Who wins and who loses in each autonomous community in the elections of November 29: Vox advances and the PSOE retreats

After a general election in Spain, the Constitution and the Regulations of the Congress and the Senate establish a fairly fixed sequence of acts until, if applicable, the investiture of the President of the Government. It can be summarized in three main blocks: proclamation of elected members, constitution of the Chambers (with the election of their Board), and investiture procedure.

1. From elections to proclamation of elected members

Once the elections have been held, the general scrutiny is carried out and the Central Electoral Board proclaims the elected deputies and senators. Each one is issued their credential, an indispensable requirement to fully acquire the status of deputy or senator in the constitutive session.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Government continues in office and the previous Cortes are dissolved; only the Permanent Deputation remains active, which, according to the Constitution, can assume very limited powers during this period regarding decree-laws and states of alarm, exception, and siege, until the new Chambers convene.

2. Constitution of the Congress (and the Senate)

The Constitution establishes that the Congress and the Senate must constitute themselves within 25 days following the elections. The call for this constitutive session is signed by the King, usually at the proposal of the Government.

In the Congress, the constitutive session opens with the so-called Board of Elders (the oldest deputy as president and the two youngest as secretaries), which verifies credentials and compiles the list of attendees. Then, the deputies take an oath or promise to uphold the Constitution, a necessary condition to fully acquire parliamentary status.

The decisive step is the election of the Board of the Congress, the internal governing body of the Chamber. The following are elected:

• First, the President of the Congress, by secret ballot voting.
• The first vote requires an absolute majority of the total deputies.
• If no one achieves it, a second round is held between the two most voted, and the one with the most votes (simple majority) is elected.
• Then vice presidents and secretaries are elected, also by secret ballot.

The Senate follows a very similar scheme: constitutive session, Board of Elders, oath or promise by senators, and election of the President of the Senate and the rest of the Board according to its Regulations.

Once the Boards are elected, the parliamentary groups are constituted. After the constitutive session, parties and coalitions have a short period (usually about five working days) to request their constitution. The Board verifies if they meet the numerical requirements and, if so, recognizes them; those who do not meet these minimums join the Mixed Group.

3. Communication to the King and designation of candidate

Once the Chamber is constituted, the President of the Congress formally communicates to the King the formation of the new Congress and the list of parliamentary groups. From that moment, the mechanism of Article 99 of the Constitution is activated.

The King opens a round of consultations with the representatives designated by each parliamentary group present in the Congress. These consultations aim to identify which political leader has the best chance of obtaining the necessary support. After the consultations, the King proposes a candidate for the presidency of the Government to the Congress, through its president.

4. Debate and investiture votes

The President of the Congress then convenes the Investiture Plenary and sets the date for the debate. The basic scheme is:

• Initial intervention by the candidate, presenting their Government program, without a strict time limit.
• Turns for parliamentary groups, with replies and counter-replies regulated by the Regulations.

After the debate, the first investiture vote is held. To be elected in this first vote, the candidate needs an absolute majority of the votes in the Congress (more votes in favor than half of the total number of deputies).

If not obtained, a second vote 48 hours later is held, where a simple majority suffices (more votes in favor than against). If the candidate is not elected in this second vote either, the King may conduct new consultations and propose successive candidates, repeating the debate–voting scheme.

The Constitution sets a maximum period: if two months pass from the first investiture vote without any candidate being invested, the Cortes are automatically dissolved and new elections are called. Until then, the Government remains in office.

In summary, from the elections to the investiture or, if applicable, the call for new elections, the core of the procedure takes place in the Congress: the Chamber is constituted, its president and Board are elected, groups are formed, this information is communicated to the King, and the debate and investiture votes are held in Plenary according to the majorities and deadlines set by the Constitution and the Regulations.

Regional presidents do not have, as such, a “block” of specific powers over representation in the Congress of Deputies. Their relationship with the Congress arises from three different levels: their institutional position as heads of the regional executive, their possible personal status as deputies (if they run in general elections), and the formal mechanisms of relation between Autonomous Communities and the General Courts. On this basis, it is also understood that they lack legal power to order the actions of deputies elected in their territory.

(1) General institutional role vis-à-vis the Congress

According to the Constitution and the Statutes of Autonomy, the regional president is the highest representative of the Autonomous Community and the ordinary representative of the State within it, and directs the regional government. This position generates an intense political relationship with the Congress, but does not translate into specific powers over its internal functioning.

• Political and cooperative relationship: the president leads their Community’s position in sectoral conferences and in the Conference of Presidents, coordinates with the National Government and state parliamentary groups, and negotiates state laws affecting regional competences. But this is articulated through political negotiation, not through regulatory powers in the Congress.
• Legislative initiative from the Autonomous Community: Article 87.2 of the Constitution recognizes the regional legislative assemblies the right to present bills before the Congress. Formally, the subject is the regional parliament, not the president; in practice, often the president politically drives the initiative within their Parliament and then leads its public defense.
• Institutional communication: the Regulations and parliamentary practice foresee acts of the Congress “in relation to the Autonomous Communities” (cooperation agreements, harmonization laws, etc.). The formal interlocutor is the Autonomous Community or its Assembly, but the president usually politically represents the Community in these relations.

In summary, the regional president is a key political actor vis-à-vis the Congress, but their “power” at this level is basically one of influence and negotiation, not a legal competence over representation.

(2) If the regional president is elected national deputy

If a person who is regional president runs in general elections and is elected deputy:

• Incompatibility regime: the Constitution and electoral legislation establish incompatibilities between certain regional executive positions and the mandate of national deputy. In practice, one cannot simultaneously hold the regional presidency and a seat in the Congress in a stable manner: either one does not acquire one of the positions, or one resigns from one of them within a short period.
• Once a deputy: if they finally occupy a seat, they act as a deputy in an individual capacity, with the same rights, duties, prerogatives, and disciplinary regime as any other member of the Congress. Their (past or future) status as regional president does not create additional powers in the Congress Regulations.

(3) Forms of relationship with the Congress

• Appearances: Congress committees can summon regional authorities. Among them, they can expressly invite regional presidents to report on matters within their competence (financing, implementation of state laws, sectoral policies, etc.). This is a relationship of political control and information, similar to that with ministers or other authorities.
• Defense of regional initiatives: when a regional Assembly registers a bill before the Congress, internal regulations foresee that a delegation from that Assembly defends the text during the consideration phase. That delegation may include its regional president if so decided by the regional parliament itself, but not because the president has a specific right to do so.
• Participation in general debates: major political debates on the territorial organization of the State (regional financing, harmonization, etc.) may motivate the presence of the regional president in Madrid and their contacts with parliamentary groups, but the leading role in the Plenary always corresponds to deputies and members of the National Government.

(4) Can they order the actions of “their” deputies?

From a legal-constitutional point of view, the answer is clear:

• Congress deputies represent the entire Spanish people, not their constituency or a specific Autonomous Community, and exercise a free representative mandate (not imperative). No authority, not even a regional president, can legally oblige them to vote in a certain way.
• The relationship is, therefore, political and partisan, not legal: if the regional president is also a territorial leader of a party, they can influence candidate lists, strategy, and internal discipline of that party’s parliamentary group. But that influence is exercised through the party organization, not through a formal public power recognized in the Constitution, Statutes, or Congress Regulations.

In conclusion, regional presidents have a very relevant position in the political dynamics surrounding the Congress, but their specific powers over representation in the Chamber are essentially indirect and political in nature, not legal powers to direct deputies.

In the general elections of July 23, 2023, for the Congress of Deputies, the Popular Party was the most voted force in Spain, closely followed by the PSOE, with a very fragmented seat distribution and a decisive role played by nationalist and regionalist formations. Below is a summary of the state-level results by party and the regional map as reflected in the official scrutiny data.

State-level results (Congress of Deputies)

At the state level, the distribution of votes and seats by party was as follows (out of a total of 350 deputies and a turnout of 70.40%):

In terms of blocs, PP and Vox together obtained 170 seats, while PSOE and Sumar reached 152. The rest (34 deputies) corresponded to nationalist and regionalist forces (ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV, BNG, Coalición Canaria, and UPN), whose position was key for investiture and governability.

Results by autonomous communities and cities

The following table shows, for each community or autonomous city, the most voted candidacy, its percentage, and the overall distribution of seats assigned in that territory:

Territorial reading of the result

In territorial terms, the PP was the leading force in most autonomous communities and in the two autonomous cities, with particular strength in Galicia, Castile and León, La Rioja, Madrid, and Murcia. The PSOE led in Asturias, the Canary Islands, and Catalonia (through the PSC), while in the Basque Country the victory went to EH Bildu, ahead of the PNV. The result confirmed a very plural map, with significant presence of state and nationalist forces, and no absolute majorities either at the state level or in most territories.