2011 Spanish general election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 20 November 2011, to elect the members of the 10th Cortes Generales under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate.
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20 November 2011
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All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of 266) seats in the Senate 176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 35,779,491 2.0% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 24,666,441 (68.9%) 4.9 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The second term of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was quickly overshadowed by the impact of the Great Recession in Spain, aggravated by the Spanish property bubble's crash that led to a real estate crisis. Unemployment reached record highs as public deficit and bond yields soared, with the popularity of Zapatero's government and his ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) plummeting after being forced to U-turn in economic policy and adopt tough spending cuts and austerity measures, as well as a 2011 constitutional reform introducing a balanced budget amendment. Concurrently, the curtailment of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy by the Constitutional Court of Spain in 2010 sparked protests and helped fuel pro-independence sentiment in the region. Despite the economic outlook, the government still attempted to push through some measures in its social agenda, such as a liberalization of abortion laws.
Growing discontent saw a general strike in September 2010, an air traffic controllers' strike in December 2010 (which led to the first use of emergency powers since 1975), and the onset of the anti-austerity movement in Spain in May 2011. This, together with consistent opinion polling leads for the opposition People's Party (PP) under Mariano Rajoy—who had survived a plot to overthrow him during a 2008 party congress—materialized in the PSOE's collapse in the 2011 local and regional elections. Zapatero renounced seeking a third term in office, with the first deputy prime minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, being selected as PSOE candidate unopposed. Mounting political and economic pressure forced Zapatero to call a snap election for November 2011, five months ahead of schedule. During this period, separatist group ETA announced a permanent ceasefire and subsequent cessation of all armed operations, turning the election into the first since the Spanish transition to democracy without ETA activity.[1]
Under falling voter turnout, the election resulted in the PSOE being swept out from power in the worst defeat for a sitting government in Spain up until that time since 1982, losing 4.3 million votes and scoring its worst result in a general election ever since the first democratic election in 1977.[2] In contrast, Rajoy's PP won an absolute majority in a landslide, being his party's best historic result as well as the second largest and, to date, last single-party majority in a nationwide Spanish election.[3] Also for the first time in a general election, the PSOE failed to come out on top in both Andalusia and Catalonia, with the nationalist Convergence and Union emerging victorious in the later, whereas the abertzale left Amaiur achieved a major breakthrough in both the Basque Country and Navarre.[4] United Left saw a turnaround of its electoral fortunes with its first remarkable increase in fifteen years,[5] whereas centrist Union, Progress and Democracy exceeded expectations with over one million votes, five seats and just short of the five percent threshold required for being recognized a parliamentary group in Congress.[6][7]
Background
The 2008 general election saw a second consecutive victory for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) which, at 169, fell just seven seats short of an overall majority.[8] Declining to form a coalition government or reaching confidence and supply deals with smaller parties, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was re-elected as prime minister of Spain on the second ballot of investiture,[9] going on to form the first female-majority cabinet in the country's history.[10] At this point, the Spanish economy was already showing signs of fatigue and slowdown after a decade of growth.[11]
The defeat of the opposition People's Party (PP) saw Mariano Rajoy's leadership being questioned by some internal sectors and conservative media outlets.[12][13] After fending off an attempted challenge by the Madrilenian president, Esperanza Aguirre,[14] Rajoy was re-elected at the July 2008 PP congress.[15] Nonetheless, the internal crisis remained unresolved for months amid the emergence of a number of political scandals.[16][17] An alleged plot by the Madrid regional government to spy on Aguirre's political rivals through a secret intelligence service was unveiled by El País in early 2009.[18][19][20] Another scandal saw the National Court of Spain opening a judicial probe into the recently uncovered Gürtel case, implicating the PP—particularly, its branches in the Madrid and Valencia regions—in a scheme involving bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion,[21][22] but investigations were delayed as a result of the examining magistrate, Baltasar Garzón, being suspended for violating lawyer-client privilege by secretly taping their conversations.[23] The PP victories in the 2009 Galician and European Parliament elections helped reassert Rajoy's authority within his party amid voters' growing concern for the economy.[24][25]
The impact of the Great Recession in Spain dominated Zapatero's second term, with him being criticized over his delay in acknowledging the crisis and acting earlier.[26][27][28] Worsening economic forecasts and the rapid increase in fuel prices saw the government passing a first stimulus package (focused on tax rebates and the wealth tax suppression)[11][29] and a truck drivers' strike in June 2008.[30][31] The crash of the Spanish property bubble caused a real estate crisis, with the bankruptcy of Martinsa-Fadesa in July 2008 turning into Spain's biggest ever corporate default.[32][33] A second stimulus package in August 2008 saw more tax deductions, the opening up of the services sector, red tape cuts for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and simplification of environmental plan requirements.[34][35] The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September triggered a global financial crisis that saw historic losses for the Madrid Stock Exchange.[36][37] By the end of 2008, Spain was entering recession,[38] with the inflation and unemployment rates soaring.[39] The Spanish government's "Plan E", a €50 billion stimulus plan to create jobs by funding public works,[40][41] failed short of its goals and was criticized over its spending unsustainability.[42][43] A banking crisis forced Zapatero to bailout a number of failing savings banks,[44][45][46] with the FROB being established to manage the restructuring process.[47] 2009 saw the economy and finance minister, Pedro Solbes, being replaced by Elena Salgado;[48] and more austerity measures (tax hikes, including on the VAT; and cuts in non-essential spending) to combat the growing public deficit.[49][50][51]
Zapatero's government initially attempted to avoid spending cuts to social security and welfare state policies.[26][52] A ballooning deficit,[53] unemployment reaching highs unseen since the 1993 economic crisis,[54] and fears of contagion from the Greek government-debt crisis (which threatened a euro area crisis),[55][56] forced Zapatero to announce emergency cuts on 12 May 2010, aimed at preventing a potential country's default and bailout;[57] this included cuts in civil servants' wages and dependency spending, a freeze on state pensions and the removal of birth allowances.[58][59] A labour reform followed introducing incentives to youth employment, decentralization of collective bargaining, and lower severance payments for layoffs.[60][61] Zapatero's U-turns caused his and PSOE's approval to plummet in opinion polls,[62][63] as well as a general strike against the proposed reforms,[64][65] which he attempted to counter with a major cabinet reshuffle in October 2010.[66] His government had to deal with an air traffic controllers' strike in December, which led to a state of alarm being declared (the first since the Spanish transition to democracy) to militarize operations.[67] Amid rising bond yields and threats of cuts to Spain's credit ratings,[68][69][70] the end of 2010 saw the partial privatizations of AENA and the State Lotteries, a raise in the tobacco tax, limits to unemployment benefits, and a tax cut for SMEs;[71][72] as well as a pension reform raising the compulsory retirement age from 65 to 67 years.[28][73] Mounting discontent with austerity saw the 15-M Movement in May 2011—also known as "the indignant ones" (Spanish: indignados)[26]—leading to protests, demonstrations and occupations sprawling in Spain in the ensuing years.[74][75]
Domestically, Zapatero's government had to handle outrage at the hijacking of a fishing trawler (the Alakrana) to piracy off the coast of Somalia in October 2009.[76] It also passed legislation liberalizing abortion based on a time limits-scheme (without conditions up to the 14th week of pregnancy, and up to the 22nd week in cases of pregnancy complications), while removing parental consent for those underaged of 16–17.[26][77] This period saw the approval of a new regional financing model, a sustainable economy law (which included a controversial provision to address internet copyright infringements, the so-called Sinde Law), and a major Criminal Code reform (seeing tougher punishment for terrorism, sex crimes and real estate corruption).[78] A 2010 ruling by the Constitutional Court that curtailed the Catalan Statute of Autonomy (the consequence of a PP's appeal) sparked protests in the region, fueling a sovereigntist movement that would materialize in an increase in pro-independence sentiment.[79][80] Economic hardship also helped bring about the ouster of the tripartite government in the 2010 Catalan election and a victory for Convergence and Union's Artur Mas.[81][82]
The activity of the ETA group saw an attack on the EITB's offices in 2008,[83] and the Burgos and Palma Nova bombings in 2009,[84][85] but police operations inflicted severe blows on the group's capacities.[26][86] ETA's first murder of a French policeman in March 2010 was also its last killing overall.[87][88] The group announced a ceasefire in September 2010,[89] which was declared as permanent in January 2011.[90] A judicial probe unveiled a tip-off amid the 2006 ceasefire that delayed the dismantling of an ETA extortion network (later dubbed the Faisán case); the opposition PP atempted to blame it on the interior minister and later first deputy prime minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, but only two police officers were ultimately tried and convicted.[91][92] Concurrently, the Supreme and the Constitutional courts banned several parties with reported ties to ETA and the outlawed Batasuna,[93] such as the Communist Party of the Basque Homelands;[94] the Basque Nationalist Action,[95] several groupings created to contest the 2009 Basque election (D3M and Askatasuna),[96] and Sortu in March 2011.[97] The Constitutional Court allowed the abertzale left to contest the 2011 local elections under the Bildu banner,[98] which achieved a major electoral breakthrough.[99]
Zapatero announced on 2 April 2011 that he would not seek a third term as prime minister,[100] but his initial plans to hold a party primary to elect a successor were scrapped following the PSOE's heavy defeats in the 2011 local and regional elections.[101] Defence minister and likely contender, Carme Chacón, withdrew from the race in favour of Rubalcaba,[102] who became new prime ministerial candidate unopposed.[103] The final months of Zapatero's term saw a constitutional reform in the summer of 2011 that introduced a balanced budget amendment,[104] as well as his decision to bring forward the general election to November 2011 in the face of mounting political and economic pressure.[105]
Overview
Under the 1978 Constitution, the Spanish Cortes Generales were envisaged as an imperfect bicameral system.[106][107] The Congress of Deputies had greater legislative power than the Senate, having the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a prime minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority of votes.[108] Nonetheless, the Senate possessed a limited number of functions—such as ratification of international treaties, authorization of collaboration agreements between autonomous communities, enforcement of direct rule, regulation of interterritorial compensation funds, and its role in constitutional amendment and in the appointment of members to the Constitutional Court and the General Council of the Judiciary—which were not subject to the Congress's override.[109]
Electoral system
Voting for each chamber of the Cortes Generales was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated.[110][111] Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 introduced a requirement for non-resident citizens to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" voting (Spanish: Voto rogado).[112][113]
The Congress of Deputies was entitled to a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 400 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 350. 348 members were elected in 50 multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Spain, with each being allocated an initial minimum of two seats and the remaining 248 being distributed in proportion to their populations—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency. The two remaining seats were allocated to Ceuta and Melilla as single-member districts and elected using plurality voting.[114][115] The use of the electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.[116]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:[117]
| Seats | Constituencies |
|---|---|
| 36 | Madrid(+1) |
| 31 | Barcelona |
| 16 | Valencia |
| 12 | Alicante, Seville |
| 10 | Málaga, Murcia |
| 8 | A Coruña, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Biscay, Cádiz(–1), Las Palmas |
| 7 | Granada, Pontevedra, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Zaragoza |
| 6 | Almería, Badajoz, Córdoba, Gipuzkoa, Girona, Jaén, Tarragona, Toledo |
| 5 | Cantabria, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Huelva, León, Navarre, Valladolid |
| 4 | Álava, Albacete, Burgos, Cáceres, La Rioja, Lleida, Lugo, Ourense, Salamanca |
| 3 | Ávila, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Huesca, Palencia, Segovia, Teruel, Zamora |
| 2 | Soria |
208 seats in the Senate were elected using an open list partial block voting system: in constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, districts were the islands themselves, with the larger (Mallorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) being allocated three seats each, and the smaller (Menorca, Ibiza–Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma) one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally, autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants.[118][119][120]
The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes.[121]
Eligibility
Spanish citizens of age and with the legal capacity to vote could run for election, provided that they were not sentenced to imprisonment by a final court ruling nor convicted, even if by a non-final ruling, to forfeiture of eligibility or to specific disqualification or suspension from public office under particular offences: rebellion, terrorism or other crimes against the state. Other causes of ineligibility were imposed on the following officials:[122][123]
- Members of the Spanish royal family and their spouses;
- The holders of a number of positions: the president and members of the Constitutional Court, the General Council of the Judiciary, the Supreme Court, the Council of State, the Court of Auditors and the Economic and Social Council; the Ombudsman; the State's Attorney General; high-ranking members—undersecretaries, secretaries-general, directors-general and chiefs of staff—of Spanish government departments, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Social Security and other government agencies; government delegates and sub-delegates in the autonomous communities; the chair of RTVE; the director of the Electoral Register Office; the governor and deputy governor of the Bank of Spain; the chairs of the Official Credit Institute and other official credit institutions; and members of electoral commissions and of the Nuclear Safety Council;
- Heads of diplomatic missions in foreign states or international organizations (ambassadors and plenipotentiaries);
- Judges and public prosecutors in active service;
- Personnel of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) and law enforcement corps in active service.
Other causes of ineligibility for both chambers were imposed on a number of territorial-level officers in the aforementioned categories—during their tenure of office—in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction, as well as employees of foreign states and members of regional governments.[122][123] Incompatibility provisions extended to the president of the National Commission on Competition; members of RTVE's board and of the offices of the prime minister, the ministers and the secretaries of state; government delegates in port authorities, hydrographic confederations and toll highway concessionary companies; presidents and other high-ranking members of public entities, state monopolies, companies with majority public participation and public saving banks; deputies and senators elected on candidacies subsequently declared illegal by a final court ruling; as well as the impossibility of simultaneously holding the positions of deputy and senator or regional legislator.[124]
Election date
The term of each chamber of the Cortes Generales—the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier.[125] The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication.[126] The previous election was held on 9 March 2008, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 9 March 2012. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 14 February 2012, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Sunday, 8 April 2012.
The prime minister had the prerogative to propose the monarch to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no state of emergency was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one.[127] Additionally, both chambers were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a prime minister within a two-month period from the first ballot.[128] Barring this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections to the Congress and the Senate.[129] Still, as of 2026, there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.
As the Great Recession took its hold in Spain, prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero rejected several demands from the opposition PP to call a snap election in 2009 and 2010,[130][131][132] as well as following the PSOE's heavy defeat in the May 2011 local and regional elections, assuring that it would be held when due in March 2012.[133][134] However, on 29 July 2011, Zapatero announced that he had opted for the next general election to be held on 20 November of that same year, justifying it so that "a new government can take charge of the economy in 2012, fresh from the balloting".[105] Behind the scenes, it was said that the decision was the result of PSOE candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba's desire to avoid further political erosion due to the worsening economic indicators.[135]
The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 27 September 2011 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting election day for 20 November and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 13 December.[117]
Outgoing parliament
The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.[136][137]
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Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties, federations or alliances that had not obtained a mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies.[140] Additionally, a balanced composition of men and women was required in the lists of candidates, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition.[141]
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
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The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and United and Alternative Left (EUiA) continued their Catalan Senate alliance without ERC, under the Agreement for Catalonia Progress name.[155][156] Concurrently, the new green Equo party allied itself with PSM–Nationalist Agreement (PSM–EN), Initiative Greens (IV) and Agreement for Majorca (ExM) in the Balearic Islands and with Sí Se Puede (SSP) and Socialists for Tenerife (SxTf) in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife constituency.[157][158][159]
Timetable
The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. The Canary Islands used WET (UTC+0) instead):[160]
- 26 September: The election decree is issued with the countersign of the prime minister, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, ratified by the King.[117][161]
- 27 September: Formal dissolution of parliament and start of prohibition period on the inauguration of public works, services or projects.[161]
- 30 September: Initial constitution of provincial and zone electoral commissions with judicial members.
- 3 October: Division of constituencies into polling sections and stations.
- 7 October: Deadline for parties and federations to report on their electoral alliances.
- 10 October: Deadline for electoral register consultation for the purpose of possible corrections.
- 17 October: Deadline for parties, federations, alliances, and groupings of electors to present electoral lists.
- 19 October: Publication of submitted electoral lists in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
- 22 October: Deadline for non-resident citizens (electors residing abroad (CERA) and citizens temporarily absent from Spain) to apply for voting.
- 24 October: Official proclamation of validly submitted electoral lists.
- 25 October: Publication of proclaimed electoral lists in the BOE.
- 26 October: Deadline for the selection of polling station members by sortition.
- 3 November: Deadline for the appointment of non-judicial members to provincial and zone electoral commissions.
- 4 November: Official start of electoral campaigning.[117]
- 10 November: Deadline to apply for postal voting.
- 15 November: Start of legal ban on electoral opinion polling publication; deadline for CERA citizens to vote by mail.
- 16 November: Deadline for postal and temporarily absent voting.
- 18 November: Last day of electoral campaigning;[117] deadline for CERA voting.
- 19 November: Official election silence ("reflection day").
- 20 November: Election day (polling stations open at 9 am and close at 8 pm or once voters present in a queue at/outside the polling station at 8 pm have cast their vote); provisional vote counting.
- 23 November: Start of general vote counting, including CERA votes.
- 26 November: Deadline for the general vote counting.
- 5 December: Deadline for the proclamation of elected members.
- 15 December: Deadline for the reconvening of parliament (date determined by the election decree, which for the 2011 election was set for 13 December).[114][117]
- 14 January: Deadline for the publication of definitive election results in the BOE.
Campaign
Party slogans
| Party or alliance | Original slogan | English translation | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOE | « Pelea por lo que quieres » | "Fight for what you want" | [162] | |
| PP | « Súmate al cambio » | "Join the change" | [163] | |
| CiU | « La nostra força » | "Our strength" | [164][165] | |
| EAJ/PNV | « Euskadiren alde. Euskadi puede » | "For the Basque Country. The Basque Country can do it" | [166] | |
| Esquerra | « República del Sí » | "Republic of Yes" | [167] | |
| IU–LV | « Rebélate! » | "Rebel!" | [168] | |
| BNG | « A alternativa que te defende. O voto útil en Galiza » | "The alternative that defends you" & "The tactical vote in Galicia" | [169][170] | |
| UPyD | « Cada voto vale » | "Each vote counts" | [171] | |
| GBai | « Sí, tenemos futuro » « Bai, dadugu geroa » |
"Yes, we have a future" | [172][173] | |
| FAC | « Más Asturias, Mejor España » | "More Asturias, Better Spain" | [174] | |
| Amaiur | « Eraiki zubia » « Tendiendo puentes » |
"Bridging" | [175] | |
| Compromís–Q | « Som com tu » | "We are like you" | [176] | |
Election debates
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present[n] S Surrogate[o] NI Not invited I Invited A Absent invitee | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOE | PP | IU | CiU | PNV | Share | Ref. | |||
| 7 November | TV Academy | Manuel Campo Vidal | P Rubalcaba |
P Rajoy |
NI | NI | NI | 54.2% (12,006,000) |
[177] |
| 9 November | TVE | María Casado | S Jáuregui |
S Gallardón |
S Llamazares |
S Macias |
P Erkoreka |
11.5% (2,164,000) |
[178] |
- Opinion polls
| Debate | Polling firm/Commissioner | PSOE | PP | Tie | None |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 November | Metroscopia/El País[179] | 41.0 | 46.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[180] | 44.2 | 51.4 | – | – | 4.4 | |
| TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3[181] | 33.1 | 43.9 | – | 23.0 | – | |
| Invymark/laSexta[182][183] | 39.9 | 48.6 | 11.5 | – | – | |
| CIS[184] | 23.4 | 39.6 | 5.4 | 24.4 | 7.2 |
Opinion polls
Voter turnout
The table below shows registered voter turnout on election day, without including non-resident citizens.
| Region | Time | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | 18:00 | 20:00 | |||||||
| 2008 | 2011 | +/– | 2008 | 2011 | +/– | 2008 | 2011 | +/– | |
| Andalusia | 39.06% | 37.76% | −1.30 | 59.51% | 57.66% | −1.85 | 73.79% | 70.69% | −3.10 |
| Aragon | 42.40% | 39.54% | −2.86 | 61.39% | 57.44% | −3.95 | 76.79% | 72.57% | −4.22 |
| Asturias | 38.39% | 36.71% | −1.68 | 59.55% | 56.23% | −3.32 | 73.82% | 70.33% | −3.49 |
| Balearic Islands | 39.18% | 35.17% | −4.01 | 56.07% | 50.37% | −5.70 | 68.19% | 62.20% | −5.99 |
| Basque Country | 37.30% | 38.34% | +1.04 | 53.42% | 56.08% | +2.66 | 64.90% | 69.22% | +4.32 |
| Canary Islands | 30.65% | 28.03% | −2.62 | 49.86% | 45.95% | −3.91 | 67.61% | 63.72% | −3.89 |
| Cantabria | 42.66% | 40.44% | −2.22 | 65.17% | 61.53% | −3.64 | 78.35% | 75.37% | −2.98 |
| Castile and León | 41.83% | 38.12% | −3.71 | 63.94% | 59.33% | −4.61 | 79.60% | 75.08% | −4.52 |
| Castilla–La Mancha | 42.65% | 39.53% | −3.12 | 65.30% | 61.71% | −3.59 | 80.64% | 76.71% | −3.93 |
| Catalonia | 39.31% | 35.55% | −3.76 | 57.45% | 53.21% | −4.24 | 71.22% | 66.83% | −4.39 |
| Extremadura | 43.82% | 39.67% | −4.15 | 63.76% | 59.60% | −4.16 | 79.68% | 75.63% | −4.05 |
| Galicia | 35.60% | 32.87% | −2.73 | 60.73% | 57.28% | −3.45 | 75.46% | 71.82% | −3.64 |
| La Rioja | 45.81% | 41.88% | −3.93 | 65.08% | 59.73% | −5.35 | 80.77% | 75.88% | −4.89 |
| Madrid | 41.67% | 39.61% | −2.06 | 65.18% | 61.33% | −3.85 | 80.88% | 76.03% | −4.85 |
| Murcia | 45.74% | 42.50% | −3.24 | 67.46% | 63.36% | −4.10 | 80.47% | 75.53% | −4.94 |
| Navarre | 42.72% | 39.11% | −3.61 | 59.92% | 55.82% | −4.10 | 73.25% | 71.34% | −1.91 |
| Valencian Community | 47.57% | 43.95% | −3.62 | 66.74% | 62.73% | −4.01 | 79.66% | 75.50% | −4.16 |
| Ceuta | 31.87% | 26.63% | −5.24 | 49.81% | 42.50% | −7.31 | 64.75% | 55.05% | −9.70 |
| Melilla | 31.08% | 25.56% | −5.52 | 47.93% | 40.08% | −7.85 | 66.59% | 52.85% | −13.74 |
| Total | 40.46% | 37.88% | −2.58 | 60.95% | 57.65% | −3.30 | 75.35% | 71.71% | −3.64 |
| Sources[185] | |||||||||
Results
Congress of Deputies
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| People's Party (PP)1 | 10,866,566 | 44.63 | +4.52 | 186 | +32 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 7,003,511 | 28.76 | −15.11 | 110 | −59 | |
| United Left–The Greens: Plural Left (IU–LV)2 | 1,686,040 | 6.92 | +3.00 | 11 | +9 | |
| Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) | 1,143,225 | 4.70 | +3.51 | 5 | +4 | |
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 1,015,691 | 4.17 | +1.14 | 16 | +6 | |
| Amaiur (Amaiur)3 | 334,498 | 1.37 | +1.05 | 7 | +7 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 324,317 | 1.33 | +0.14 | 5 | −1 | |
| Republican Left (esquerra) | 256,985 | 1.06 | −0.10 | 3 | ±0 | |
| Equo (Equo) | 216,748 | 0.89 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 184,037 | 0.76 | −0.07 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Coalition–New Canaries (CC–NC–PNC)4 | 143,881 | 0.59 | −0.24 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Bloc–Initiative–Greens–Equo: Commitment Coalition (Compromís–Q)5 | 125,306 | 0.51 | +0.39 | 1 | +1 | |
| Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 102,144 | 0.42 | +0.25 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Forum of Citizens (FAC) | 99,473 | 0.41 | New | 1 | +1 | |
| Blank Seats (EB) | 97,673 | 0.40 | +0.38 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Party (PA)6 | 76,999 | 0.32 | +0.05 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Platform for Catalonia (PxC) | 59,949 | 0.25 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 44,010 | 0.18 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Yes to the Future (GBai)7 | 42,415 | 0.17 | −0.07 | 1 | ±0 | |
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 27,210 | 0.11 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 26,254 | 0.11 | +0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Anti-capitalists (Anticapitalistas) | 22,289 | 0.09 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Pirates of Catalonia (Pirata.cat) | 21,876 | 0.09 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) | 15,869 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 10,132 | 0.04 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spain 2000 (E–2000) | 9,266 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) | 6,863 | 0.03 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Republicans (RPS) | 5,430 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Hartos.org (Hartos.org) | 3,820 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Pirate Party (Pirata) | 3,426 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Nationalist Alternative (ANC) | 3,180 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE de las JONS) | 2,898 | 0.01 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL) | 2,848 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Castilian Party (PCAS)8 | 2,431 | 0.01 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| United for Valencia (UxV)9 | 2,210 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Individual Freedom Party (P–LIB) | 2,065 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) | 2,058 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI) | 2,007 | 0.01 | −0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| National Democracy (DN) | 1,867 | 0.01 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party for Eastern Andalusia (PRAO) | 1,784 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Caballas Coalition (Caballas) | 1,712 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| XXI Convergence (C.XXI) | 1,443 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Unity of the People (UP) | 1,138 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Convergence for Extremadura (CEx) | 1,090 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andecha Astur (Andecha) | 1,087 | 0.00 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens of Democratic Centre (CCD) | 1,074 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens' Action for Málaga (ACIMA) | 966 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 829 | 0.00 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Death to the System (+MAS+) | 791 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Union of Independent Citizens of Toledo (UCIT) | 785 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Let us Give the Change (DeC) | 778 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Centre and Democracy Forum (CyD) | 720 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL) | 709 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Party for the Regeneration of Democracy in Spain (PRDE) | 678 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internet Party (Internet) | 603 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left Republican Party–Republicans (PRE–R) | 419 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Enough is Enough, Open Grouping of Political Parties (Basta Ya) | 380 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Constitutional and Democratic Party (PDyC) | 304 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV) | 293 | 0.00 | −0.12 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Democratic Hygiene (HD) | 206 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Socialists for Teruel (SxT) | 169 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Navarrese and Spanish Right (DNE) | 0 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots | 333,461 | 1.37 | +0.26 | |||
| Total | 24,348,886 | 350 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 24,348,886 | 98.71 | −0.65 | |||
| Invalid votes | 317,555 | 1.29 | +0.65 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 24,666,441 | 68.94 | −4.91 | |||
| Abstentions | 11,113,050 | 31.06 | +4.91 | |||
| Registered voters | 35,779,491 | |||||
| Sources[185][186][187][188] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
Senate
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| People's Party (PP)1 | 29,363,775 | 46.31 | +5.90 | 136 | +35 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 16,469,470 | 25.97 | −11.25 | 48 | −40 | |
| United Left–The Greens: Plural Left (IU–LV)2 | 3,234,188 | 5.10 | +2.06 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Agreement for Catalonia Progress (PSC–ICV–EUiA) | 2,842,651 | 4.48 | −3.09 | 7 | −5 | |
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 2,590,266 | 4.09 | +0.60 | 9 | +5 | |
| Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) | 1,060,766 | 1.67 | +0.68 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Amaiur (Amaiur)3 | 953,349 | 1.50 | +1.18 | 3 | +3 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 928,724 | 1.46 | +0.17 | 4 | +2 | |
| Republican Left (esquerra) | 665,554 | 1.05 | +1.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 593,076 | 0.94 | −0.10 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank Seats (EB) | 517,733 | 0.82 | +0.80 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Equo (Equo) | 516,150 | 0.81 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 374,483 | 0.59 | +0.40 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Bloc–Initiative–Greens–Equo: Commitment Coalition (Compromís–Q)5 | 306,260 | 0.48 | +0.35 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Forum of Citizens (FAC) | 286,394 | 0.45 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Coalition–New Canaries–Canarian Nationalist Party (CC–NC–PNC)4 | 264,803 | 0.42 | −0.10 | 1 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Party (PA)6 | 261,330 | 0.41 | +0.08 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Platform for Catalonia (PxC) | 139,925 | 0.22 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 102,109 | 0.16 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Yes to the Future (GBai)7 | 96,978 | 0.15 | −0.11 | 0 | ±0 | |
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 96,771 | 0.15 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Pirates of Catalonia (Pirata.cat) | 90,652 | 0.14 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 78,440 | 0.12 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) | 42,353 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 35,693 | 0.06 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spain 2000 (E–2000) | 29,927 | 0.05 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Assembly for the Senate (ASRM) | 29,762 | 0.05 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) | 24,505 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL) | 13,935 | 0.02 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Hartos.org (Hartos.org) | 13,395 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Castilian Party (PCAS)8 | 12,552 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Leonese People's Union (UPL) | 10,407 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE de las JONS) | 10,028 | 0.02 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) | 7,955 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Individual Freedom Party (P–LIB) | 7,455 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens' Action for Málaga (ACIMA) | 6,298 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| United for Valencia (UxV)9 | 5,033 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI) | 4,979 | 0.01 | −0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andecha Astur (Andecha) | 4,740 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Convergence for Extremadura (CEx) | 4,564 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| National Democracy (DN) | 4,563 | 0.01 | −0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party for Eastern Andalusia (PRAO) | 3,921 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL) | 3,612 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Let us Give the Change (DeC) | 3,250 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Caballas Coalition (Caballas) | 3,226 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Union of Independent Citizens of Toledo (UCIT) | 3,164 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Party for the Regeneration of Democracy in Spain (PRDE) | 3,153 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens of Democratic Centre (CCD) | 2,730 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| XXI Convergence (C.XXI) | 2,705 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Centre and Democracy Forum (CyD) | 2,462 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Unity of the People (UP) | 2,454 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,974 | 0.00 | −0.06 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Enough is Enough, Open Grouping of Political Parties (Basta Ya) | 1,892 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Socialist Party of Menorca–Nationalist Agreement (PSM–EN) | 1,733 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Republicans (RPS) | 1,116 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Feminist Initiative (IFem) | 1,115 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left Republican Party–Republicans (PRE–R) | 940 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Navarrese and Spanish Right (DNE) | 903 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV) | 732 | 0.00 | −0.16 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Socialists for Teruel (SxT) | 446 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots[p] | 1,264,947 | 5.36 | +3.30 | |||
| Total | 63,408,466 | 208 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 23,578,950 | 96.30 | −1.41 | |||
| Invalid votes | 904,722 | 3.70 | +1.41 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 24,483,672 | 68.43 | −6.06 | |||
| Abstentions | 11,295,819 | 31.57 | +6.06 | |||
| Registered voters | 35,779,491 | |||||
| Sources[137][185][186][187][189][190] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
Maps
Election results by constituency (Congress).
Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress).
Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress).
Aftermath
Outcome
With an overall voter turnout of 68.9%—the lowest in a decade—the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) suffered its worst ever defeat in a general election, while also scoring one of the worst electoral performances for a ruling party in Spain since the UCD collapse in the 1982 election. The People's Party (PP) was able to win an historic absolute majority with 186 out of 350 seats—the largest obtained by a party since 1982—after almost eight years in opposition. The PSOE went on to finish below first place in all but two provinces—Barcelona and Seville—while also losing both Andalusia and Catalonia, which up to that point had been carried by the PSOE in every general election. The 2011 Spanish election marked the continuation of a string of severe government election losses across European countries since the start of the 2008 financial crisis, including Iceland, Greece, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Ireland or Portugal.
Minoritary national parties, such as United Left (IU) and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), benefitted greatly from the PSOE collapse, winning 11 and 5 seats respectively—2 and 1 in the previous parliament. This was the first time since the 1989 election than more than one of the smaller nationwide-contesting parties obtained more than 1 million votes in a general election, as well as enough seats to form parliamentary groups on their own right. The PSOE collapse also resulted in nearly all parties winning parliamentary presence in the Congress of Deputies increasing their vote shares—only Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Geroa Bai (GBai) lost votes compared to 2008. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) lost 1 seat despite scoring higher than in 2008, but this came as a result of Amaiur's irruption, with 6 out of its 7 seats being elected in the Basque Country.
Convergence and Union (CiU), the party federation formed by Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) and Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC), was elected to an historic general election victory in the region of Catalonia. The Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), PSOE's sister party in the region—which had, up until that point, been the first Catalan political force in every general election held since 1977—scored a poor showing by finishing in second place with 27% of the vote. The 2011 election would be the last time both parties would dominate the Catalan political landscape in a general election; the next election, held on 20 December 2015, would see the alliance between CDC and UDC broken and the PSC being crushed to third place regionally by both the En Comú Podem alliance and ERC.
In terms of vote share, PSOE's electoral result, with 28.76%, would remain the worst electoral performance for a sitting Spanish government in a nationwide-held election since 1982 until the 2014 European Parliament election held two and a half years later, when the PP obtained 26.09% of the share, and in a general election until 2015—the PP obtaining 28.71%.
Government formation
| Investiture Congress of Deputies Nomination of Mariano Rajoy (PP) | ||
| Ballot → | 20 December 2011 | |
|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 176 out of 350  | |
187 / 350 | ||
149 / 350 | ||
14 / 350 | ||
| Absentees | 0 / 350 | |
| Sources[191] | ||
Notes
- Denotes a main invitee attending the event.
- Denotes a main invitee not attending the event, sending a surrogate in their place.
- The percentage of blank ballots is calculated over the official number of valid votes cast, irrespective of the total number of votes shown as a result of adding up the individual results for each party.
