People react to results in Catalonia's regional elections at a gathering of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) in Barcelona, Spain December 21, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

MADRID (Reuters) - The Catalan parliament will vote to choose a new regional leader on Jan. 30, the Catalan parliament said in a statement on Thursday.

The only candidate for president of the northeastern Spanish region is sacked former leader Carles Puigdemont who is in self-imposed exile in Brussels after spearheading a drive for secession from Spain.