the days of the Second Republic in the 1930s.Victor J Blanco (GTRES)

Popular Party leader Pablo Casado (l) congratulates Pedro Sánchez after the latter's confirmation in office by 167 votes to 165. The main opposition conservatives have accused the Socialist leader of betraying Spain after the latter sought the support by way of abstention from Catalan separatist lawmakers.Victor J Blanco (GTRES)

Aina Vidal, of the Unidas Podemos group, came to Congress to vote on Tuesday despite suffering from an aggressive cancer. Colleagues presented her with flowers following the ballot, which was very tight. Pedro Sánchez's Socialist Party had warned that every vote would count and asked its own representatives to spend Monday night in Madrid to avoid any traffic delays on their way to Congress.Mariscal (EFE)

Montserrat Bassa, of the separatist party Catalan Republican Left (ERC), delivers a speech ahead of the vote on Tuesday. Her party's abstention has been key to facilitating a new government headed by Pedro Sánchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE). “I don’t give a damn about the governability of Spain,” said Bassa, whose sister Dolors was last year sentenced to 12 years in prison for her role in the 2017 secessionist drive in the northeastern Spanish region.PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU (AFP)

The sole lawmaker for Teruel Existe, Tomás Guitarte, shakes hands with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Guitarte, who had pledged to vote for Sánchez on Tuesday, reported tremendous social media pressure ahead of the vote by detractors of a PSOE administration, in a bid to get him to switch allegiances.EFE (Juan Carlos Hidalgo)

A fisheye view of the inside of Spanish Congress on Tuesday during the vote to confirm Pedro Sánchez in office. There were angry exchanges inside the chamber during the weekend debate that preceded the vote, reflecting Spain’s fractured political scene.EFE

The Vox leader, Santiago Abascal, speaks ahead of the second round of the investiture vote on Tuesday. The far-right party is now the third-largest force in Congress following the repeat election of November.Victor J Blanco (GTRES)