Who writes the electoral programs? When do they have to be finished? Who decides which proposals are included? The preparation of the electoral programs of the parties in Spain is an internal procedure that combines technical work, participation, and political decisions. The sectoral teams draft the measures, a coordination integrates the chapters, and the leadership determines the commitments that the candidacy will defend before the voters. The 29N has set this machinery in motion whose course can be explained in phases, although each party establishes its organization and calendar. A snap election, as is the case, accelerates the process. The tasks overlap and the formations also resort to the work accumulated during the legislature to prepare the document in a few weeks.
How an electoral program is prepared: the six phases of the process
An electoral program includes the proposals with which a party or coalition runs for elections. Its preparation requires selecting priorities, specifying measures, and resolving differences between areas, territories, and, when applicable, political organizations.
From the first assignment to its public presentation, the procedure usually goes through six phases.
1. Designation of the coordinator and distribution of responsibilities. The party leadership assigns the preparation of the program to a person or a coordinating team. From there, it distributes the work among those responsible for economy, taxation, housing, health, education, industry, energy, security, or foreign policy.
In this first step, priorities are established, deadlines for delivering drafts are set, and ways to receive contributions are determined.
The person responsible for the electoral program does not have to be the campaign director. Nor should it be confused with the one who prepares the lists: coordinating proposals, organizing events, and selecting candidates are different tasks, although their responsible parties work together.
2. Collection of proposals from members, territories, and sectors. The parties gather contributions from their groups, territorial organizations, parliamentary teams, and specialists. They can also open consultations and organize meetings with employers' associations, unions, professional associations, companies, and social organizations.
The document is not built from scratch. Its drafters recover previous commitments, resolutions from internal congresses, parliamentary initiatives, and measures that were pending during the legislature.
This is one of the phases in which economic and social sectors try to introduce their demands.
3. Drafting of the chapters and specification of the measures. The sectoral teams convert the contributions into electoral proposals. In this task, area managers, specialized deputies, advisors, and technical collaborators can intervene. It is the moment to determine how far each commitment goes: a general political orientation, a legislative modification, a specific investment, or an action with a deadline for execution.
The degree of detail can vary even within the same program. One chapter may include quantified objectives while another may limit itself to indicating the lines of action.
4. Technical review and political negotiation. The coordination integrates the chapters and reviews duplicities, contradictions, and differences in criteria. The economic and legal teams can examine costs, sources of funding, and the distribution of competencies, although the depth of that review varies. The leadership decides which proposals to keep, which to modify, and which to discard. It also establishes which commitments will carry more weight in the electoral offer.
In coalitions, there is an additional negotiation between the parties that comprise them. The drafting of a common text requires agreeing on priorities and resolving discrepancies between organizations.
5. Internal approval and closure of the document. The program is submitted to the approval procedure that corresponds in each formation. An executive, a committee, a council, or another competent body may intervene.
The voting of the program by the entire membership is not a common step for all parties. To know who approves it, one must check the rules and the procedure applied in each call. Political approval does not necessarily have to coincide with the editorial closure. Afterward, there may be corrections in drafting, layout, and preparation of summarized or accessible versions.
6. Public presentation and dissemination in the campaign. The candidate presents the document and the campaign team selects the measures that will be highlighted in events, debates, interviews, and social media.
It is advisable to distinguish between the complete electoral program, its thematic summaries, and the announcements made by a candidacy during the campaign. To verify the scope of a commitment, the reference is its concrete formulation and the document in which it appears.
When electoral programs are prepared and when they are published
There is no single internal calendar for all parties. When elections are foreseeable, work can begin several months in advance. An early call like this one on the 29N compresses consultations, drafting, and negotiations.
As a guideline, the preparation is usually distributed as follows:
- Months before the elections: collection of proposals, sectoral meetings, and preparation of working documents.
- After the call is known: designation or confirmation of responsible parties and acceleration of drafts.
- Weeks prior to the campaign: integration of chapters, political negotiation, and preparation for approval.
- Around the start of the campaign or during it: presentation of the document and dissemination of its main measures.
The general elections of July 23, 2023 can serve as an example regarding deadlines: the PP presented its program on July 4; Sumar, on July 6; and the PSOE, on July 7. The three did so between 16 and 19 days before the vote.
Who writes the electoral programs and who has the final word
The authorship of a program is collective, but its responsibilities can be separated into three levels. The drafting teams prepare the measures and chapters. The program coordination brings together the work and negotiates its coherence. Finally, the management and the competent body to approve it assume the decision on the document. The candidate is the one who leads its defense before the voters.
The distinction also allows identifying whom to ask about a measure: the sectoral responsible can explain its technical content; the coordination, its fit within the whole; and the management, the political priority it grants.
Who coordinates the programs of the PSOE and the PP for the 29N
For the general elections on November 29, 2026, the PSOE has placed Cristina Narbona at the forefront of the coordination of the electoral program. Her role is different from the general campaign coordination, led by Rebeca Torró, and from the strategic coordination, which corresponds to María Jesús Montero. The division of labor also extends to the chapters. Marc Pons was tasked with drafting and coordinating the proposals for ecological transition, including those related to energy, environment, biodiversity, and natural resources, along with sustainability aspects linked to mobility, agriculture, and industry.
In the PP, Alma Ezcurra is in charge of developing the program for 29N. The coordination of the document is under the political leadership of the candidacy of Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
How tasks are distributed in other parties and coalitions
The person in charge of the program of the recent alliance Frente Amplio is not yet publicly known. In Vox, for its part, its published statutes place the governance of the party between assemblies in the National Executive Committee. They also delegate to the Political Action Committee the coordination of the strategy and the definition of the political positioning.
They want to influence
The development of the program of the different political parties opens a window of influence over the commitments of the next legislature. Business associations and employers' organizations try to ensure that their priorities are included in the document before it is finalized. Their proposals may refer to taxes, regulation, labor costs, energy, infrastructure, financing, or administrative simplification. Trade unions, professional associations, and social organizations use that same avenue to convey their demands.
Contact with these actors is part of documented drafting processes. The PSOE highlighted the participation of professionals, associations, and social movements in its 2023 program; the PP announced meetings with civil society during the preparation of its own. For the appointment on 29N, they will be repeated.
Why sectors make their demands public and do not limit themselves to meetings
Beyond doing it in a closed office, publishing a document of proposals allows acting on several fronts. First of all, it gives visibility to the claim and seeks to turn it into an electoral debate issue. In addition, it facilitates reaching various candidacies and the teams that draft the different chapters. The public presentation also leaves a record of what has been requested. If the party incorporates a measure, the organization that manages to 'sneak it in' then has a reference to claim its development.
These proposals also prepare the dialogue after the elections: they can reappear in the negotiation of government agreements, budgets, and reforms.
The proximity of the program's closure explains the accumulation of documents, meetings, and sectoral events. It is the moment to try to transform a demand into an electoral commitment, although its incorporation does not ensure by itself that it will be executed.
Frequently asked questions about electoral programs in Spain
Who drafts an electoral program?
They are prepared by sectoral teams, political leaders, advisors, and technical collaborators under coordination. The leadership decides which commitments the candidacy assumes.
Who approves a party's program?
The competent body according to the rules and procedures of each formation. Not all parties submit the document to a vote of the entire membership.
When are electoral programs usually finished?
The closure usually concentrates in the weeks prior to its public presentation, around the start of the campaign or during it. Preliminary work can begin months in advance.
Do employer associations and unions write the programs?
They can submit proposals and participate in consultations. The selection and approval of what is incorporated correspond to the party or coalition.
Is the campaign director also responsible for the program?
Not necessarily. The organization of the campaign and the coordination of the proposals are different functions.