MOSCOW, September 17 (RIA Novosti) — Spain's lower house of parliament has decided against a referendum on the future of the monarchy, local news agency EFE reported.
The initiative of the United Left (Izquierda Unida, IU) received support of only 26 parliamentarians, while 274 others voted against it and 15 abstained from the vote.
IU representative Alberto Garzon insisted that the citizens had to have the right to decide between a monarchy and a republic, as "the authorities cannot hear the people's will."
A socialist Meritxell Batet agreed the monarchy needed to become "more transparent and more modest," but insisted that "a parliamentary monarchy is more democratic that many republics and more republican than many republics."
Catalonia representatives refrained from voting, saying they first wanted to decide on the future of their own region.
The idea of the referendum became widely discussed after former King of Spain Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI in June. People protested demanding a referendum all summer in Spain.
Polls showed that some 60 percent of the people were in favor of the referendum.
Spain was first proclaimed a republic in 1873, after the abdication of King Amadeus, but the Bourbon monarchy was restored a year later. The Second Spanish Republic was created after a revolution in 1931, and ended in 1939 by General Franco, although a monarch only took the throne only after Franco's death in 1975.
The Spanish Royal Family has been the center of several scandals in recent months, after princess Cristina and her husband, businessman and former sportsman Inaki Urdangarin, were accused of corruption.
