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After the call for general elections in Spain, a series of procedures is activated, mainly regulated by the Constitution and the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG). They affect both the powers of the outgoing Government and the organization of the electoral process and the subsequent constitution of the new Cortes Generales.

1. Dissolution of the Cortes and formal call

The process begins with a Royal Decree dissolving the Congress and the Senate and calling elections, signed by the King and countersigned by the president of the Government. This decree sets:

• The date of the vote.
• The date of constitution of the new Chambers.
• The official period of the electoral campaign.

Once the decree is published in the BOE, the Cortes are dissolved, ordinary parliamentary activity is interrupted, and a phase of acting Government begins.

2. Acting Government and Permanent Deputation

Once the Chambers are dissolved, the Government automatically becomes acting until the new Executive takes office. This implies that:

• It maintains its ordinary management functions, but its scope to make decisions that condition the future Government (structural appointments, major reforms, etc.) is limited.
• It must especially respect the principles of neutrality and prudence during the electoral period.

In the Congress and the Senate, only the Permanent Deputation remains operational, which:

• Oversees the powers of the Chamber during the dissolution.
• Can validate or repeal royal decree-laws of the acting Government and request an extraordinary Plenary meeting if necessary.

3. Administrative organization of the electoral process

At the same time, the entire electoral machinery is deployed:

• The Electoral Boards (Central, regional, and provincial) are established, bodies responsible for directing and supervising the process, resolving incidents, and ensuring the cleanliness of the count.
• The proclamation of candidacies of parties, coalitions, and groups of voters is carried out, with their deadlines for submission, correction, and, if applicable, challenge.
• The electoral census lists are prepared and publicly displayed, with a period for citizens to file claims if they detect errors.
• Voting from abroad and postal voting are organized, with their specific procedures for application, sending documentation, and depositing the vote.

4. Electoral campaign and reflection day

The decree sets the start and end of the electoral campaign, a period in which parties can request votes in an organized manner with specific rules on:

• Free propaganda spaces in public media and regulation of electoral advertising in private media.
• Campaign events, rallies, debates, and use of public space.
• Restrictions on the inauguration of works and major institutional announcements to avoid partisan use of public resources.

The campaign ends with the reflection day, during which it is prohibited to ask for votes or disseminate electoral propaganda.

5. Election day and counting

On election day, the electoral tables are established in the designated polling stations, with a president and members chosen by lottery. The key procedures are:

• Constitution of the tables and opening of the polling stations.
• Casting of in-person votes, supervised by poll watchers and proxies.
• Closing of the polling stations and table count, whose result is sent to the corresponding board.
• Publication of provisional results and, subsequently, general counting by the Electoral Boards, with the possibility of claims and appeals.

The Boards proclaim the elected candidates to the Congress and the Senate.

6. Constitution of the new Cortes and Government formation

On the date indicated in the decree, the new Chambers meet to:

• Formally constitute themselves, verify the credentials of the elected members, and elect the Board of the Congress and the Senate.
• Communicate to the King the list of deputies and the balance of forces, a prior step to consultations with group representatives to propose a candidate for the presidency of the Government.

This closes the cycle of procedures initiated with the call, giving way to the investiture process and the eventual formation of the new Government.

According to the Spanish Constitution, the president of the Government has a central role in the dissolution of the Cortes Generales and the call for elections, but never acts alone: his initiative is always articulated through a royal decree of the King, subject to countersignature and very precise material and temporal limits.

1. Constitutional basis of the power

The powers of dissolution and call are mainly based on several provisions:

• Article 62 b) CE: grants the King the power to “convene and dissolve the Cortes Generales and call elections under the terms provided in the Constitution.”
• Article 115 CE: regulates dissolution at the initiative of the president of the Government and the decree of dissolution and call.
• Article 64 CE: establishes the countersignature: acts of the King must be countersigned by the president of the Government, who assumes political responsibility.
• Article 68.6 CE: sets the general temporal framework for elections to the Congress (between 30 and 60 days from dissolution or expiration of the term, and constitution within the following 25 days).
• Article 99.5 CE: provides for automatic dissolution of the Chambers if within two months from the first investiture vote no candidate obtains the confidence of the Congress.
• Article 116 CE: regulates states of alarm, exception, and siege, with effects on the possibility of dissolution.

2. Nature of the power: president's initiative and countersignature

The Constitution configures the “ordinary” dissolution of the Chambers as an initiative politically attributable to the president of the Government, but formalized as an act of the King:

• Article 115.1 CE: the president of the Government may propose the dissolution of the Congress, the Senate, or both Chambers, which becomes effective through a royal decree of the King, after deliberation of the Council of Ministers.
• This royal decree must be countersigned by the president of the Government (art. 64 CE). The King acts formally; political responsibility lies with the president who countersigns.
• The Congress does not have a general power to self-dissolve; dissolution depends, in the ordinary regime, on this initiative of the president of the Government.

Therefore, it can be said that the president has a decisive power in the call for general elections, but institutionally channeled through the King and the Council of Ministers.

3. Temporal and material limits to dissolution

a) Deadlines and expiration of the term

Article 68.4 and 6 CE sets the ordinary duration of the term (four years) and the temporal framework for elections after dissolution or expiration. Early dissolution shortens that term, but must always respect:

• Holding elections within the constitutional interval (between 30 and 60 days from dissolution or expiration).
• Convening the new Congress within the 25 days following the elections.

b) One-year limit between dissolutions by this means

Article 115.2 CE establishes that “a new dissolution may not be proposed before one year has passed since the previous dissolution by this procedure.” That is:

• The president cannot chain discretionary dissolutions; he must wait at least one year from the last dissolution that occurred at his proposal.
• This limit refers to dissolutions agreed according to art. 115, not to the automatic dissolution of art. 99.5 CE.

c) Prohibition while a motion of censure is pending

The same article 115.2 CE prevents the president from proposing dissolution when there is a motion of censure pending (regulated in art. 113 CE) that has not yet been voted on. Thus:

• The Government cannot “evade” a motion of censure by dissolving the Cortes and calling elections.
• The result of the motion (approval or rejection) must be awaited before proposing a dissolution.

d) States of alarm, exception, and siege

Article 116 CE provides that during the validity of states of alarm, exception, or siege special rules apply. Among them, it is established that:

• Dissolution of the Chambers cannot proceed while any of these states last.
• If the Chambers were dissolved, they are automatically convened to exercise the constitutional powers of control and authorization over these states.

Consequently, the president of the Government cannot use dissolution as a political instrument while a state of exception, alarm, or siege is in force.

4. Formal procedure of the decree of dissolution and call

In summary, the ordinary constitutional procedure is:

• The president of the Government politically decides to propose dissolution.
• The proposal is debated in the Council of Ministers, which deliberates it (art. 115.1 CE).
• The King issues a royal decree dissolving the Chambers and calling elections, which must:
  • Specify which Chamber(s) are dissolved and the date of the elections.
  • Respect the temporal limits of art. 68.6 CE (interval for holding elections and constitution of the new Congress).
  • Be countersigned by the president of the Government (art. 64 CE).
• The decree is published in the Official State Gazette, from which moment it takes effect: the Chambers are dissolved and the electoral calendar is set.

Outside this discretionary mechanism, the Constitution provides for automatic dissolution due to investiture failure (art. 99.5 CE), where the initiative is no longer that of the president of the Government, but derives directly from the constitutional text itself.

The latest general elections held in Spain, as of today, were those of July 23, 2023 (23‑J), which gave rise to the XV Legislature and the current composition of the Congress of Deputies. The early election for November 29, 2026, has already been called, but has not yet been voted on.

Results of 23‑J 2023

In the July 2023 elections, the vote translated into the following distribution of seats in the Congress (350 deputies), according to data collected from official sources and general press:

• PP: 137 seats – 8,160,837 votes (approx. 33.1 % of valid votes).
• PSOE: 121 seats – 7,821,718 votes (approx. 31.7 %).
• Vox: 33 seats – around 12.4 %.
• Sumar: 31 seats – around 12.3 %.
• ERC: 7 seats (almost 1.9 % nationwide).
• Junts: 7 seats (around 1.6 %).
• EH Bildu: 6 seats.
• PNV: 5 seats.
• BNG: 1 seat.
• Canary Coalition (CC): 1 seat.
• UPN: 1 seat.

The PP won in votes and seats, but fell short of the absolute majority of 176 deputies. The state right-wing bloc (PP + Vox) reached 170 seats, which can reach 171–172 by adding UPN and CC, still below the absolute majority.

Initial composition of the Congress (XV Legislature)

The chamber resulting from 23‑J was initially configured as follows:

• PP – 137 deputies.
• PSOE – 121 deputies.
• Vox – 33 deputies.
• Sumar – 31 deputies (including originally the 5 deputies from Podemos).
• ERC – 7 deputies.
• Junts – 7 deputies.
• EH Bildu – 6 deputies.
• PNV – 5 deputies.
• BNG – 1 deputy.
• Canary Coalition – 1 deputy.
• UPN – 1 deputy.

Formally, this translated into several parliamentary groups: Socialist Group (PSOE), Popular Group, Vox Group, Plurinational Group of Sumar and the groups of ERC, Junts, EH Bildu and PNV, as well as the Mixed Group where, among others, BNG, CC and UPN are located. Subsequently, the five deputies from Podemos left the Sumar group and moved to the Mixed Group, but the seats still belong to the same candidacy that ran in 2023; the arithmetic of parties in the Congress continues based on the numbers from 23‑J.

Possible majorities and blocs

The absolute majority in the Congress is set at 176 seats. With the configuration resulting from the polls, the main bloc scenarios are:

Right-wing bloc

• PP + Vox: 137 + 33 = 170 seats.
• PP + Vox + UPN: 171 seats.
• PP + Vox + CC: 171 seats.
• PP + Vox + UPN + CC: 172 seats.

Not even by adding the usual regional or island parties (UPN and CC) is the absolute majority reached, which prevented Alberto Núñez Feijóo from forming a government.

Pedro Sánchez's investiture bloc

Pedro Sánchez's investiture in November 2023 was supported by a plurinational and highly fragmented majority, made up of:

• PSOE: 121.
• Sumar: 31.
• ERC: 7.
• Junts: 7.
• EH Bildu: 6.
• PNV: 5.
• BNG: 1.
• Canary Coalition: 1.

In total, 179 seats, that is, three above the threshold of 176. This majority includes the governmental core (PSOE and Sumar) and several external parliamentary allies, with territorial agendas and differentiated demands.

Political balance in the Congress

From a political point of view, the Congress is characterized by:

• A numerical minority Government (PSOE + Sumar = 152 seats) that needs to negotiate almost every law with several forces: ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV, BNG, CC and, on occasions, Podemos and other members of the Mixed Group.
• A stronger right in votes after 23‑J (PP first force, with 16 seats more than PSOE), but without a closed alternative majority that allows forming government.
• A high degree of territorial fragmentation: the 7 seats of Junts, the 7 of ERC or the 6 of EH Bildu can be decisive in close votes.
• A legislature of permanent negotiation, in which the Executive must rebuild the investiture majority or obtain abstentions in budgets, decree-laws and major reforms, while the opposition does not have a stable sum to replace it.

In short, the 23‑J elections left a Congress very balanced between a right-wing bloc that alone does not reach the absolute majority and a progressive and plurinational investiture bloc that does, but at the cost of enormous negotiating complexity in every relevant decision.