The majority secessionist lawmakers in Catalonia's parliament voted in a new leader Sunday, tasking him to oversee the wealthy region's breakaway from Spain in a last-minute show of unity after months of bitter infighting.<br />Carles Puigdemont was elected regional president with 70 votes for, 63 against and two abstentions, giving Catalonia's high-profile independence movement a fresh lease of life.<br />Catalonia's pro-independence faction that won regional parliamentary elections in September appointed him candidate on Saturday in a surprise move after months of in-fighting and divisions over who should lead the new local government.<br />Spain's incumbent Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Sunday he would fight for his country's unity as the parliament in Catalonia prepared to vote in a new regional secessionist leader.<br />"The government won't allow a single act that could harm the unity and sovereignty of Spain," he said in a live televised appearance in Madrid.
