The Catalan parliament on Monday elected pro-indepence Quim Torra as the regional leader. 

55-year-old Torra, who was nominated as a candidate by the region’s exiled former leader Carles Puigdemont, was elected with 66 Yes votes and four abstentions. Sixty-five lawmakers voted against him.

The parliament’s election came nearly five months after local elections in Catalonia. 

In March, Puigdemont announced that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the presidency of Catalonia.

Last December, Catalan separatists won another majority government after a record number of voters went to the polls in snap elections.

Puigdemont, the former regional president, currently lives in Berlin. He had earlier moved to Brussels after declaring independence in the Catalan parliament.