ANKARA

The president of the Spanish autonomous region of Castile and Leon on Monday called for early elections to be held on Feb. 13, after breaking the coalition pact with the minority partner Citizens (Cs) party.

"Today, December 20, I have just remodeled my Government, subsequently I have signed the Decree of dissolution of the Cortes of Castilla y Leon and the advance call of Autonomous Elections in Castilla y León for February 13, 2022," Alfonso Fernandez Manueco, from People's Party (PP), said on Twitter.

The Cortes of Castile and Leon is a unicameral legislature with 81 seats.

Manueco also dismissed his Vice President Francisco Igea, Health Minister Veronica Casado, Employment and Industry Minister Ana Carlota Amigo, and Culture and Tourism Minister Javier Ortega -- all from Cs.

The announcement came ahead of the plenary session to vote budgets, which would see some difficulties to move them forward due to the disputes in the PP-Cs coalition.

Manueco became the president after May 2019 regional elections by forming coalitions with liberal Cs, however, tensions increased between two partners over the management of the coronavirus pandemic in the region.

The Manueco government was challenged by the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in March with a failed attempt of vote of no confidence, leading to the defection of one Cs legislator to the PSOE and leaving the PP–Cs government in minority status.

The elections in 2022 will be the first early elections in the history of the autonomous region.