Elections in Spain

Elections in Spain are important events where people choose their leaders. There are four main types of elections: general elections, regional elections, local elections, and elections to the European Parliament. General and regional elections usually happen every four years, but sometimes they can happen earlier if needed. Local elections, like those for town councils, and European Parliament elections happen on fixed dates. Some local groups, like provincial councils, are not chosen by voting.

Most elections in Spain use a system called party-list proportional representation, where votes help decide how many seats each party gets. But for the Senate, a different system called the plurality system is used. These elections let people have a say in who makes the rules and decisions that affect their lives.

General elections

Main article: General elections in Spain

General elections in Spain are for choosing members of the national legislature called the Cortes Generales, which has two parts: the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. These two groups usually work together for up to four years, but the Prime Minister can end their term early if needed.

The Congress of Deputies has 350 members who are elected by people aged 18 and older to serve for four years. Each of Spain's fifty areas, known as provinces, gets at least two seats, and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla each get one seat. The rest of the seats are shared among the provinces based on how many people live there. Voters choose from lists of candidates put forward by different groups, and the seats are shared using a special counting method.

The Senate has 264 members, with some chosen directly by people in the provinces and others chosen by regional groups. Each main land area elects four senators, while island areas and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla have fewer. Voters can choose individual senators in these elections, which is different from other parts of the election.

Division	PSOE	PP	PAR	IU
1	174,061	172,753	108,690	60,074
2	87,030	86,376	54,345	30,037
3	58,020	57,584	36,230	20,024
4	43,515	43,188	27,172	15,018
5	34,812	34,550	21,738	12,014
6	29,010	28,792	18,115	10,012
7	24,865	24,679	15,527	8,582

Seats	3	2	1	1

Division	PSOE	PP	PAR	IU
1	50,720	43,059	23,784	9,756
2	25,360	21,529	11,892	4,878
3	16,906	14,353	7,928	3,252

Seats	2	1	0	0

Division	PSOE	PP	PAR	IU
1	36,327	34,293	12,070	3,990
2	18,163	17,146	6,035	1,995
3	12,109	11,431	4,023	1,330

Seats	2	1	0	0

Summary of Spanish elections for the Congress of Deputies, 1977–2023
Election	UCD	PSOE	PP	IU	CDC	PNV	ERC	BNG	EHB	CDS	CC	UPyD	Cs	Com.	Pod.	Vox	MP	Sumar
Election
1977	34.4	29.3	8.3	9.3	2.8	1.7	0.8	0.1	0.2
1979	34.8	30.4	6.1	10.8	1.7	1.6	0.7	0.3	1.0
1982	6.8	48.1	26.4	4.0	3.7	1.9	0.7	0.2	1.0	2.9
1986	Dissolved	44.1	26.0	4.6	5.0	1.5	0.4	0.1	1.1	9.2	0.3
1989		39.6	25.8	9.1	5.0	1.2	0.4	0.2	1.1	7.9	0.3
1993		38.8	34.8	9.6	4.9	1.2	0.8	0.5	0.9	1.8	0.9
1996		37.6	38.8	10.5	4.6	1.3	0.7	0.9	0.7	0.2	0.9
2000		34.2	44.5	5.4	4.2	1.5	0.8	1.3	Boycotted	0.1	1.1
2004		42.6	37.7	5.0	3.2	1.6	2.5	0.8	Banned	0.1	0.9
2008		43.9	39.9	3.8	3.0	1.2	1.2	0.8	Banned	0.0	0.7	1.2	0.2
2011		28.8	44.6	6.9	4.2	1.3	1.1	0.8	1.4	Dissolved	0.6	4.7	DNR	0.5
2015		22.0	28.7	3.7	2.2	1.2	2.4	0.3	0.9		0.3	0.6	13.9		20.7	0.2
2016		22.6	33.0		2.0	1.2	2.6	0.2	0.8		0.3	0.2	13.1		21.2	0.2
Apr. 2019		28.7	16.7		1.9	1.5	3.9	0.4	1.0		0.5	DNR	15.9	0.7	14.3	10.3
Nov. 2019		28.0	20.8		2.2	1.6	3.6	0.5	1.2		0.5		6.8		12.9	15.1	2.4
2023		31.7	33.1		1.6	1.1	1.9	0.6	1.4		0.5	Dissolved	DNR			12.4		12.3

Regional elections

Elections for the regional governments in Spain happen every four years. Most of these elections are held on the same day, which is the fourth Sunday of May before a year that is a leap year. The last regional election was on 28 May 2023. Sometimes, regional leaders can call elections earlier if needed.

There are different rules for each region. Some regions must hold elections every four years on that same May date, while others can choose to hold them earlier. Only a few regions have had early elections so far. These elections are planned to happen fifty-four days after the official announcement.

Local elections

Elections in the municipalities happen all across the country on the same day as regional elections. This day is the fourth Sunday of May in the year before a leap year. The most recent local elections were on 28 May 2023.

Elections to the European Parliament

Spain holds elections to choose representatives for the European Parliament. These elections happen every few years, and Spain has participated in many such elections, including those in 1987, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, and 2024.

Referendums

Spain has held several important votes called referendums to decide on big questions. Some of these include the vote on political reform in 1976, the vote on the constitution in 1978, the vote on joining NATO in 1986, and the vote on the European Constitution in 2005.

1976 Spanish political reform referendum 1978 Spanish constitutional referendum 1986 Spanish NATO membership referendum 2005 Spanish European Constitution referendum

Electoral procedures

The rules for running elections in Spain are set by a law from 1985. A group called the Electoral Commission watches over the elections. It includes judges and experts chosen by the government. The Interior Ministry helps the Commission with its work.

On election day, people vote at polling stations. These stations are managed by groups of citizens chosen by lottery. Voters mark their ballots and put them in special envelopes. These envelopes go into ballot boxes at the polling station. After voting ends, the ballots are counted right there, with representatives from each political party present. The ballots are usually thrown away after counting, except for any that are challenged. Because of this, it's not possible to do a full recount later.