General Information
At Stake in this Election:
-
All 350 seats of the Spanish Congress of Deputies
-
Chief of State: King FELIPE VI (since 19 June 2014)
-
Head of Government: President Pedro SÁNCHEZ Pérez-Castejón (since 2 June 2018)
-
Assembly: bicameral General Courts (Cortes Generales) including a 265-seat Senate (Senado) and a 348-seat Congress of Deputies (Congresso de los Diputados)
-
The King is a hereditary monarch.
-
The President, typically the leader of the largest congressional party or coalition, is nominated by the King and elected by the Congress of Deputies.
-
In the Senate, 208 members are directly elected by plurality vote in multi-seat constituencies. The remaining 57 members are indirectly elected by autonomous community legislatures. All members serve 4-year terms.
-
In the Congress of Deputies, 348 members are directly elected via closed-list proportional representation vote in multi-seat constituencies, and lists much receive at least 3% of the vote to win a seat. 2 members are elected from Ceuta and Melilla by plurality vote. All members serve 4-year terms.
In 2019, the top vote-getters were the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) with 120 seats and the People’s Party (PP) with 88 seats. Seventeen additional parties also won seats, and voter turnout was 69%.
New/Unique in this Election:
In May 2023, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called legislative snap elections following his party’s poor performances in the municipal elections of May 2023.
-
Candidate filing deadline: 19 June 2023
-
Coalitions must be proposed by 9 June 2023
-
Voter registration deadline: 12 June 2023 (to request modification of registration)
-
Residents of Spain who seek to vote by mail must register by 13 July 2023.
Main Parties in this Election:
-
Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party / Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE)
-
Leader: Pedro SÁNCHEZ Pérez-Castejón
-
Seats won in last election: 120 out of 350
-
People’s Party / Partido Popular (PP)
-
Leader: Alberto Núñez FEIJÓO
-
Seats won in last election: 88 out of 350
-
VOX
-
Leader: Santiago ABASCAL
-
Seats won in last election: 52 out of 350
-
Unite / Sumar
-
Coalition including Movimiento Sumar, Podemos, Izquierda Unida, Más País, Verdes Equo, Alianza Verde, and several regional parties
-
Leader: Yolanda DÍAZ Pérez
-
Seats won in last election: established in 2023
-
Republican Left of Catalonia – Sovereigntists / Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya - Sobiranistes
-
Regional coalition
-
Leader: Oriol JUNQUERAS Vies
-
Seats won in last election: 13 out of 350
-
Basque Nationalist Party / Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea (EAJ-PNV)
-
Regional party
-
Leader: Andoni ORTUZAR Arruabarrena
-
Seats won in last election: 7 out of 350
-
Together for Catalonia / Junts per Catalunya (JxCat)
-
Regional party
-
Leader: Laura BORRÀS i Castanyer
-
Seats won in last election: 8 out of 350
-
Teruel Exists / Teruel Existe
-
Regional party
-
Leader: Tomás GUITARTE Gimeno
-
Seats won in last election: 1 out of 350
-
Basque Country Unite / Euskal Herria Bildu (EHB)
-
Regional party
-
Leader: Arnaldo OTEGI Mondragon
-
Seats won in last election: 5 out of 350
Population and Registered Voters:
-
Population: 47,222,613 (2023 est.)
-
Registered Voters: 36,898,883 (2019)
Gender Data:
-
Female Population: 24,216,725 (2023 est.)
-
CEDAW Status: Signed 17 July 1980, Ratified 5 January 1984
-
Gender Quota: Yes; candidates of each sex must make up at least 40% of congressional lists, and for lists of fewer than 5 candidates, the male to female candidate ratio must be as even as possible; lists for the senate must also have a male to female candidate ratio as close to even as possible
-
Female Candidates in this election: Yes
-
Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 104 out of 265 (39.3%) in the Senate and 148 out of 349 (42.4%) in the Congress of Deputies
-
Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.905, Very High, Rank 27 (2021 est.)
-
Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 9 (2023)
Disability Data:
-
CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 3 December 2007
-
Projected population with a disability: 7,083,392 (2023 est.)
IFES Resources:
-
Does IFES have a presence in Spain: No