Pablo Iglesias elected as leader of Spain's left-wing Podemos party

Pablo Iglesias was elected as the leader of left-wing party Podemos on Sunday during the second party congress held in Madrid.

The re-election of Iglesias is a triumph for him in his struggle for control of the party with Podemos' number 2 figure Inigo Errejon.

It also indicates a victory of his policy of taking the party's struggle back to grass-roots level, which is at odds with Errejon's idea of focusing more on their role in Congress.

Over 155,000 Podemos members participated in the vote, with Iglesias claiming 89 percent of the votes, while his supporters gained control of 60 percent of the Citizens' Council, which will decide party policy.

"There is a clear support for Secretary General; unity and unity," said Iglesias following the vote.

"Thank you for reminding us that we have to remain united and we have to remain humble... We have been an example of unity and humility," continued the man who has been the public face of the party, which was founded in 2014 and is currently the third most powerful force in the Spanish Congress.

Podemos is "a great popular movement and a historic block which is pushing for change in Spain," said Iglesias.

The Podemos congress coincided with the XVIII Congress of the ruling People's Party in which Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was re-elected as party leader with 95.6 percent of the votes.

source: Xinhua