The fragmented lower house of the Spanish parliament on Thursday passed a non-binding resolution urging Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to resign due to a slew of corruption scandals hounding his center-left Socialist Party and inner circle.
A separate article urged Sanchez to submit to a motion of confidence if he does not call a snap election. The opposition can submit a motion of no confidence, but it has so far abstained from doing so as it lacks the required votes to pass it.
Only Sanchez has the power to decide whether there is a motion of confidence, and on Wednesday Sanchez again told parliament he planned to stay on as premier, denying widespread corruption.
The motion says the mounting number of investigations into corruption cases involving political figures appointed and directly supported by Sanchez requires that he take responsibility by resigning.
Junts joins opposition in symbolic rebuke of Sanchez
Supporting the resolution were the main opposition People's Party (PP), their far-right allies Vox, as well as the pro-Catalan independence party Junts, which traditionally opposes the two unionist parties.
Junts' support was instrumental in allowing Sanchez to win another term as premier in 2023, but Junts announced last October it would no longer back the government's legislation.
Justice Minister Felix Bolaños dismissed the vote as purely symbolic, with "zero political effect."