How Spanish elections work: general, regional, municipal and European

Key rules

• Closed lists: You vote for a whole party list in your province and cannot choose individual candidates.
• Prime minister: Parliament chooses the prime minister, not voters directly.
• Foreign residents: Foreign residents, including EU citizens, cannot vote in general or regional elections.
• Municipal and regional dates: Municipal elections are on the fourth Sunday of May every four years, but some regions vote on separate dates.

Spain votes at four levels

Spain holds general, regional, municipal and European elections. Each one has its own cycle.

• General elections: Spanish citizens elect the Congreso de los Diputados and the Senado, Spain's two houses of parliament.
• Regional elections: residents elect the parliament of their autonomous community.
• Municipal elections: residents elect town councillors, and the councillors then elect the mayor.
• European elections: voters elect Spain's members of the European Parliament.

Who may vote differs by level. Voting rights for foreign residents are set out in the page on who can vote. In short, foreign residents cannot vote in general or regional elections. EU citizens can vote in municipal and European elections. Some non-EU nationals can vote in municipal elections only.

You vote for a party list, not a person

In a general election you choose one party list in your province. The lists are closed and blocked. You cannot reorder the candidates or pick individuals. Spain has 52 provincial constituencies.

Each province gets a minimum of 2 Congreso seats. Ceuta and Melilla have 1 each. The remaining seats are shared out by population. This is why small provinces are over-represented compared with big ones.

How seats are allocated: D'Hondt

Seats are allocated by the D'Hondt method:

1. A list must reach 3 percent of the valid votes in the constituency to take part.
2. Each list's votes are divided by 1, 2, 3 and so on.
3. The seats go to the highest results, until none are left.

The method tends to favour larger parties slightly. Regional and municipal elections use their own thresholds, so do not assume the 3 percent figure applies there.

How a government forms

Voters do not elect the prime minister directly. Parliament does, in a process called investiture. The timeline below shows the steps. The key points:

• The King consults party representatives and proposes a candidate.
• The first vote needs an absolute majority, which is 176 of 350 seats.
• If that fails, a second vote comes after 48 hours. It needs only more yes than no votes.
• If nobody is invested within two months of the first vote, parliament is dissolved and new elections are called.

At town level, the elected councillors vote to choose the mayor. Regional parliaments similarly choose their regional president.

How often people vote

• General elections: every four years.
• Municipal elections: every four years, on the fourth Sunday of May.
• Regional elections: in the 13 communities on the common system, every four years on the same May Sunday as the municipal vote.
• Separate regional dates: the Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Castilla y León vote on their own dates.
• European elections: every five years, in June.

Early dissolution can shift these dates, so a general election often does not fall when you expect. Use the election calendar planner below to see what is coming up and which registration deadlines matter to you.

Timeline and deadlines

• The King consults party representatives and proposes a candidate to the Congreso: After a general election

• The candidate presents a programme and faces the first vote, needing 176 of 350 votes: At the first vote

• If the first vote fails, hold a second vote needing more yes than no votes: 48 hours after the first vote

• If nobody is invested, the King dissolves parliament and calls new elections: Two months after the first vote

Election and registration calendar planner

Your next dates

The next municipal elections are expected on Sunday 23 May 2027. The next European Parliament elections are expected in June 2029. Neither has been formally called yet, so these dates can shift. Early dissolution is one reason.

Because the May 2027 vote is the nearest, your registration window is the one to plan for now.

Plan backwards from the vote

1. Now: get on the padrón. You cannot apply to vote without it. If you are not registered at your address, do this first.
2. Now to the end of January 2027: apply to be on the electoral roll. You are not added automatically. The cut-off is set for each election, and for a May election it is in practice around the end of the previous January. Treat the end of January 2027 as your deadline and file well before it.
3. If you are from outside the EU: only citizens of countries with a voting agreement with Spain can vote in municipal elections. Their application window usually closes earlier, around January for a May election. Ask your town hall at the start whether your country qualifies and what the closing date is.
4. When the election is called: check the exact dates. The decree calling the election fixes the cut-offs. Your town hall can confirm them, and so can the national statistics office that runs the roll.
5. Spring 2027: check you are on the roll. Confirm this before election day, while there is still time to fix a problem.
6. Election day: vote at your assigned polling station. Take photo ID.

Which elections you can vote in

• European Parliament elections are held every five years, in June.
• Regional elections mostly follow the May municipal date. The Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Castilla y León vote on their own dates.
• General elections are held every four years, but the date is not fixed in the same way.

Your right to vote depends on your nationality and the type of election. Ask your town hall which elections you can vote in.

Keep in mind

Once you have applied, you do not need to repeat the process for every election. Keep your padrón address up to date, though, because your polling station follows it.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if parliament cannot agree on a prime minister?

If no candidate is invested within two months of the first vote, the King dissolves parliament and calls new elections. Until then, the candidate needs 176 of 350 votes in the first vote. In a second vote after 48 hours, more yes than no votes is enough.

How many votes does a party need to win seats in a general election?

A list needs 3 percent of valid votes in a constituency to take part in the seat distribution. Seats are then shared by D'Hondt, which divides each list's votes by 1, 2, 3 and so on. Each province gets at least 2 Congreso seats, and Ceuta and Melilla get 1 each.

Do all regions vote on the same day?

No, 13 regions vote together on the fourth Sunday of May, but the Basque Country, Galicia, Catalonia, Andalusia and Castilla y León choose their own dates. Municipal elections share the May date. European elections come every five years, in June.