General elections: the PSOE drops below 100 seats and PP and Vox add up to 203, according to DATA10

As of November 9, 2026, the general elections in Spain are already called for Sunday, November 29: this is not a hypothetical call pending approval. The dissolution of the Cortes and the call were formalized by Royal Decree 806/2026, of October 5, published on October 6. The process is now in the period prior to the start of the electoral campaign.

What stage is the procedure at?

It is important to distinguish between the decision to call elections and the development of the electoral process. The first has already been completed: the decree, signed by the King and countersigned by the president of the Government, came into force on the day of its publication and dissolved the Congress and Senate elected in 2023. There is no parliamentary vote pending to authorize the call. The decree in the BOE can be consulted.

According to the electoral calendar, the candidacies were proclaimed on November 2 and published on the 3rd. Therefore, the next main milestone is the start of the campaign, on November 13. The date for the constitution of the new Chambers is also set: December 23, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., as reported by Demócrata about the call.

What legal deadlines govern the call?

For an early dissolution like this, Article 115 of the Constitution assigns the initiative to propose it to the president of the Government, after deliberation by the Council of Ministers and under his responsibility. The King decrees the dissolution and the decree itself sets the election date. A political announcement alone does not replace this formalization.

Article 42.1 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime establishes that the decree is published the day after its issuance and comes into force that same day. The elections are held on the fifty-fourth day after the call. Therefore, it is not a free margin to choose any date between a minimum and a maximum: in this case there is a specific period of 54 days. The publication on October 6 leads to the vote on November 29.

Early dissolution has constitutional limits: it cannot be proposed while a motion of censure is being processed nor can a new one be agreed upon before one year has passed since the previous one, except in the case of investiture failure. If two months pass from the first investiture vote without any candidate obtaining the confidence of the Congress, another dissolution and call proceed. Those two months are not counted from the elections nor from the constitution of the Chamber; this is specified by Article 172 of the Congress Regulations.

Upcoming dates

• November 13–27: fifteen-day electoral campaign, from 00:00 on the 13th until 24:00 on the 27th, as explained by Demócrata about the campaign.
• November 19: last day to request postal voting; the deadline to deposit it ends on November 25, according to the official information from the Interior Ministry.
• November 29: voting to elect the Congress and the Senate.
• December 23: constitutive sessions of both Chambers, distinct from the subsequent investiture of the president of the Government.

In short, the deadline to decide and formalize this call has already ended. What is underway is the electoral organization until the vote, followed by the constitution of the new Cortes and the procedure to form a Government.

The Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility heads the department responsible for proposing and executing the Government's policy on infrastructures and transport services under state competence. His responsibilities include sustainable mobility, investment planning, and other matters such as postal regulatory organization and state geographic services. It is important to distinguish his leadership role from the specific powers exercised by the secretariats, general directorates, and entities of the Ministry.

Legal framework and scope

The central reference is Royal Decree 253/2024, of March 12, which develops the Ministry's organizational structure. Its Article 1 assigns the department the "proposal and execution of the Government's policy" in the enumerated areas, aiming to guarantee safe and sustainable mobility based on social justice criteria. It can be consulted in the BOE of its publication.

This regulation develops the basic organization established by Royal Decree 1009/2023. Subsequently, Royal Decree 690/2025 modified aspects of crisis coordination and civil aviation functions.

Main areas of competence

• State infrastructures: directing departmental policy on land, air, and maritime transport infrastructures, including investment planning and programming. Execution corresponds to competent bodies and attached entities.
• Transport services: promoting their control, organization, and administrative regulation within the state scope. This includes land, maritime, and air modes, without making the minister the direct manager of each service.
• Sustainable mobility: promoting it in its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, including active mobility. The ministerial organization contemplates strategies, economic instruments and aids, territorial cooperation, and integration of infrastructures in urban environments.
• Intermodality: guiding coordination between different transport modes to facilitate the movement of people and goods and improve the joint functioning of the system.
• Other matters: directing the policy of regulatory organization of postal services and promoting state services of astronomy, geodesy, geophysics, and cartography.

Leadership, planning, and organization

According to Article 1.2, the State Secretariat for Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Undersecretariat report directly to the minister. He also has an immediate support Cabinet and a General Subdirectorate of International Relations directly dependent.

Article 2 specifies that the State Secretariat acts "under the direction of the head of the Department." It is responsible for formulating and monitoring strategic planning, investment programming, infrastructure execution, and coordination and supervision of attached bodies. Therefore, these are ministerial responsibilities, but not all constitute actions that the minister must personally carry out.

Investment programming must prioritize safety, maintenance, daily mobility, technification, and intermodality. Departmental planning and programming are formulated before being submitted to the Council of Ministers when appropriate.

International relations and limits

The department coordinates its international relations and representation, especially before the European Union, in collaboration with Foreign Affairs. The 2025 reform also strengthens crisis prevention and coordination and victim assistance, without transferring direct emergency management to the coordinating body.

Finally, Article 1.5 requires exercising these powers in coordination and without prejudice to those of other ministries. The state scope of the attributions also prevents interpreting them as a general competence over any regional or municipal road, infrastructure, or transport.

To succeed in Congress, a motion of censure must gather the required signatures, propose an alternative candidacy, respect parliamentary procedure, and obtain the absolute majority. It is a constructive motion: it is not enough to withdraw confidence from the Government; it must simultaneously support who will replace it.

1. Presentation and content

Article 113.2 of the Constitution requires that it be proposed by at least one tenth of the deputies. Article 175.2 of the Regulations specifies that it must be submitted through a motivated written document addressed to the Board of the Congress and include a candidate for the Presidency of the Government who has accepted the candidacy.

Therefore, the document must explain the reasons for the censure and identify an accepted alternative. It is not required to attach a written government program as a specific admission requirement: Article 177.1 foresees that the candidacy may intervene during the debate to present the political program of the Government it intends to form.

2. Admission and deadlines

The Board verifies the requirements and, if met, admits the motion for processing and communicates its presentation to the president of the Government and parliamentary spokespersons, according to Article 176.1. This provision does not establish a specific deadline to resolve admission.

• Alternative motions: may be submitted within two days following the initial presentation. They must meet the same requirements of signatures, motivation, and accepted candidacy.
• Minimum waiting: the vote cannot be held before five days have passed since the presentation of the first motion. This is a constitutional minimum, not an obligation to vote exactly on the fifth day.
• Counting: Article 90 of the Regulations establishes, as a general rule, working days and contemplates the particularities of periods without sessions.

The Presidency sets the agenda in agreement with the Board of Spokespersons and announces the voting time in advance. The specific articles on censure do not set an independent maximum deadline to hold the debate.

3. Debate and voting

The debate begins with the defense by one of the signing deputies, without time limit. Then the candidacy may intervene, also without limit. After a break, groups that request it have thirty minutes and a reply or rectification of ten minutes, according to Article 177.

Approval requires, "in any case," the favorable vote of the absolute majority of the members of Congress. It is not enough to obtain more favorable than opposing votes: abstentions and absences do not reduce this requirement. There is also no second vote by simple majority, as happens in ordinary investiture. The vote is obligatorily public by roll call, according to Article 85.2.

If several motions concur, they may be debated jointly but are voted on separately and in order of presentation. Once one is approved, the others are no longer voted on.

4. Consequences and limits

According to Article 114.2 of the Constitution, if it succeeds, the Government presents its resignation to the king and the candidacy is understood to have the confidence of Congress. The king appoints it for the Presidency of the Government: no other investiture is necessary.

If it is rejected, its signatories cannot present another during the same session period. This is not a prohibition for the entire legislature nor for all deputies. If it was presented between periods, it is counted for the next one, according to Article 179.

The procedural regulation can be consulted in Articles 175 to 179 of the Congress Regulations.