Madrid (AFP) – Spain's prime minister on Monday called a snap election for November 29, after parliament rejected housing relief measures proposed by his minority government amid nationwide protests.

The defeat on Friday was just the latest political setback for the Socialist premier Pedro Sanchez, one of the few left-leaning government leaders still in power in the European Union.

"To do more, we need to renew and broaden the support of the people," Sanchez said in a televised address, adding that his aim was "to secure a much broader, progressive majority in parliament".

The next general election was scheduled to take place by August 2027.

Sanchez brought the polls forward as protests over Spain's housing market have ballooned.

His announcement came after tens of thousands of protesters marched in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday to demand action on housing affordability.

The proposed measures, which included automatic renewal of tenancy contracts and restrictions on evicting vulnerable tenants, were voted down by opposition parties in Spain's parliament.

The defeat infuriated those protesting the country's increasingly expensive housing market and underscored the difficulties his minority coalition government faces in passing legislation.

The demonstrations were fuelled by the eviction last month of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid flat, where she had lived for decades.

Hundreds of protesters have occupied a tent city in the heart of Madrid for more than a week, calling for housing reforms.

"This wave of indignation is unstoppable and we are not going to stop," Alicia del Rio, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which has led the protests, said while renewing a call for a general strike.

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