November 2019 Spanish general election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A general election was held in Spain on 10 November 2019 to elect the members of the 14th 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 265 seats in the Senate. It was a repeat election under the provisions of Article 99.5 of the Constitution,[1] as a result of the failure in government formation negotiations following the previous general election.
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10 November 2019
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All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of 265) seats in the Senate 176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 37,001,379 0.3% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 24,507,715 (66.2%) 5.5 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Political differences between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos after the April 2019 election saw Pedro Sánchez's failed investiture as prime minister on 23–25 July 2019. With no further party negotiations during the summer, King Felipe VI declined to propose any candidate for investiture ahead of the 23 September deadline, with a new general election scheduled for 10 November.[2][3][4][5] The failure in negotiations prompted Podemos' founder Íñigo Errejón to turn his regional Más Madrid party—which had obtained a remarkable result in the 26 May Madrilenian regional election—into a national alliance under the newly created brand of Más País,[6][7] comprising a number of regional parties and former Podemos and United Left allies, such as Coalició Compromís, Equo or Chunta Aragonesista, while also seeing an exodus of a number of Podemos officials.[8][9]
Voter turnout was the lowest since the transition to democracy in 1975, with just 66.2% of the electorate casting a ballot, which was lower than the previous negative record set in the 2016 election (66.5%), the only other occasion in Spanish democracy that an election was triggered as a result of the failure of a government formation process. The election saw a partial recovery for the opposition People's Party (PP) and large gains for the far-right Vox party at the expense of Citizens (Cs), which suffered one of the largest electoral setbacks in the history of Spanish elections following the party scoring its best historical result in the April 2019 general election, signalling the end of Albert Rivera's active political career.[10] Both PSOE and Unidas Podemos saw slight decreases in both popular vote and seats, but were still able to outperform the combined strength of PP, Vox and Cs; consequently, both parties agreed to set aside their political feuds and successfully negotiated a government shortly after the election, to become the first governing coalition in Spain since the Second Spanish Republic.[11][12]
The tenure of the newly formed government, which was formally appointed on 13 January 2020, would be quickly overshadowed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and its political and economical consequences, including the worst worldwide recession since the Great Depression resulting from the massive lockdowns enforced to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Background
The April 2019 general election in a clear victory for the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) under the acting prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, but also in a highly fragmented parliament, with the right divided between the People's Party (PP), Citizens (Cs) and the far-right Vox.[13] With both a grand coalition with the PP and a 180 seat-agreement with Cs ruled out because of mutual vetoes, a deal between the PSOE and Pablo Iglesias's left-wing Unidas Podemos—backed by smaller parties—appeared to be the most viable outcome.[14]
Talks were delayed until after the 26 May 2019 local, regional and European Parliament elections, whose results largely confirmed the PSOE's general election gains.[15]However, Podemos's poor performance allowed right-wing alliances between the PP, Cs and Vox to take control of several key institutions, particularly the Madrid city council and the regional governments of Castile and León, Madrid and Murcia.[16][17] This encouraged the PSOE to push for a single-party government with confidence and supply support rather than the coalition demanded by Podemos.[18][19][20] At the same time, Cs was weakened by internal divisions over Albert Rivera's decision to pursue right-wing alliances—including Vox—and to veto any PSOE-led government;[21] this led to the departure of critics such as Manuel Valls (former French prime minister and party leader in Barcelona, who gave support to Ada Colau's election as local mayor to prevent a pro-Catalan independence administration)[22][23] and Toni Roldán (the party's economics spokesman).[24] Meanwhile, Podemos was also facing a party crisis marked by growing ideological and personal tensions, seeing the split of co-founder Íñigo Errejón into the Más Madrid platform[25][26] and followed by further resignations among leading members.[27][28]
After receiving King Felipe VI's nomination to attempt an investiture,[29] a political deadlock developed as Sánchez and Iglesias clashed over the composition of the future government.[30] Podemos demanded ministerial ports, while the PSOE offered only secondary positions.[31] Both parties exchanged proposals in an attempt to pressure the other,[32][33] until Iglesias eventually withdrew his demand to personally join the cabinet as it became clear that his presence—and disagreements over issues such as the Catalan crisis—was a major obstacle for Sánchez.[34][35] Even so, deep mistrust between the two parties, negotiation leaks, disagreements over portfolios (especially equality and labour), and accusations of excessive demands, prevented an agreement and led to a "complete breakdown" in talks.[36][37] Sánchez's investiture bid was defeated 155–124 on 25 July 2019, with PP and Cs voting against (neither willing to abstain), Podemos abstaining, and smaller parties refusing to commit without a clear deal.[38][39][40]
The summer ended without progress, as Sánchez postponed further negotiations until September while the PSOE hardened its position and withdrew its offer to include Podemos in the government.[41][42][43] Final proposals saw the PSOE offering a programme of 370 policy measures and key responsibilities in state institutions outside the cabinet,[44] while Podemos proposed a one-year trial coalition.[45] A last-minute move by Rivera—who U-turned on his previous stance—offered Cs's abstention if it was matched by the PP and linked to certain conditions on taxation, government formation in Navarre and Catalonia, but the proposal failed to gain support.[46] After further consultations by King Felipe VI produced no agreement, a snap election was called for 10 November 2019 amid mutual accusations among the parties.[47][48]
Overview
Under the 1978 Constitution, the Spanish Cortes Generales were conceived as an imperfect bicameral system.[49][50] The Congress of Deputies held greater legislative power than the Senate, having the ability to grant or withdraw confidence from a prime minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority.[51] Nonetheless, the Senate retained a limited number of specific functions—such as ratifying international treaties, authorizing cooperation agreements between autonomous communities, enforcing direct rule, regulating interterritorial compensation funds, and taking part in constitutional amendments and in the appointment of members to the Constitutional Court and the General Council of the Judiciary—which were not subject to override by Congress.[52]
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.[53] The election decree was required to be issued no later than 25 days before the scheduled expiration date of parliament and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place 54 days after the decree's publication.[54] The previous election was held on 28 April 2019, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 28 April 2023. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 4 April 2023, setting the latest possible date for election day on 28 May 2023.
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 after a previous one.[55] 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.[56] Barring this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections to the Congress and the Senate.[57] Still, as of 2026, there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.
The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 24 September 2019 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 10 November and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 3 December.[58]
Electoral system
Voting for each chamber of the Cortes Generales was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age with full political rights, provided that they had not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence.[59][60] Additionally, non-resident citizens were required to apply for voting, a system known as "begged" voting (Spanish: Voto rogado).[61][62]
The Congress of Deputies had a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 400 seats, with electoral provisions fixing its size at 350. Of these, 348 were elected in 50 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the provinces of Spain—each of which was assigned an initial minimum of two seats and the remaining 248 distributed in proportion to population—using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a three percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each constituency. The remaining two seats were allocated to Ceuta and Melilla as single-member districts elected by plurality voting.[63] The use of this electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold depending on district magnitude and vote distribution.[64]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:[65]
| Seats | Constituencies |
|---|---|
| 37 | Madrid |
| 32 | Barcelona |
| 15 | Valencia |
| 12 | Alicante, Seville |
| 11 | Málaga |
| 10 | Murcia |
| 9 | Cádiz |
| 8 | A Coruña, Balearic Islands, Biscay, Las Palmas |
| 7 | Asturias, Granada, Pontevedra, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Zaragoza |
| 6 | Almería, Badajoz, Córdoba, Gipuzkoa, Girona, Tarragona, Toledo |
| 5 | Cantabria, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Huelva, Jaén, Navarre, Valladolid |
| 4 | Álava, Albacete, Burgos, Cáceres, La Rioja, León, Lleida, Lugo, Ourense, Salamanca |
| 3 | Ávila, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Huesca, Palencia, Segovia, Teruel, Zamora |
| 2 | Soria |
208 Senate seats were elected using open-list partial block voting: voters in constituencies electing four seats could choose up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, up to two; and in single-member districts, one. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, while in insular provinces—such as the Balearic and Canary Islands—the districts were the islands themselves, with the larger ones (Mallorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) being allocated three seats each, and the smaller ones (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 seat per million inhabitants.[66][67]
The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term were filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes.[68]
Outgoing parliament
The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.[69][70]
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Candidates
Nomination rules
Spanish citizens with the right to vote could run for election, provided that they had not been criminally imprisoned by a final sentence or convicted—whether final or not—of offences that involved loss of eligibility or disqualification from public office (such as rebellion, terrorism or other crimes against the state). Additional causes of ineligibility applied to the following officials:[73]
- Members of the Spanish royal family and their spouses;
- Holders of a number of senior public or institutional posts, including the heads and members of higher courts and state institutions;[e] the Ombudsman; the State's Attorney General; high-ranking officials of government departments, the Office of the Prime Minister and other state agencies; government 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 heads of official credit institutions; and members of electoral commissions and of the Nuclear Safety Council;
- Heads of diplomatic missions abroad;
- Judges and public prosecutors in active service;
- Members of the Armed Forces and law enforcement bodies in active service.
Other ineligibility provisions also applied to a number of territorial officials in these categories within their areas of jurisdiction, as well as to employees of foreign states and members of regional governments.[73]
Incompatibility rules included those of ineligibility, and also barred running in multiple constituencies or lists, holding office if the candidacy was later declared illegal (by a final ruling), and combining legislative roles (deputy, senator, and regional lawmaker) with each other or with:[74]
- A number of senior public or institutional posts, including the presidency of the National Commission on Markets and Competition; and leadership positions in RTVE, government offices, public authorities (such as port authorities, hydrographic confederations, or highway concessionary companies), public entities and state-owned or publicly funded companies;
- Any other paid public or private position, except university teaching.
Parties and lists
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 were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within 10 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. 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.[75] Additionally, a balanced composition of men and women was required in the electoral lists, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition.[76]
A special, simplified process was provided for election re-runs, including a shortening of deadlines, electoral campaigning, the lifting of signature requirements if these had been already met for the immediately previous election and the possibility of maintaining lists and alliances without needing to go through pre-election procedures again.[77]
Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which contested the election:
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Campaign
Timetable
The November 2019 Spanish general election was the first to apply the new electoral procedures introduced for election re-runs as a result of the experience of the 2015–2016 political deadlock leading to the June 2016 election. This consisted of a special, simplified process, including a shortening of deadlines, electoral campaigning, the lifting of signature requirements if these had been already met for the immediately previous election and the possibility of maintaining lists and coalitions without needing to go through the same pre-election procedures again.[77] The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. The Canary Islands used WET (UTC+0) instead):[91]
- 24 September: The election decree is issued with the countersign of the president of the Congress of Deputies, ratified by the King; formal dissolution of parliament and start of prohibition period on the inauguration of public works, services or projects.
- 25 September: Constitution of provincial and zone electoral commissions, with the same compositions as those in force for the previous election.
- 30 September: Division of constituencies into polling sections and stations; deadline for parties and federations to report on their electoral alliances.
- 7 October: Deadline for electoral register consultation for the purpose of possible corrections; deadline for parties, federations, alliances, and groupings of electors to present or maintain electoral lists.
- 9 October: Publication of submitted electoral lists in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
- 14 October: Official proclamation of validly submitted electoral lists.
- 15 October: Publication of proclaimed electoral lists in the BOE.
- 19 October: Deadline for non-resident citizens (electors residing abroad (CERA) and citizens temporarily absent from Spain) to apply for voting.
- 23 October: Deadline for the selection of polling station members by sortition.
- 31 October: Deadline to apply for postal voting.
- 1 November: Official start of electoral campaigning.[92]
- 5 November: Start of legal ban on electoral opinion polling publication; deadline for CERA citizens to vote by mail.
- 6 November: Deadline for postal and temporarily absent voting (extended to 8 November by the Central Electoral Commission).
- 8 November: Last day of electoral campaigning;[92] deadline for CERA voting.
- 9 November: Official election silence ("reflection day").
- 10 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.
- 13 November: Start of general vote counting, including CERA votes.
- 16 November: Deadline for the general vote counting.
- 25 November: Deadline for the proclamation of elected members.
- 5 December: Deadline for the reconvening of parliament (date determined by the election decree, which for the November 2019 election was set for 3 December).[58][93]
- 4 January: Deadline for the publication of definitive election results in the BOE.
Party slogans
| Party or alliance | Original slogan | English translation | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOE | « Ahora Gobierno. Ahora España » « Ahora sí » |
"Government now. Spain now" "Yes now" |
[94] [95] | |
| PP | « Por todo lo que nos une » | "For everything that unites us" | [96] | |
| Cs | « España en marcha » | "Spain underway" | [97] | |
| Unidas Podemos | Main: « Un Gobierno contigo » ECP: « Si vols solucions, vota solucions » En Común: « Conta con nós » |
Main: "A Government with you" ECP: "If you want solutions, vote solutions" En Común: "Count with us" |
[98] [99] [100] | |
| Vox | « España siempre » | "Always Spain" | [101] | |
| ERC–Sobiranistes | « Tornarem més forts » | "We shall return stronger" | [102] | |
| JxCat–Junts | « Per la independència, ni un vot enrere » | "For independence, not a vote back" | [103] | |
| EAJ/PNV | « Hemen, EAJ-PNV » | "Here, EAJ/PNV" | [104] | |
| EH Bildu | « Erabaki Baietz! » | "Decide Yes!" | [105] | |
| CCa–PNC–NC | « Hagamos más fuerte a Canarias » | "Let's make the Canaries stronger" | [106] | |
| NA+ | « Navarra, clave en España » | "Navarra, key in Spain" | [107] | |
| BNG | « Facer valer Galiza con voz propia » | "Enforce Galicia with our own voice" | [108] | |
| Más País | Main: « Desbloquear, avanzar, Más País » Més Compromís: « Acordar, la política útil » |
Main: "Unblock, make progress, More Country" Més Compromís: "Agreeing, the useful policy" |
[109] [110] | |
| CUP–PR | « Ingovernables » | "Ungovernable" | [111] | |
Events and issues
The pre-campaign period saw the rise of a new left-wing electoral platform, Más País, founded by former Podemos co-founder Íñigo Errejón around his Más Madrid platform, following the failure of the left to agree on a government following the April election.[112] Más País was joined by several other parties, such as Coalició Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista and Equo, the latter of which voted for breaking up its coalition with Unidas Podemos in order to join Errejón's platform.[9][113][114] The leadership of Podemos in the Region of Murcia also went on to joint Más País.[8] The platform went on to poll at 6% as soon as it was formed.[115]
On 24 September, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled in favor of the PSOE's plan to remove the remnants of Francisco Franco from the Valle de los Caídos, a key policy of Pedro Sánchez during the previous legislature.[116] The prior of the Valle de los Caídos' abbey, Santiago Cantera, initially announced his intention to disregard the Supreme Court's ruling and not authorize Franco's exhumation;[117] however, the Spanish government closed down the monument to the public on 11 October in order to prepare for the exhumation—finally scheduled for 22 October at latest, so for the removal to be over by 25 October—to uphold the Supreme Court's ruling.[118][119]
On 13 October, the leaders of the Catalan independence movement involved in the events of October 2017 were sentenced by the Supreme Court for sedition and embezzlement to convictions ranging from 9 to 13 years in jail.[120] The ruling unleashed a wave of violent protests throughout Catalonia, and particularly in Barcelona, throughout the ensuing days.[121][122][123]
Debates
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present[i] S Surrogate[j] NI Not invited I Invited A Absent invitee | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOE | PP | Cs | UP | Vox | ERC | JxCat | PNV | Audience | Ref. | |||
| 1 November | RTVE[k] | Xabier Fortes | P Lastra |
P A. de Toledo |
P Arrimadas |
P I. Montero |
P Espinosa |
P Rufián |
NI | P Esteban |
17.7% (2,468,000) |
[124] [125] |
| 2 November | laSexta (La Sexta Noche) |
Iñaki López | S Sicilia |
S Gamarra |
S Rodríguez |
S Vera |
S O. Smith |
P Rufián |
S Borràs |
P Esteban |
8.5% (865,000) |
[126] [127] |
| 4 November | TV Academy | Ana Blanco Vicente Vallés |
P Sánchez |
P Casado |
P Rivera |
P Iglesias |
P Abascal |
NI | NI | NI | 52.7% (8,621,000) |
[128] [129] |
| 7 November | laSexta[l] | Ana Pastor | P M. Montero |
P Pastor |
P Arrimadas |
P I. Montero |
P Monasterio |
NI | NI | NI | 19.2% (3,133,000) |
[130] [131] |
- Opinion polls
| Debate | Polling firm/Commissioner | Sample | PSOE | PP | Cs | UP | Vox | ERC | PNV | Tie | None |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 November | SocioMétrica/El Español[132] | 2,965 | 14.3 | 17.6 | 19.4 | 16.6 | 18.5 | 6.0 | 3.7 | – | – | 3.9 |
| 4 November | ElectoPanel/Electomanía[133] | ? | 9.7 | 7.5 | 14.8 | 34.3 | 33.8 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Sigma Dos/Antena 3[134] | 4,000 | 20.0 | 21.5 | 10.8 | 29.5 | 18.2 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| InvyMark/laSexta[135] | ? | 32.3 | 17.4 | 12.8 | 15.5 | 13.8 | – | – | – | – | 8.2 | |
| SocioMétrica/El Español[136] | 4,678 | 20.0 | 26.3 | 13.3 | 15.0 | 21.8 | – | – | – | – | 3.6 | |
| Ipsos/Henneo[137] | ? | 24.0 | 9.0 | 6.0 | 32.0 | 29.0 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| NC Report/La Razón[138] | ? | 22.8 | 25.1 | 10.1 | 24.3 | 17.7 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| CIS[139] | 4,800 | 15.3 | 9.4 | 4.2 | 23.3 | 14.7 | – | – | 3.4 | 23.7 | 6.1 |
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 | |||||||
| 28A | 10N | +/– | 28A | 10N | +/– | 28A | 10N | +/– | |
| Andalusia | 38.94% | 35.80% | −3.14 | 57.23% | 54.84% | −2.39 | 73.30% | 68.23% | −5.07 |
| Aragon | 44.65% | 41.18% | −3.47 | 62.30% | 57.88% | −4.42 | 77.62% | 71.50% | −6.12 |
| Asturias | 40.15% | 34.42% | −5.73 | 58.67% | 53.50% | −5.17 | 73.35% | 65.47% | −7.88 |
| Balearic Islands | 38.10% | 30.95% | −7.15 | 54.42% | 47.40% | −7.02 | 67.56% | 58.71% | −8.85 |
| Basque Country | 41.75% | 40.18% | −1.57 | 60.05% | 57.60% | −2.45 | 74.52% | 68.93% | −5.59 |
| Canary Islands | 30.72% | 27.07% | −3.65 | 51.00% | 44.36% | −6.64 | 68.15% | 60.47% | −7.68 |
| Cantabria | 43.12% | 39.12% | −4.00 | 63.64% | 59.28% | −4.36 | 78.00% | 70.83% | −7.17 |
| Castile and León | 41.80% | 37.29% | −4.51 | 61.99% | 56.70% | −5.29 | 78.16% | 71.36% | −6.80 |
| Castilla–La Mancha | 42.71% | 38.07% | −4.64 | 62.35% | 57.44% | −4.91 | 78.02% | 71.38% | −6.64 |
| Catalonia | 43.52% | 40.58% | −2.94 | 64.20% | 59.88% | −4.32 | 77.57% | 72.14% | −5.43 |
| Extremadura | 42.86% | 37.17% | −5.69 | 60.21% | 54.41% | −5.80 | 76.31% | 69.12% | −7.19 |
| Galicia | 36.97% | 31.96% | −5.01 | 58.91% | 53.24% | −5.67 | 73.97% | 66.62% | −7.35 |
| La Rioja | 44.67% | 40.42% | −4.25 | 61.51% | 57.45% | −4.06 | 78.12% | 71.27% | −6.85 |
| Madrid | 43.61% | 40.98% | −2.63 | 65.10% | 61.50% | −3.60 | 79.76% | 74.55% | −5.21 |
| Murcia | 43.41% | 39.01% | −4.40 | 61.75% | 57.89% | −3.86 | 75.69% | 69.99% | −5.70 |
| Navarre | 43.79% | 39.38% | −4.41 | 60.89% | 56.46% | −4.43 | 76.32% | 69.30% | −7.02 |
| Valencian Community | 45.87% | 42.51% | −3.36 | 61.64% | 59.97% | −1.67 | 76.33% | 71.71% | −4.62 |
| Ceuta | 30.47% | 27.27% | −3.20 | 48.84% | 43.77% | −5.07 | 63.97% | 56.19% | −7.78 |
| Melilla | 28.14% | 24.61% | −3.53 | 45.44% | 38.98% | −6.46 | 62.94% | 57.12% | −5.82 |
| Total | 41.49% | 37.92% | –3.57 | 60.74% | 56.85% | –3.89 | 75.75% | 69.86% | –5.89 |
| Sources[140] | |||||||||
Results
Congress of Deputies
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 6,792,199 | 28.00 | −0.67 | 120 | −3 | |
| People's Party (PP) | 5,047,040 | 20.81 | +4.12 | 89 | +23 | |
| Vox (Vox) | 3,656,979 | 15.08 | +4.82 | 52 | +28 | |
| United We Can (Unidas Podemos) | 3,119,364 | 12.86 | −1.46 | 35 | −7 | |
| In Common–United We Can (Podemos–EU) | 188,231 | 0.78 | −0.13 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | 1,650,318 | 6.80 | −9.06 | 10 | −47 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia–Sovereigntists (ERC–Sobiranistes) | 880,734 | 3.63 | −0.28 | 13 | −2 | |
| Republican Left of the Valencian Country (ERPV) | 5,875 | 0.02 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| More Country (Más País) | 582,306 | 2.40 | New | 3 | +2 | |
| More Country–Aragonese Union–Equo (Más País–CHA–Equo) | 23,196 | 0.10 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Together for Catalonia–Together (JxCat–Junts) | 530,225 | 2.19 | +0.28 | 8 | +1 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 379,002 | 1.56 | +0.05 | 6 | ±0 | |
| Basque Country Gather (EH Bildu) | 277,621 | 1.14 | +0.15 | 5 | +1 | |
| Popular Unity Candidacy–For Rupture (CUP–PR) | 246,971 | 1.02 | New | 2 | +2 | |
| Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 228,856 | 0.94 | −0.31 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Coalition–New Canaries (CCa–PNC–NC)2 | 124,289 | 0.51 | −0.15 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 120,456 | 0.50 | +0.14 | 1 | +1 | |
| Sum Navarre (NA+) | 99,078 | 0.41 | ±0.00 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 68,830 | 0.28 | +0.08 | 1 | ±0 | |
| Zero Cuts–Green Group (Recortes Cero–GV) | 35,042 | 0.14 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 27,272 | 0.11 | +0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Teruel Exists (¡TE!) | 19,761 | 0.08 | New | 1 | +1 | |
| More Left (Més–MxMe–esquerra)3 | 18,295 | 0.08 | −0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusia by Herself (AxSí) | 14,046 | 0.06 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 13,828 | 0.06 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) | 13,029 | 0.05 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Yes to the Future (GBai) | 12,709 | 0.05 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Leonese People's Union (UPL) | 10,243 | 0.04 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Communist Workers' Party (PCOE) | 9,725 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Coalition for Melilla (CpM) | 8,955 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank Seats (EB) | 5,970 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| For Ávila (XAV) | 5,416 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Forward–The Greens (Avant/Adelante–LV) | 5,416 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens (Verdes) | 3,287 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 3,150 | 0.01 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Feminist Initiative (IFem) | 3,005 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| We Are Valencian in Movement (UiG–Som–CUIDES) | 2,339 | 0.01 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| We Are Region (Somos Región) | 2,328 | 0.01 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left in Positive (IZQP) | 2,325 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canaries Now (ANC–UP) | 2,032 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| With You, We Are Democracy (Contigo) | 2,015 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 2,000 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Sorian People's Platform (PPSO) | 1,466 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| United Extremadura (EU) | 1,347 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| European Retirees Social Democratic Party (PDSJE) | 1,259 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Libertarian Party (P–LIB) | 1,171 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Social Aragonese Movement (MAS) | 1,068 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| United–Acting for Democracy (Unidos SI–ACPS–DEf) | 1,067 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) | 941 | 0.00 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andecha Astur (Andecha) | 887 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Movement for Dignity and Citizenship (MDyC) | 819 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Puyalón (PYLN) | 630 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE de las JONS) | 616 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| At Once Valencian Community (aUna CV) | 585 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Union of Castile and León (Unión Regionalista) | 530 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Convergence (CAnda) | 520 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Federation of Independents of Aragon (FIA) | 461 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| European Solidarity Action Party (Solidaria) | 270 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Solidary Independent Republican Party (RISA) | 249 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Centered (centrados) | 234 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Plural Democracy (DPL) | 214 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Revolutionary Anticapitalist Left (IZAR) | 113 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| XXI Convergence (C21) | 72 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Union of Everyone (UdT) | 26 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots | 217,227 | 0.90 | +0.14 | |||
| Total | 24,258,228 | 350 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 24,258,228 | 98.98 | +0.03 | |||
| Invalid votes | 249,487 | 1.02 | −0.03 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 24,507,715 | 66.23 | −5.53 | |||
| Abstentions | 12,493,664 | 33.77 | +5.53 | |||
| Registered voters | 37,001,379 | |||||
| Sources[140][141][142][143] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
Senate
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 19,481,846 | 30.62 | +1.29 | 93 | −30 | |
| People's Party (PP) | 17,074,301 | 26.84 | +7.68 | 83 | +29 | |
| United We Can (Unidas Podemos) | 7,884,444 | 12.39 | −0.38 | 0 | ±0 | |
| In Common–United We Can (Podemos–EU) | 450,767 | 0.71 | −0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | 4,951,350 | 7.78 | −7.07 | 0 | −4 | |
| Vox (Vox) | 3,229,631 | 5.08 | −3.27 | 2 | +2 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia–Sovereigntists (ERC–Sobiranistes) | 3,054,285 | 4.80 | +0.41 | 11 | ±0 | |
| Republican Left (esquerra)1 | 1,612 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Together for Catalonia–Together (JxCat–Junts) | 1,689,482 | 2.66 | +0.53 | 3 | +1 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 1,152,440 | 1.81 | +0.16 | 9 | ±0 | |
| Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 977,844 | 1.54 | −0.30 | 0 | ±0 | |
| More Country (Más País) | 960,287 | 1.51 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| More Country (Más País) | 49,420 | 0.08 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Basque Country Gather (EH Bildu) | 842,993 | 1.33 | +0.43 | 1 | ±0 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 411,948 | 0.65 | +0.18 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Sum Navarre (NA+) | 309,357 | 0.49 | +0.04 | 3 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Coalition–New Canaries (CCa–PNC–NC)3 | 220,299 | 0.35 | −0.09 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 176,740 | 0.28 | +0.06 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Zero Cuts–Green Group (Recortes Cero–GV) | 128,201 | 0.20 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 70,514 | 0.11 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 69,326 | 0.11 | +0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Teruel Exists (¡TE!) | 57,340 | 0.09 | New | 2 | +2 | |
| Yes to the Future (GBai)4 | 52,076 | 0.08 | n/a | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusia by Herself (AxSí) | 50,663 | 0.08 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Leonese People's Union (UPL) | 41,773 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| More Left (Més–esquerra) | 37,727 | 0.06 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 28,052 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank Seats (EB) | 26,258 | 0.04 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE) | 22,767 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| For Ávila (XAV) | 21,340 | 0.03 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Coalition for Melilla (CpM) | 17,427 | 0.03 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Feminist Initiative (IFem) | 14,139 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Forward–The Greens (Avant/Adelante–LV) | 13,099 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| We Are Region (Somos Región) | 12,888 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 7,622 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| We Are Valencian in Movement (UiG–Som–CUIDES) | 7,058 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| United Extremadura (EU) | 7,021 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Sorian People's Platform (PPSO) | 7,015 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) | 6,350 | 0.01 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canaries Now (ANC–UP) | 6,196 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left in Positive (IZQP) | 4,786 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andecha Astur (Andecha) | 4,518 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| With You, We Are Democracy (Contigo) | 4,276 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE de las JONS) | 4,179 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) | 3,628 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 1 | ±0 | |
| More for Menorca (MxMe) | 3,310 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Libertarian Party (P–LIB) | 2,331 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Federation of Independents of Aragon (FIA) | 2,327 | 0.00 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Union of Castile and León (Unión Regionalista) | 2,307 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens (Verdes) | 1,862 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| European Retirees Social Democratic Party (PDSJE) | 1,557 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Social Aragonese Movement (MAS) | 1,514 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Aragonese Land (TA) | 1,509 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Movement for Dignity and Citizenship (MDyC) | 1,439 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Puyalón (PYLN) | 1,373 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| At Once Valencian Community (aUna CV) | 1,115 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| European Solidarity Action Party (Solidaria) | 974 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Solidary Independent Republican Party (RISA) | 855 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Centered (centrados) | 734 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Plural Democracy (DPL) | 428 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| United–Acting for Democracy (Unidos SI–ACPS–DEf) | 401 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| XXI Convergence (C21) | 257 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Union of Everyone (UdT) | 79 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots[m] | 451,449 | 1.89 | +0.18 | |||
| Total | 63,619,307 | 208 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 23,825,576 | 97.70 | −0.28 | |||
| Invalid votes | 561,601 | 2.30 | +0.28 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 24,387,177 | 65.91 | −5.41 | |||
| Abstentions | 12,614,202 | 34.09 | +5.41 | |||
| Registered voters | 37,001,379 | |||||
| Sources[70][140][141][142][144] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
Maps
Election results by constituency (Congress).
Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress).
Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress).
Aftermath
Reactions
On 11 November, the day after the election, Albert Rivera resigned as leader of Citizens (Cs)[145] after the party lost over 80% of its seats in the Congress and one-third of its seats in the Senate (mainly to Vox and the PP), and announced his intention to give up the Congress seat to which he had been elected, and retire from politics entirely.[146] The PP recovered around one-third of the seats it had lost in the Congress in the April 2019 election, and almost half of the Senate seats it had lost on that occasion. The right-wing nationalist Vox party saw its seats in the Congress more than double, and it won its first directly elected Senate seats. Más País gained two seats in the Congress from Madrid (one from the PSOE and one from Podemos), while the leftist and Catalan nationalist Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) gained its first seats in the national legislature after choosing to participate at the national level for the first time.
Government formation
On 7 January 2020, Pedro Sánchez was confirmed as prime minister by the Congress of Deputies.[147]
| Investiture Congress of Deputies Nomination of Pedro Sánchez (PSOE) | |||
| Ballot → | 5 January 2020 | 7 January 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 176 out of 350  |
Simple  | |
166 / 350 |
167 / 350 | ||
165 / 350 |
165 / 350 | ||
18 / 350 |
18 / 350 | ||
1 / 350 |
0 / 350 | ||
| Sources[148][149][150] | |||
2020 motion of no confidence
| Motion of no confidence Congress of Deputies Nomination of Santiago Abascal (Vox) | ||
| Ballot → | 22 October 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 176 out of 350 | |
Yes
|
52 / 350 | |
298 / 350 | ||
| Abstentions | 0 / 350 | |
| Absentees | 0 / 350 | |
| Sources[148][151] | ||
2023 motion of no confidence
In February 2023, Ramón Tamames, a former member of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), aged 89 at that moment, put himself forward to be an independent candidate for prime minister if a Vox-proposed motion of no confidence were successful.[152] The motion failed on 22 March with 52 votes in favour (Vox plus one independent), 91 abstentions (People's Party plus one independent) and 201 votes against.[153]
| Motion of no confidence Congress of Deputies Nomination of Ramón Tamames (INDEP) | ||
| Ballot → | 22 March 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 175 out of 349[n] | |
53 / 350 | ||
201 / 350 | ||
91 / 350 | ||
4 / 350 | ||
| Sources[148] | ||
Notes
- Total figures include results for En Comú Podem and En Común.
- Oriol Junqueras had his Congress of Deputies membership suspended, and as a result was forced into the Mixed Group.
- 3 seats were vacant, pending regional appointments as a result of the 2019 Spanish regional elections.
- Raül Romeva had his Senate membership suspended, and as a result was forced into the Mixed Group.
- These comprised 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.
- Coalició Compromís (1 deputy and 0 senators) joined the Més Compromís alliance ahead of the November 2019 election.
- Denotes a main invitee attending the event.
- Denotes a main invitee not attending the event, sending a surrogate in their place.
- Parliamentary spokespersons' debate.
- "Women's debate".
- 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.
