Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Spain: general election 2023 - Statistics & Facts
On July 23rd, voters in Spain went to the polls to elect the 350 members of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and 208 of the 265 members of the Senate (the upper house). It is generally expected that the leader of the largest party in Congress becomes the Prime Minister of Spain. The results of this election determined the fifteenth Spanish parliamentary legislature, which was supposed to take office in August.
The general elections in Spain take place every four years and are held in all 50 provinces of Spain and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. For the Congress of Deputies, each province elects a minimum of two seats in parliament, while the autonomous cities are entitled to one seat each, with the remaining to be distributed according to the population size of the provinces. In the case of registered voters living abroad, they are assigned to one of the provinces of their choice, making their vote equal to that of residents.
After being the most voted party with more than 33 percent of the votes, the Popular Party, headed by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, attempted the first investiture to form a Spanish government on September 27 and a second on September 29. Both attempts to designate Feijóo prime minister failed to obtain the necessary 176 seats.
After the failed right-wing attempt, Pedro Sánchez resumed negotiations with Sumar and the regionalist parties. These negotiations resulted in an agreement for an amnesty law for Catalan separatists, which led to criticism from the right and riots in the Spanish streets. With support secured, Pedro Sánchez took his investiture as prime minister to the Congress of Deputies on November 16. In that vote, the PSOE leader secured 179 votes to form a government and end Spain's political gridlock. However, protests against the amnesty continue.
The general elections in Spain take place every four years and are held in all 50 provinces of Spain and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. For the Congress of Deputies, each province elects a minimum of two seats in parliament, while the autonomous cities are entitled to one seat each, with the remaining to be distributed according to the population size of the provinces. In the case of registered voters living abroad, they are assigned to one of the provinces of their choice, making their vote equal to that of residents.
What happened before the election? Pedro Sánchez called a snap election
After the regional elections on May 28th, the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) lost control of six of the 10 regional parliaments it had secured in the previous elections, such as in La Rioja, where Partido Popular (PP) won a majority. The overall results obtained in the regional elections by the PSOE were considered negative by the majority of the party's voters. So, to mobilize support from the left against a possible coalition government of right and far-right parties, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez decided to bring the elections forward from December to July. However, despite Sánchez being the preferred individual candidate, the polls indicated that the party could lose the leadership of the Spanish government. It was possible that a potential coalition between Alberto Núñez Feijóo's Popular Party and the Vox Party achieved a parliamentary majority.The worries of the population ahead of the vote
Spanish citizens went to the polls with well-defined problems that they considered Spain to be facing. The state of the economy seemed to be the issue that most Spaniards believed to be the worst, with about 62 percent considering that Spain was in a bad economic situation. Recent economic strains have exacerbated many of the already-existing problems that the country was facing, with unemployment being a major concern. After several years in the number two spot, January 2023 saw Spain surpass Greece to become the EU country with the highest unemployment rate. As with many countries across the economic block, this has had a disproportionate impact on young people.The aftermath of the election
The July 23 elections left Spain in a political stalemate. Both left-wing and right-wing parties failed to obtain the number of parliamentary seats needed to form a government. This situation led to the need for coalitions with regionalist parties or a repeat election.After being the most voted party with more than 33 percent of the votes, the Popular Party, headed by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, attempted the first investiture to form a Spanish government on September 27 and a second on September 29. Both attempts to designate Feijóo prime minister failed to obtain the necessary 176 seats.
After the failed right-wing attempt, Pedro Sánchez resumed negotiations with Sumar and the regionalist parties. These negotiations resulted in an agreement for an amnesty law for Catalan separatists, which led to criticism from the right and riots in the Spanish streets. With support secured, Pedro Sánchez took his investiture as prime minister to the Congress of Deputies on November 16. In that vote, the PSOE leader secured 179 votes to form a government and end Spain's political gridlock. However, protests against the amnesty continue.
