Spain's King Felipe on Tuesday nominated acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to try to form a new coalition government following talks with political party leaders to determine which of them had the best chance of securing majority support in parliament.
Lower house Speaker Francina Armengol announced the decision after the king concluded his two days of talks and then summoned her.
"I will inform the candidate of the king's decision and I will listen to his (Sanchez's) proposal for the required timeframe," Armengol said after meeting with the head of state.
The monarch first asked Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to try to form a government, but Feijóo failed to win sufficient parliamentary support last week.
If no candidate secures a majority by November 27, a repeat election has to be called.
Source: Bahrain News Agency