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2015 Spanish general election

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"2015 Spanish election" redirects here. For the local elections, see 2015 Spanish local elections. For the regional elections, see 2015 Spanish regional elections.
2015 Spanish general election
← 2011
20 December 2015
2016 →
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
Opinion polls
Registered36,511,848 Increase 2.0%
Turnout25,438,532 (69.7%)
Increase 0.8 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Mariano Rajoy Pedro Sánchez Pablo Iglesias
Party PP PSOE Podemos[b]
Leader since 2 September 2003 26 July 2014 15 November 2014
Leader's seat Madrid Madrid Madrid
Last election 187 seats, 45.0%[a] 110 seats, 28.8% Did not contest
Seats won 123 90 69
Seat change Decrease 64 Decrease 20 Increase 65[c]
Popular vote 7,236,965 5,545,315 5,212,711
Percentage 28.7% 22.0% 20.7%
Swing Decrease 16.3 pp Decrease 6.8 pp New party
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Albert Rivera Gabriel Rufián Francesc Homs
Party C's ERC–CatSí DiL
Leader since 9 July 2006 7 November 2015 6 November 2015
Leader's seat Madrid Barcelona Barcelona
Last election Did not contest 3 seats, 1.1% 16 seats, 4.2%[d]
Seats won 40 9 8
Seat change Increase 40 Increase 6 Decrease 8
Popular vote 3,514,528 604,285 567,253
Percentage 13.9% 2.4% 2.2%
Swing New party Increase 1.3 pp Decrease 2.0 pp
Map of Spain showcasing winning party's strength by constituency
Map of Spain showcasing winning party's strength by autonomous community
Map of Spain showcasing seat distribution by Congress of Deputies constituency
Prime Minister before election

Mariano Rajoy
PP

Prime Minister after election

No government formed
and fresh election called.
Mariano Rajoy remains
acting Prime Minister

A general election was held in Spain on 20 December 2015 to elect the members of the 11th 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. At exactly four years and one month since the previous one, this remains the longest timespan between two general elections since the Spanish transition to democracy, and the only time in the country that a general election has been held on the latest possible date allowed under law.[1]

Immediately after assuming office following the 2011 election, the new government under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy adopted a harsh austerity agenda including social spending cuts, tax hikes and a labour market reform to address the ongoing economic crisis (amid soaring unemployment, public deficit and bond yields), as well as the request of a bank bailout through the European Stability Mechanism, which were met with widespreat protests and two general strikes. A number of corruption scandals affecting the ruling People's Party (PP)—most notably, the Bárcenas affair, the Púnica case and the ongoing judicial probes into the Gürtel case—further weakened the government's position and increased social distrust in traditional parties. During this period, the Monarchy underwent a reputation crisis over King Juan Carlos's elephant-hunting trips and the Nóos case involving Infanta Cristina and her spouse, leading to the King's abdication in favour of his son, who acceded to the throne as Felipe VI.

Public discontent with the political system showed up in the results of the 2014 European Parliament election in Spain—which saw the emergence of newcomer parties Podemos (Spanish for "We can") and Citizens (C's), presenting themselves as heralds of "new politics" and curtailing expectations for the more traditional United Left (IU) and Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)—while the 2015 local and regional elections resulted in a wipeout of most of the PP's territorial power in favour of left-wing administrations. The resignation of Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba as leader of the main opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) triggered a leadership contest which was won by Pedro Sánchez. In Catalonia, opposition to the ruling PP served as a catalyst for a pro-independence push being supported by regional authorities under Convergence and Union (CiU), which held a non-binding self-determination referendum in 2014 defying orders from the Constitutional Court. The outcome of the 2015 Catalan election briefly boosted C's polling numbers before dwindling to a Podemos's comeback during the general election campaign.

The election saw the PP, PSOE and IU scoring historical lows, with Rajoy's party seeing the largest loss of support for a sitting government since 1982. Podemos and C's won a combined 109 seats and over eight million votes, mostly at the cost of the main traditional parties, the IU-led Popular Unity platform, UPyD and peripheral nationalist parties: aside of a major breakthrough by Republican Left of Catalonia and the breakup of CiU after 37 years of existence, support for the abertzale left EH Bildu fell sharply, the Basque Nationalist Party stagnated, Canarian Coalition clung on to a single seat and both Geroa Bai and the Galician Nationalist Bloc were shut out from parliament. With the most-voted party obtaining just 123 seats and a third party winning an unprecedented 69 seats—the previous record being 23 in 1979—the result marked the transition from an imperfect two-party system to a fully-fledged multi-party system. After months of inconclusive negotiations, neither PP or PSOE were able to garner enough votes to secure a majority, leading to a fresh election in 2016.

Background

[edit]
See also: Premiership of Mariano Rajoy

Running on a platform promising sweeping reforms to tackle the Great Recession, the People's Party (PP) under Mariano Rajoy won the 2011 general election by a landslide.[2] Support for the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) collapsed amid public anger over the crisis and its handling by the outgoing prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.[3] A subsequent leadership contest saw former deputy prime minister and 2011 candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba narrowly defeat former defence minister Carme Chacón.[4]

Throughout 2012 and 2013, Rajoy's government adopted a strict austerity agenda to reduce the public deficit and soaring unemployment, including social spending cuts and tax hikes,[5][6] a labour market reform that lowered severance payments,[7] and an austere General State Budget.[8][9] The nationalization of Bankia after its May 2012 crash heightened fears that Spain could become the next focus of the European debt crisis,[10][11][12] while liquidity shortages forced several regions—Valencia, Murcia and Catalonia—to request financial assistance from the Spanish government.[13][14][15] Rising bond yields pushed Rajoy to request a bank bailout from the European Stability Mechanism in June 2012,[16] whose terms saw austerity reforms in taxation (including the energy sector, further hikes on VAT and environmental taxes, or the abolition of home purchase deductions), spending cuts (such as in unemployment benefits, civil servants' bonuses, or welfare dependency), a public administration overhaul (with reductions of local councillors and public companies), and privatizations (affecting rail, air and maritine transport services).[17][18][19] Additional measures included health copayments[20][21] and court fees,[22][23] major cuts into education and healthcare spending,[24][25] reductions in coal industry subsidies,[26] a temporary tax amnesty,[27] the creation of a bad bank (Sareb),[28][29] and the decoupling of pension increases from the CPI.[30] Amid accusations of insensitivity,[31] plummeting ratings,[32][33] and criticism for breaking election promises,[34] Rajoy defended his policies as necessary to stabilize the economy,[35][36][37] while justifying his U-turns on the situation he inherited.[38][39] His government secured a three-year extension to meet EU deficit targets.[40][41] Spain officially exited recession in Q3 2013,[42] and the bank bailout programme ended in January 2014.[43]

Mariano Rajoy speaking in the Congress of Deputies
The austerity measures adopted by the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (pictured on 11 July 2012) were frequently described as "harsh" and "brutal", and helped fuel an anti-austerity movement in Spain.

In domestic policy, the government passed a new Education Law (the LOMCE or so-called Wert Law), widely criticized as "ideologically driven", promoting school segregation and giving greater prominence to Spanish over regional languages.[44][45] Another bill, the Citizen Security Law—dubbed the "Gag Law" by critics—was seen as restricting civil and political rights, especially freedom of assembly and expression, by imposing stricter rules and heavy fines on street protests.[46][47] An attempt to replace the existing abortion law with a much stricter regulation (allowing abortion only in cases of rape or serious pregnancy complications)[48] was ultimately abandoned after public outrage,[49][50] leading to the resignation of justice minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón.[51] The government also faced criticism after an isolated isolated Ebola infection in Spain following the medical evacuation of two Ebola-infected priests from West Africa,[52] with the crisis widely seen as poorly managed.[53][54][55]

During this period, corruption allegations affected the ruling PP as well as other parties and institutions. Scandals included those involving former CEOE chair Gerardo Díaz Ferrán;[56][57] the PP's Bárcenas affair (involving a slush fund financed through a parallel bookkeeping system for illegal donations);[58][59][60][61][62] investigations into illegal party funding affecting both the PP[63][64][65] and Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC);[66] several regional and local kickback-for-contract schemes (Pokémon,[67] "three-percent",[68] Púnica,[69][70] and Gürtel,[71][72] the latter leading to the resignation of health minister Ana Mato);[73] misuse of layoff funds by the PSOE-led Andalusian government (the ERE case, which prompted the resignation of regional president José Antonio Griñán);[74][75] illicit dealings by former Catalan president Jordi Pujol and his family;[76][77][78][79] misuse of corporate credit cards affecting former Caja Madrid directors;[80][81][82] or an investigation into a luxury penthouse owned by the Madrilenian president, Ignacio González.[83] [84] Scandals also reached the Royal Household with the Nóos case (affecting the Dukes of Palma, Iñaki Urdangarín and Cristina de Borbón, for alleged crimes of tax fraud and money laundering),[85][86][87][88] and King Juan Carlos's controversial elephant-hunting trip to Botswana in 2012.[89][90] The decline in the King's popularity,[91] together with health issues,[92][93] led to his abdication in June 2014 in favour of his son, Felipe VI.[94][95] The scale of scandals during this period was compared by media to Italy's Tangentopoli in the 1990s.[96][97]

Artur Mas and Oriol Junqueras signing a document
Following the 2012 Catalan election, regional president Artur Mas and ERC leader Oriol Junqueras reached a confidence and supply accord that envisaged a roadmap to independence.

Growing discontent with the central government, along with the Constitutional Court's curtailment of the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, strengthened pro-independence sentiment in the region, materializing in a massive demonstration in Barcelona on 11 September 2012.[98] Rajoy's refusal of a proposed fiscal pact from regional president Artur Mas pushed Convergence and Union (CiU) towards supporting independence,[99][100][101] and Mas called a snap election for November.[102] After failing to secure an absolute majority, CiU relied on support from the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)[103][104] in exchange for a roadmap to independence.[105][106] The newly-elected parliament approved a sovereignty declaration[107] and authorized a non-binding self-determination referendum in 2014,[108] both of which were struck down by the Constitutional Court.[109][110] This Catalan sovereignist process (known as the "process") was accompanied by large-scale mobilization, especially during the National Day of Catalonia gatherings of 2013, 2014 and 2015,[111][112][113] as well as divisions between the Socialists' Party of Catalonia and the PSOE.[114][115] Growing tensions between CiU's constituent parties—CDC and Democratic Union of Catalonia—eventually led to the alliance's breakup in June 2015 after 37 years.[116]

Austerity policies were widely blamed for increasing inequality and worsening social and economic rights,[117] while a wave of evictions intensified social tensions.[118][119] Discontent against Rajoy's government first became clear in the 2012 Andalusian election,[120] and was followed by strong social mobilization against both austerity and corruption. The Indignados Movement organized mass protests and demonstrations;[121][122][123] trade unions called two general strikes in March and November 2012;[124][125] the Asturian miners' strike of 2012;[126][127] occupations and anti-eviction actions by the Mortgage Victims Platform;[128][129] the "Surround" and "Besiege Congress" protests;[130][131] or the so-called "citizen tides" and "dignity march" demonstrations.[132][133][134] Meanwhile, the opposition PSOE under Rubalcaba—still weakened by internal divisions and Zapatero's perceived mismanagement—failed to capitalize on the unrest,[135][136] creating space for new parties to emerge. The 2014 European Parliament election saw the rise of Pablo Iglesias's Podemos party (Spanish for "We can"),[137] which channelled anti-establishment sentiment and disrupted the traditional two-party system.[138][139] Rubalcaba resigned after the PSOE's poor results,[140] and the 2014 party congress elected a dark horse candidate, Pedro Sánchez, as new leader.[141] The snap 2015 Andalusian election saw strong results for both Podemos and the liberal Citizens (C's) party led by Albert Rivera,[142][143] and the 2015 local and regional elections confirmed their national rise,[144][145] while the PP lost power in most regions and major cities.[146]

In the run-up to the general election, Rajoy promised to roll back some austerity measures (including tax cuts, pay raises for public workers, and increased social spending) owing to an improving economic outlook.[147][148] Concurrently, Catalonia held a "plebiscitary" election in September 2015,[149] which resulted in a joint CDC–ERC list (Together for Yes) relying on support from the pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy; the three parties then approved the start of an 18-month independence process.[150][151] a strong result by C's turned opinion polling into a three-way race between the PP, PSOE and Citizens.[152][153]

Overview

[edit]

Under the 1978 Constitution, the Spanish Cortes Generales were conceived as an imperfect bicameral system.[154][155] 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.[156] 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.[157]

Date

[edit]

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.[158] 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.[159] The previous election was held on 20 November 2011, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 20 November 2015. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 27 October 2015, setting the latest possible date for election day on 20 December 2015.[160][161]

Mariano Rajoy in a RTVE interview with Ana Blanco
During an interview on 1 October 2015, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced election day for 20 December.

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.[162] 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.[163] Barring this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections to the Congress and the Senate.[164] Still, as of 2026, there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.

In May 2014, the Spanish newspaper ABC disclosed that the government was considering whether it was possible for a general election to be upheld until early 2016, supported on an ambiguous legal interpretation on the expiration date of the Cortes.[160] In September 2014, the media outlets Vozpópuli and El Plural further inquired on the possibility that the PP cabinet would be planning to delay the legislative term's expiry by as much as possible, not holding a new election until February 2016.[165][166] However, legal reports commissioned by the government and revealed by Público showed that the deadline for signing the Cortes's dissolution and trigger a general election would be 26 October 2015, meaning that, with the election decree being published on the following day, an election could not be held later than 20 December.[161] After the 2015 local and regional elections, 22 or 29 November were suggested as possible election dates.[167][168] However, the government's intention to approve the 2016 budget before the election meant that polling day would have to be pushed to a later date, with either 13 or 20 December being regarded as the only possible dates.[169] Finally, during an interview in the Antena 3 channel on 1 October, Rajoy announced that the election would be held on 20 December, the latest possible date allowed under Spanish law.[170] Being held four years and one month after the 2011 election, this was the longest time-span between two general elections since the Spanish transition to democracy.[1]

The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 27 October 2015 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 20 December and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 13 January 2016.[171]

Electoral system

[edit]

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, nor were legally incapacitated.[172][173] Additionally, non-resident citizens were required to apply for voting, a system known as "begged" voting (Spanish: Voto rogado).[174][175]

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.[176] The use of this electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold depending on district magnitude and vote distribution.[177]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:[178]

Seats Constituencies
36 Madrid
31 Barcelona
15 Valencia(–1)
12 Alicante, Seville
11 Málaga(+1)
10 Murcia
9 Cádiz(+1)
8 A Coruña, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Biscay, Las Palmas
7 Granada, Pontevedra, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Zaragoza
6 Almería, Badajoz, Córdoba, Gipuzkoa, Girona, Tarragona, Toledo
5 Cantabria, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Huelva, Jaén(–1), 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 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.[179][180]

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.[181]

Outgoing parliament

[edit]

The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.[182][183]

Candidates

[edit]

Nomination rules

[edit]

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:[189]

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.[189]

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:[190]

Parties and lists

[edit]
See also: List of political parties in Spain

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.[191] 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.[192]

Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy Parties and
alliances 		Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Gov. Ref.
Congress Senate
Vote % Seats Vote % Seats
PP
List
 Mariano Rajoy Conservatism
Christian democracy
45.0%
[a] 		187
46.8%
[i] 		136 Yes [193]
PSOE
List
 Pedro Sánchez Social democracy 28.8% 110
26.0%
[j] 		54 No [193]
DiL
List
 Francesc Homs Catalan independence
Liberalism
4.2%
[d] 		16
4.1%
[d] 		9 No [193]
unio.cat
List
 Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida Regionalism
Christian democracy 		No
IU–UPeC
List
 Alberto Garzón Socialism
Communism
5.5%
[k] 		8 5.1% 0 No [193]
[194]
[195]
EH Bildu
List
 Iker Urbina Basque independence
Abertzale left
Socialism
1.4%
[l] 		7
1.3%
[m] 		3 No
UPyD
List
 Andrés Herzog Social liberalism
Radical centrism 		4.7% 5 1.7% 0 No
EAJ/PNV
List
 Aitor Esteban Basque nationalism
Christian democracy 		1.3% 5 1.5% 4 No [196]
ERC–CatSí
List
 Gabriel Rufián Catalan independence
Left-wing nationalism
Social democracy 		1.1% 3 1.0% 0 No
Nós
List
 Carlos Callón Galician nationalism
Left-wing nationalism
Socialism
0.8%
[n] 		2
0.9%
[n] 		0 No [193]
[197]
CCa–PNC
List
 Ana Oramas Regionalism
Canarian nationalism
Centrism
0.6%
[o] 		2
0.4%
[o] 		1 No
GBai
List
 Koldo Martínez Basque nationalism
Social democracy 		0.2% 1 N/a[p] No
Cambio/
Aldaketa
List
 Ana Luján Basque nationalism N/a
0.4%
[q] 		0 No [198]
[199]
Podemos
List
 Pablo Iglesias Left-wing populism
Direct democracy
Democratic socialism 		Did not contest[c] No [193]
C's
List
 Albert Rivera Liberalism Did not contest No [200]
[201]
ASG
List
 Yaiza Castilla Insularism
Social democracy 		Did not contest No

The People's Party (PP) chose to continue its electoral alliance with the Aragonese Party (PAR) under which it had already won the general election in Aragon in 2011.[202] In Asturias, an alliance with Asturias Forum (FAC)—former PP member Francisco Álvarez Cascos's party—was reached. Hastened by FAC's vote collapsing in the 2015 Asturian regional election, this was the first time both parties contested an election together since Cascos's party split in 2011.[203] An agreement with Navarrese People's Union (UPN) was also reached, after a period of negotiations in which the regional party had considered to contest the general election on its own in Navarre.[204] For the Senate, the PP also aligned itself with the Fuerteventura Municipal Assemblies (AMF) to contest the election in the Senate district of Fuerteventura.[205]

Meanwhile, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and New Canaries (NCa) both announced they would contest the general election together in the Canary Islands. NCa had already contested the 2008 and 2011 elections before: in 2008 they stood alone and won no seats, while in 2011 they won 1 seat as a result of an alliance with Canarian Coalition (CCa), alliance which they chose not to continue in 2015.[206] Extremaduran Coalition and United Extremadura broke up their coalitions with both PSOE and PP, respectively, and chose to contest the general together under a single joint list, Extremeños (Spanish for "Extremadurans").[207]

In order to contest the general election, Podemos set up an extensive alliance system in several autonomous communities with other parties. After the negative results of the Catalunya Sí que es Pot alliance in the September Catalan election, Podemos, Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) and United and Alternative Left (EUiA) reached an agreement with Barcelona en Comú—Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau's party—to form a joint list to contest the general election in Catalonia: En Comú Podem (Catalan for In Common We Can). The coalition was aimed at mirroring Colau's success in the 2015 Barcelona City Council election at Catalan level;[208] if successful, it was planned to be maintained permanently for future electoral contests.[209] In Galicia, Podemos, Anova and United Left (EU) merged into the En Marea ticket (Galician for In Tide). Such a coalition, which represented a qualitative leap from the Galician Left Alternative (AGE) coalition in the 2012 Galician regional election, was aimed at channeling the results of the local "mareas" ("tides") that succeeded throughout Galicia's largest cities in the May local elections. The coalition also received support from those local alliances, such as Marea Atlántica, Compostela Aberta or Ferrol en Común.[210]

For the Valencian Community, the És el moment alliance (Valencian for It is Time) was created as a result of the agreement between Podemos and Compromís, with a strong role from Valencian deputy premier Mònica Oltra.[211][212] United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV) had also entered talks to enter the alliance, but left after disagreements with both Podemos and Compromís during negotiations.[213] Additionally, Podemos was to contest the general election in the province of Huesca alongside segments of Now in Common within the "Ahora Alto Aragón en Común" coalition (Spanish for Now Upper Aragon in Common).[214] In Navarre, all four Podemos, Geroa Bai, EH Bildu and I-E coalesced under the Cambio-Aldaketa umbrella for the Senate, aiming at disputing first place regionally to the UPN–PP alliance. The agreement was not extended to the Congress election, where all four parties ran separately.[198][199]

In Catalonia and Galicia, Popular Unity (IU–UPeC) did not contest the election as such. The respective regional United Left branches joined En Marea and En Comú Podem, which supported Podemos at the national level. While a nationwide coalition between Podemos and IU had been considered, Podemos did not wish to assume IU's internal issues, and United Left candidate Alberto Garzón had refused to leave IU to integrate Podemos's lists.[215] On the other hand, environmentalist party Equo was successful at reaching an agreement with Podemos, accepting to renounce their label and integrating themselves within Podemos's lists.[216]

After the dissolution of the Convergence and Union (CiU) federation in Catalonia, Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) joined Democrats of Catalonia and Reagrupament within the Democracy and Freedom alliance after the failure of talks with Republican Left of Catalonia to continue the Junts pel Sí coalition for the general election.[217][218] CDC's former ally, Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida's Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC), chose to contest the election alone despite losing its parliamentary presence in the Parliament of Catalonia after the 2015 regional election.[219]

Campaign

[edit]

Timetable

[edit]

The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. The Canary Islands used WET (UTC+0) instead):[220]

  • 26 October: The election decree is issued with the countersign of the prime minister, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, ratified by the King.
  • 27 October: Formal dissolution of parliament and start of prohibition period on the inauguration of public works, services or projects.
  • 30 October: Initial constitution of provincial and zone electoral commissions with judicial members.
  • 2 November: Division of constituencies into polling sections and stations.
  • 6 November: Deadline for parties and federations to report on their electoral alliances.
  • 9 November: Deadline for electoral register consultation for the purpose of possible corrections.
  • 16 November: Deadline for parties, federations, alliances, and groupings of electors to present electoral lists.
  • 18 November: Publication of submitted electoral lists in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
  • 21 November: Deadline for non-resident citizens (electors residing abroad (CERA) and citizens temporarily absent from Spain) to apply for voting.
  • 23 November: Official proclamation of validly submitted electoral lists.
  • 24 November: Publication of proclaimed electoral lists in the BOE.
  • 25 November: Deadline for the selection of polling station members by sortition.
  • 3 December: Deadline for the appointment of non-judicial members to provincial and zone electoral commissions.
  • 4 December: Official start of electoral campaigning.[221]
  • 10 December: Deadline to apply for postal voting.
  • 15 December: Start of legal ban on electoral opinion polling publication; deadline for CERA citizens to vote by mail.
  • 16 December: Deadline for postal and temporarily absent voting.
  • 18 December: Last day of electoral campaigning;[221] deadline for CERA voting.
  • 19 December: Official election silence ("reflection day").
  • 20 December: 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 December: Start of general vote counting, including CERA votes.
  • 26 December: Deadline for the general vote counting.
  • 4 January: Deadline for the proclamation of elected members.
  • 14 January: Deadline for the reconvening of parliament (date determined by the election decree, which for the 2015 election was set for 13 January).[171][222]
  • 13 February: Deadline for the publication of definitive election results in the BOE.

Party slogans

[edit]
Party or alliance Original slogan English translation Ref.
PP « España en serio » "Spain seriously" [223][224][225]
PSOE « Un futuro/un presidente para la mayoría » "A future/a president for the many" [223][224][225][226]
DiL « (Im)Possible » "(Im)Possible" [223][224][225][227]
unio.cat « Solucions! » "Solutions!" [223][224][228]
IU–UPeC « Por un nuevo país » "For a new country" [223][224][225]
EH Bildu « Bildu erabakira »
« Únete a la decisión » 		"Join the decision" [223][229]
EAJ/PNV « Lehenik Euskadi. Euskadi es lo que importa » "The Basque Country first. The Basque Country is what matters" [223][224][229]
UPyD « Más España » "More Spain" [223][224]
ERC–CatSí « Defensa el teu vot » "Defend your vote" [223][224]
Nós « A forza do noso pobo » "The strength of our people" [223]
CCa–PNC « Luchar por Canarias » "Fighting for the Canaries" [223]
GBai « Defiende Navarra. Nafarron Hitza Madrilen » "Defend Navarre. The voice of the Navarrese people in Madrid" [230][231]
Podemos Main: « Un país contigo. Podemos »
En Comú: « El canvi no s'atura »
És el moment: « Justament és el moment »
En Marea: « Para mudalo todo, para que nada siga igual » 		Main: "A country with you. We Can"
En Comú: "The change does not stop"
És el moment: "It is precisely the time"
En Marea: "To change everything, so that nothing remains the same" 		[223][224][225][232]
[233]
[234]
[235]
C's « Con ilusión » "With hope" [223][224][225]

Events and issues

[edit]

Opinion polls heading into the campaign had shown the PP firmly in first position, with both PSOE and C's tied for second place and Podemos trailing in fourth. However, as the campaign started and election day neared, Podemos numbers had begun to rebound while C's slipped. Podemos centered its campaign around the slogan of "remontada" (Spanish for "comeback"), trying to convey voters a message of illusion and optimism.[236] After the Atresmedia televised debate on 7 December—in which Iglesias was said to have outperformed all other three with his final address[237]—and following a series of gaffes by C's leaders that had affected their party's campaign,[238] Podemos experienced a surge in opinion polls. By Monday 14 December it had reached a statistical tie with C's, and kept growing and approaching the PSOE, vying for second place, in the polls conducted—but unpublished by Spanish media—after the legal ban on opinion polls during the last week of campaigning had entered into force.[239] On 18 December, the final day of campaigning, Podemos staged a massive rally in la Fonteta arena in Valencia, in support of the Compromís–Podemos–És el moment coalition and as the closing point of their campaign. With a capacity of over 9,000 people, 2,000 were left outside as the interior was entirely filled.[240][241] It was noted by some media as a remarkable feat, as the PSOE had been unable to entirely fill the same place just a few days earlier on 13 December.[242]

The most notable incident during the electoral campaign was an attack on Mariano Rajoy during a campaign event in Pontevedra on 16 December. At 18:50, while walking with Development Minister Ana Pastor in the vicinity of the Pilgrim Church, a 17-year-old approached him and punched him in the temple. The assailant was restrained by the Prime Minister's security guards and was subsequently transferred to the police station in the city. Rajoy, who was red-faced and stunned for a few seconds, continued to walk without his glasses, broken during the assault.[243][244] The assailant turned out to be related to Rajoy's wife, as he was the son of a cousin of Elvira Fernández, and also a member of a family known for sympathizing with the People's Party.[245]

The following day, Rajoy attended a European Council meeting in Brussels, where Angela Merkel and other European leaders approached him showing their support to him after the assault.[246] During the meeting a camera recorded Rajoy, Merkel and other leaders discussing the electoral prospects of Spanish parties. Rajoy revealed to them that, according to PP internal opinion polls, Podemos was rising quickly and approaching the PSOE, to the point that there was the possibility of it becoming the second political force of the country. Merkel expressed concern about such an event.[247]

Debates

[edit]

A total of four debates involving the leaders of at least two of the four parties topping opinion polls (PP, PSOE, Podemos and C's) were held throughout the pre-campaign and campaign periods.

The first debate was organized by the Demos Association and held in the Charles III University of Madrid on 27 November. The leaders of the four main parties were invited, but in the end only Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera attended.[248] The debate was broadcast live on YouTube.[249]

The second debate was held on 30 November. Organized by El País newspaper, it was broadcast live entirely through the websites of El País and Cinco Días, the Cadena SER radio station and on the 13 TV television channel. Pedro Sánchez, as well as Iglesias and Rivera, attended the debate. Mariano Rajoy (PP) was also invited to the debate but declined the offer.[250][251] According to the organizer, PP proposed the presence of Deputy PM Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría instead but it was refused, as she "was not the PP candidate for PM".[252] A poll conducted online immediately after the debate by El País to its readers showed Iglesias winning with 47.0%, followed by Rivera with 28.9% and Sánchez with 24.1%.[253]

A third, televised debate was organized by Atresmedia, held on 7 December and broadcast live simultaneously on its Antena 3 and laSexta TV channels and on the Onda Cero radio station. Rajoy had also been invited to the debate, but the PP announced that Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría would attend in his place instead.[254] The audience for the debate averaged 9.2 million, peaking at more than 10 million.[255] Online polls conducted immediately after the debate by major newspapers coincided in showing Iglesias winning,[256] while political pundits and journalists pointed on his strong performance.[257][258][259]

A fourth, final debate, organized by the TV Academy, was held on 14 December. The signal of the debate was offered to all interested media. Among others, nationwide TV channels La 1, Canal 24 Horas, Antena 3, laSexta and 13 TV broadcast the debate live.[260] Iglesias and Rivera were not invited to the debate, with only Rajoy and Sánchez participating.[261] The audience for the debate averaged 9.7 million.[262] A poll conducted by Atresmedia immediately after the debate showed 34.5% saying that "None of them" won, followed by Sánchez with 33.7%, Rajoy with 28.8% and "Both" with 3.0%.[263]

2015 Spanish general election debates
Date Organisers Moderator(s)     P  Present[r]    S  Surrogate[s]    NI  Not invited   I  Invited    A  Absent invitee 
PP PSOE IU–UPeC UPyD Podemos C's DiL unio.cat PNV Audience Ref.
18 October laSexta
(Salvados) 		Jordi Évole A A NI NI P
Iglesias 		P
Rivera 		NI NI NI 25.2%
(5,214,000) 		[264]
21 November Cuatro
(Un Tiempo Nuevo) 		Silvia Intxaurrondo S
Maroto 		S
López 		S
Sixto 		P
Herzog 		S
Errejón 		S
Girauta 		NI NI NI 3.2%
(449,000) 		[265]
26 November Twitter Ángel Carmona S
Maroto 		S
G. Veracruz 		S
Sánchez 		P
Herzog 		S
Errejón 		S
De Páramo 		NI NI NI — [266]
27 November UC3M Carlos Alsina A A NI NI P
Iglesias 		P
Rivera 		NI NI NI — [267]
30 November El País Carlos de Vega A P
Sánchez 		NI NI P
Iglesias 		P
Rivera 		NI NI NI — [268]
6 December laSexta
(El Objetivo)[t] 		Ana Pastor P
Casado 		P
Saura 		P
Garzón 		NI P
Álvarez 		P
Garicano 		NI NI NI 7.2%
(1,268,000) 		[269]
7 December Atresmedia Ana Pastor
Vicente Vallés 		S
Santamaría 		P
Sánchez 		NI NI P
Iglesias 		P
Rivera 		NI NI NI 48.2%
(9,233,000) 		[270]
9 December TVE
(El debate de La 1) 		Julio Somoano S
Casado 		S
Hernando 		P
Garzón 		P
Herzog 		S
Errejón 		S
De la Cruz 		S
Puig 		S
Surroca 		P
Esteban 		12.1%
(2,342,000) 		[271]
14 December TV Academy Manuel Campo Vidal P
Rajoy 		P
Sánchez 		NI NI NI NI NI NI NI 48.7%
(9,728,000) 		[272]
Opinion polls
Candidate viewed as "performing best" or "most convincing" in each debate
Debate Polling firm/Commissioner PP PSOE Pod. C's Tie None Question?
30 November El País[273] 24.1 47.0 28.9 – – –
7 December Redondo & Asociados[274] 30.7 16.4 23.9 22.0 – – 7.0
CIS[275] 18.3 8.9 31.3 12.0 2.7 16.2 10.6
14 December Atresmedia[276] 28.8 33.7 3.0 34.5 –
CIS[275] 26.1 26.9 3.5 37.1 6.4

Opinion polls

[edit]
Main article: Opinion polling for the 2015 Spanish general election
Local regression trend line of poll results from 20 November 2011 to 20 December 2015, with each line corresponding to a political party.


Voter turnout

[edit]

The table below shows registered voter turnout during the election. Figures for election day do not include non-resident citizens, while final figures do.

Region Time (Election day) Final
14:00 18:00 20:00
2011 2015 +/– 2011 2015 +/– 2011 2015 +/– 2011 2015 +/–
Andalusia 37.76% 34.98% −2.78 57.66% 55.83% −1.83 70.69% 71.31% +0.62 68.90% 69.08% +0.18
Aragon 39.54% 39.38% −0.16 57.44% 59.53% +2.09 72.57% 74.71% +2.14 70.99% 72.58% +1.59
Asturias 36.71% 35.35% −1.36 56.23% 56.96% +0.73 70.33% 71.22% +0.89 64.57% 63.77% −0.80
Balearic Islands 35.17% 35.02% −0.15 50.37% 52.18% +1.81 62.20% 65.20% +3.00 60.96% 63.35% +2.39
Basque Country 38.34% 39.39% +1.05 56.08% 58.97% +2.89 69.22% 71.44% +2.22 67.34% 69.00% +1.66
Canary Islands 28.03% 27.38% −0.65 45.95% 47.42% +1.47 63.72% 65.65% +1.93 59.60% 60.33% +0.73
Cantabria 40.44% 40.34% −0.10 61.53% 62.31% +0.78 75.37% 76.00% +0.63 71.56% 70.97% −0.59
Castile and León 38.12% 37.18% −0.94 59.33% 59.48% +0.15 75.08% 75.95% +0.87 71.29% 71.22% −0.07
Castilla–La Mancha 39.53% 37.54% −1.99 61.71% 59.70% −2.01 76.71% 76.49% −0.22 75.76% 75.26% −0.50
Catalonia 35.55% 35.24% −0.31 53.21% 56.62% +3.41 66.83% 70.98% +4.15 65.16% 68.63% +3.47
Extremadura 39.67% 35.91% −3.76 59.60% 56.39% −3.21 75.63% 74.11% −1.52 73.91% 72.17% −1.74
Galicia 32.87% 33.42% +0.55 57.28% 58.51% +1.23 71.82% 73.00% +1.18 62.21% 61.53% −0.68
La Rioja 41.88% 40.70% −1.18 59.73% 60.63% +0.90 75.88% 76.66% +0.78 72.78% 72.43% −0.35
Madrid 39.61% 40.35% +0.74 61.33% 63.37% +2.04 76.03% 77.76% +1.73 73.26% 74.12% +0.86
Murcia 42.50% 38.51% −3.99 63.36% 59.29% −4.07 75.53% 72.96% −2.57 74.11% 71.14% −2.97
Navarre 39.11% 39.53% +0.42 55.82% 59.00% +3.18 71.34% 74.28% +2.94 68.91% 70.93% +2.02
Valencian Community 43.95% 43.25% −0.70 62.73% 63.51% +0.78 75.50% 76.58% +1.08 74.18% 74.79% +0.61
Ceuta 26.63% 25.36% −1.27 42.50% 42.33% −0.17 55.05% 56.44% +1.39 53.16% 54.36% +1.20
Melilla 25.56% 23.04% −2.52 40.08% 38.81% −1.27 52.85% 53.29% +0.44 49.43% 49.35% −0.08
Total 37.88% 37.01% −0.87 57.65% 58.37% +0.72 71.71% 73.20% +1.49 68.94% 69.67% +0.73
Sources[277]

Results

[edit]
See also: 11th Cortes Generales

Congress of Deputies

[edit]
For results by autonomous community/constituency, see Results breakdown of the 2015 Spanish general election (Congress).
← Summary of the 20 December 2015 Congress of Deputies election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP)1 7,236,965 28.71 −16.33 123 −64
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 5,545,315 22.00 −6.76 90 −20
We Can–In Common–Commitment–In Tide (Podemos) 5,212,711 20.68 New 69 +65
We Can (Podemos)2 3,198,584 12.69 New 42 +42
In Common We Can (En Comú)3 929,880 3.69 +2.54 12 +9
It is Time (Podemos–Compromís)4 673,549 2.67 +2.16 9 +8
In Tide (Podemos–Anova–EU)5 410,698 1.63 +1.31 6 +6
Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's) 3,514,528 13.94 New 40 +40
United Left–Popular Unity in Common (IU–UPeC)6 926,783 3.68 −1.81 2 −6
Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) 604,285 2.40 +1.34 9 +6
Republican Left of Catalonia–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) 601,782 2.39 +1.36 9 +6
Valencian Country Now (Ara PV)7 2,503 0.01 −0.02 0 ±0
Democracy and Freedom (DiL)8 567,253 2.25 −1.92 8 −8
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 302,316 1.20 −0.13 6 +1
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) 220,369 0.87 +0.45 0 ±0
Basque Country Gather (EH Bildu)9 219,125 0.87 −0.50 2 −5
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) 155,153 0.62 −4.08 0 −5
Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party (CCa–PNC)10 81,917 0.32 −0.27 1 −1
We–Galician Candidacy (Nós)11 70,863 0.28 −0.48 0 −2
Democratic Union of Catalonia (unio.cat) 65,388 0.26 New 0 ±0
Vox (Vox) 58,114 0.23 New 0 ±0
Zero Cuts–Green Group (Recortes Cero–GV) 48,675 0.19 New 0 ±0
More for the Balearic Islands (Més)12 33,877 0.13 ±0.00 0 ±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) 31,179 0.12 +0.01 0 ±0
Yes to the Future (GBai) 30,642 0.12 −0.05 0 −1
El Pi–Proposal for the Isles (El Pi) 12,910 0.05 New 0 ±0
Citizens of Democratic Centre (CCD) 10,827 0.04 +0.04 0 ±0
Blank Seats (EB) 10,084 0.04 −0.36 0 ±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE de las JONS) 7,495 0.03 +0.02 0 ±0
For the Left–The Greens (X Izda) 7,314 0.03 New 0 ±0
We Are Valencian (SOMVAL) 6,103 0.02 New 0 ±0
For a Fairer World (PUM+J) 4,586 0.02 −0.09 0 ±0
Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) 4,400 0.02 −0.01 0 ±0
The Eco-pacifist Greens (Centro Moderado) 3,278 0.01 New 0 ±0
Land Party (PT) 3,026 0.01 New 0 ±0
Canaries Decides (LV–UP–ALTER)13 2,883 0.01 +0.01 0 ±0
Libertarian Party (P–LIB) 2,854 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
Humanist Party (PH) 2,846 0.01 −0.03 0 ±0
United Extremadura–Extremadurans (EU–eX)14 2,021 0.01 +0.01 0 ±0
Spanish Communist Workers' Party (PCOE) 1,909 0.01 New 0 ±0
National Democracy (DN) 1,704 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
Feminist Initiative (IFem) 1,604 0.01 New 0 ±0
Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) 1,419 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
In Positive (En Positiu) 1,276 0.01 New 0 ±0
United Free Citizens (CILUS) 1,189 0.00 New 0 ±0
Grouped Rural Citizens (CRA) 1,032 0.00 New 0 ±0
Navarrese Freedom (Ln) 1,026 0.00 New 0 ±0
Forward Valencians (Avant) 1,003 0.00 New 0 ±0
Málaga for Yes (mlgXSÍ) 934 0.00 New 0 ±0
Family and Life Party (PFyV) 714 0.00 ±0.00 0 ±0
Andalusians of Jaén United (AJU) 711 0.00 New 0 ±0
Independents for Aragon (i) 676 0.00 New 0 ±0
Democratic Forum (FDEE) 456 0.00 New 0 ±0
To Solution (Soluciona) 409 0.00 New 0 ±0
Social Justice, Citizen Participation (JS,PC) 406 0.00 New 0 ±0
Death to the System (+MAS+) 313 0.00 ±0.00 0 ±0
Liberal Party of the Right (PLD) 205 0.00 New 0 ±0
Welcome (Ongi Etorri) 110 0.00 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 188,132 0.75 −0.62
Total 25,211,313 350 ±0
Valid votes 25,211,313 99.11 +0.40
Invalid votes 227,219 0.89 −0.40
Votes cast / turnout 25,438,532 69.67 +0.73
Abstentions 11,073,316 30.33 −0.73
Registered voters 36,511,848
Sources[277][278][279]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PP
 
 28.71%
PSOE
 
 22.00%
Podemos
 
 20.68%
C's
 
 13.94%
IU–UPeC
 
 3.67%
ERC–CatSí
 
 2.40%
DiL
 
 2.25%
EAJ/PNV
 
 1.20%
EH Bildu
 
 0.87%
CCa–PNC
 
 0.32%
Others
 
 3.21%
Blank ballots
 
 0.75%
Seats
PP
 
 35.14%
PSOE
 
 25.71%
Podemos
 
 19.71%
C's
 
 11.43%
ERC–CatSí
 
 2.57%
DiL
 
 2.29%
EAJ/PNV
 
 1.71%
IU–UPeC
 
 0.57%
EH Bildu
 
 0.57%
CCa–PNC
 
 0.29%

Senate

[edit]
← Summary of the 20 December 2015 Senate of Spain election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP)1 20,105,650 30.31 −16.45 124 −12
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)2 14,887,751 22.44 −3.53 47 −7
We Can–In Common–Commitment–In Tide (Podemos) 12,244,416 18.46 New 16 +15
We Can (Podemos)3 7,494,552 11.30 New 9 +9
In Common We Can (En Comú)4 2,022,836 3.05 New 4 +3
It is Time (Podemos–Compromís)5 1,734,332 2.61 +2.13 1 +1
In Tide (Podemos–Anova–EU)6 992,696 1.50 +1.26 2 +2
Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's) 7,417,388 11.18 New 0 ±0
United Left–Popular Unity in Common (IU–UPeC)7 2,372,637 3.58 −1.28 0 ±0
Republican Left–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) 1,895,501 2.86 +1.81 6 +6
Republican Left–Catalonia Yes (ERC–CatSí) 1,887,613 2.85 +1.82 6 +6
Valencian Country Now (Ara PV)8 7,888 0.01 −0.01 0 ±0
Democracy and Freedom (DiL)9 1,531,259 2.31 −1.78 6 −3
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) 1,036,736 1.56 +0.97 0 ±0
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 907,267 1.37 −0.09 6 +2
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) 620,704 0.94 −0.73 0 ±0
Basque Country Gather (EH Bildu)10 564,575 0.85 −0.43 0 −3
Change (Cambio/Aldaketa)11 282,889 0.43 −0.02 1 +1
We–Galician Candidacy (Nós)12 279,325 0.42 −0.52 0 ±0
Vox (Vox) 196,457 0.30 New 0 ±0
Zero Cuts–Green Group (Recortes Cero–GV) 174,481 0.26 New 0 ±0
Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party (CCa–PNC)13 156,636 0.24 −0.18 1 ±0
Democratic Union of Catalonia (unio.cat) 154,702 0.23 New 0 ±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) 105,250 0.16 +0.04 0 ±0
Blank Seats (EB) 88,802 0.13 −0.69 0 ±0
More for Mallorca (Més)14 60,527 0.09 +0.01 0 ±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE de las JONS) 37,688 0.06 +0.04 0 ±0
El Pi–Proposal for the Isles (El Pi) 30,557 0.05 New 0 ±0
For a Fairer World (PUM+J) 20,187 0.03 −0.12 0 ±0
Citizens of Democratic Centre (CCD) 20,150 0.03 +0.03 0 ±0
We Are Valencian (SOMVAL) 19,950 0.03 New 0 ±0
Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) 18,377 0.03 −0.01 0 ±0
Land Party (PT) 10,128 0.02 New 0 ±0
United Extremadura–Extremadurans (EU–eX)15 10,065 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) 9,905 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
Humanist Party (PH) 9,789 0.01 −0.05 0 ±0
The Eco-pacifist Greens (Centro Moderado) 9,440 0.01 New 0 ±0
Libertarian Party (P–LIB) 7,777 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
Canaries Decides (LV–UP–ALTER)16 6,337 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
United for Gran Canaria (UxGC) 5,885 0.01 New 0 ±0
Navarrese Freedom (Ln) 5,710 0.01 New 0 ±0
Feminist Initiative (IFem) 5,623 0.01 +0.01 0 ±0
Forward Valencians (Avant) 4,948 0.01 New 0 ±0
In Positive (En Positiu) 4,548 0.01 New 0 ±0
National Democracy (DN) 4,456 0.01 ±0.00 0 ±0
Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) 4,435 0.01 New 1 +1
We Are Menorca (Som Menorca)17 4,129 0.01 +0.01 0 ±0
Forward Badajoz (BA) 4,025 0.01 New 0 ±0
United Free Citizens (CILUS) 3,140 0.00 New 0 ±0
Independents for Aragon (i) 2,716 0.00 New 0 ±0
Andalusians of Jaén United (AJU) 1,836 0.00 New 0 ±0
Grouped Rural Citizens (CRA) 1,624 0.00 New 0 ±0
To Solution (Soluciona) 1,573 0.00 New 0 ±0
Family and Life Party (PFyV) 1,569 0.00 ±0.00 0 ±0
We (Nosotros) 1,472 0.00 New 0 ±0
Social Justice, Citizen Participation (JS,PC) 1,399 0.00 New 0 ±0
Merindades of Castile Initiative (IMC) 1,225 0.00 New 0 ±0
Democratic Forum (FDEE) 1,222 0.00 New 0 ±0
Aragonese Bloc (BAR) 1,183 0.00 New 0 ±0
For the Left–The Greens (X Izda) 1,009 0.00 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots[u] 979,371 4.06 −1.30
Total 66,336,401 208 ±0
Valid votes 24,119,913 96.78 +0.48
Invalid votes 801,743 3.22 −0.48
Votes cast / turnout 24,921,656 68.26 −0.17
Abstentions 11,590,192 31.74 +0.17
Registered voters 36,511,848
Sources[183][277][278][279][280]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PP
 
 30.31%
PSOE
 
 22.44%
Podemos
 
 18.46%
C's
 
 11.18%
IU–UPeC
 
 3.58%
ERC–CatSí
 
 2.86%
DiL
 
 2.31%
PACMA
 
 1.56%
EAJ/PNV
 
 1.37%
Cambio/Aldaketa
 
 0.43%
CCa–PNC
 
 0.24%
ASG
 
 0.01%
Others
 
 3.79%
Blank ballots
 
 4.06%
Seats
PP
 
 59.62%
PSOE
 
 22.60%
Podemos
 
 7.69%
ERC–CatSí
 
 2.88%
DiL
 
 2.88%
EAJ/PNV
 
 2.88%
Cambio/Aldaketa
 
 0.48%
CCa–PNC
 
 0.48%
ASG
 
 0.48%

Maps

[edit]
  • Election results by constituency (Congress).
    Election results by constituency (Congress).
  • Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress).
    Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress).
  • Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress).
    Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress).

Aftermath

[edit]

Outcome

[edit]

The election results produced the most fragmented parliament in recent Spanish history. As opinion polls had predicted, the People's Party (PP) was able to secure first place with a clear lead over its rivals, but it lost the absolute majority it had held since 2011 in the Congress of Deputies. Its 123 seat-count was the worst result ever obtained by a winning party in a Spanish general election—previously been 156 seats in 1996. Its result was also slightly below the party's expected goal of reaching 30% of the vote.[281] The party's net loss of seats (64 fewer than in 2011) and vote share drop (minus 16 percentage points) was the PP's largest fall in popular support in its history, as well as the worst showing for a sitting government in Spain since 1982. Overall, it was also the worst result obtained by the PP in a general election since 1989, back to the party's refoundation from the People's Alliance.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) obtained its worst election result in recent history, with just 22% of the total party vote and 90 seats, well below Pedro Sánchez's target of at least 100 seats.[282] Losing 20 seats and nearly 7 percentage points to its already negative 2011 result, this was the first time since the Spanish transition to democracy that one of the two largest parties fell below the 100-seat mark. Overall, while able to hold on to its second place nationally in terms of votes and seats, it lost the second and first place to Podemos in 8 out of the 17 autonomous communities, and finished fourth in Madrid, the capital's district. It was able to narrowly win in Andalusia and Extremadura—which it had resoundingly lost to the PP in 2011—thanks to the PP vote collapse in those regions, but it lost in Barcelona for the first time ever in a general election, and its sister party, the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), was reduced to third party status in Catalonia after decades of political dominance.

The combined results for the top two parties was also the worst for any general election held since 1977, gathering just 51% of the total party vote and 213 seats, just slightly above the required 3/5 majority for an ordinary constitutional reform. The result was regarded as a loss for bipartisanship in Spain as a whole, as the era of bipartisan politics was declared officially over by newcomers Podemos and Citizens, as well as by both national and international media.[283][284][285]

Podemos, which contested a general election for the first time after having been founded in January 2014, obtained an unprecedented 21% of the vote and 69 seats together with its regional alliances, the best result ever obtained by a third party in a Spanish election. Coming short by 340,000 votes of securing its campaign goal of becoming the main left-wing party in Spain, it managed to secure second place in 6 out of the 17 autonomous communities and came top in another two—the Basque Country and Catalonia. This result was ahead of what initial pre-campaign and campaign opinion polls had predicted, and was in line with a late-campaign surge in support for the party. Citizens (C's) also had a strong performance for a national party in Spain, but its fourth place, 14% of the share and 40 seats were considered a letdown for party leader Albert Rivera, mainly as a consequence of the high expectations that had been generated around his candidacy. Pre-election opinion polls had placed C's near or above 20% of the vote share, and many also suggested a strong possibility of C's disputing second place to PSOE. Finally, it only came ahead of either PSOE or PP in Madrid and Catalonia.[286][287] The party also found itself in a weaker political position than predicted, as the "kingmaker" position that was thought to go to C's under opinion polling projections finally went to PSOE, with the Congress's fragmentation resulting from the election meaning that neither the PP–C's nor the PSOE–Podemos–IU blocs would be able to command a majority on their own.

Government formation

[edit]
Further information: 2015–2016 Spanish government formation
Investiture
Congress of Deputies
Nomination of Pedro Sánchez (PSOE)
Ballot → 2 March 2016 4 March 2016
Required majority → 176 out of 350 ☒N Simple ☒N
Yes
130 / 350
131 / 350
No
219 / 350
219 / 350
Abstentions
  • • CCa (1) (on 2 Mar)
1 / 350
0 / 350
Absentees
0 / 350
0 / 350
Sources[288]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Results for PP (44.6%, 186 deputies) and FAC (0.4%, 1 deputy) in the 2011 Congress election.
  2. ^ Total figures include results for En Comú Podem, És el moment and En Marea.
  3. ^ a b ICV–EUiA (3 deputies and 1 senator), which contested the 2011 election within the IU–LV and Entesa alliances, joined the En Comú Podem alliance ahead of the 2015 election. Compromís (1 deputy and 0 senators) joined the És el moment alliance.
  4. ^ a b c Results for CiU in the 2015 election.
  5. ^ 1 UPyD seat was vacant as a result of Irene Lozano's resignation to join the PSOE on 16 October 2015.[185]
  6. ^ 1 PP appointed seat remained vacant until 14 December 2016.[187]
  7. ^ Juan Morano, former PP legislator.[188]
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Results for PP (46.3%, 136 senators) and FAC (0.5%, 0 senators) in the 2011 Senate election.
  10. ^ PSC–PSOE contested the 2011 Senate election within the Entesa alliance.
  11. ^ Results for IU–LV in the 2011 election, not including ICV–EUiA.
  12. ^ Results for Amaiur in the 2011 Congress election.
  13. ^ Results for Amaiur in the 2011 Senate election, not including Navarre.
  14. ^ a b Results for BNG in the 2011 election.
  15. ^ a b Results for CC–NC–PNC in the 2011 election.
  16. ^ EH Bildu, GBai, I–E (n) and Podemos contested the 2015 Senate election within the Cambio/Aldaketa alliance.
  17. ^ Results for EH Bildu (0.2%, 0 senators), GBai (0.2%, 0 senators) and I–E (n) (0.1%, 0 senators) in the 2011 Senate election in Navarre.
  18. ^ Denotes a main invitee attending the event.
  19. ^ Denotes a main invitee not attending the event, sending a surrogate in their place.
  20. ^ Economic debate.
  21. ^ 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.

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Bibliography

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Legislation

Other

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