Infographic/ How to vote for the Senate to make the pact between PP and Vox effective on 29N

In Spain, there is no specific parliamentary procedure to approve an electoral pact between parties. The agreement to run together in elections is formalized between the parties and, when it constitutes an electoral coalition, it is communicated to the Electoral Administration. This is different from an investiture pact: in that case, the Congress votes confidence in a candidacy for the Presidency of the Government, not the ratification of the document signed between parties.

1. If the pact consists of running together

The reference is Article 44 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, known as LOREG. According to the text reproduced by the Constitutional Court, parties and federations that agree on a coalition to run jointly in an election must communicate it to the competent Electoral Board within ten days following the call.

The communication must include these elements:

• The name of the coalition.
• The rules by which it is governed.
• The persons holding its management and coordination bodies.

Additionally, the coalition parties cannot present their own candidacies in a constituency if the coalition presents candidates for the same election. The Electoral Board can control compliance with legal requirements: its intervention is not a political vote nor a parliamentary authorization. This is explained in the Judgment 193/2007 of the Constitutional Court.

Therefore, it is not necessary to register the pact before the Congress Board, submit it to a committee, or obtain a majority of deputies to constitute an electoral coalition.

2. If the pact seeks to ensure an investiture

When the agreement consists of supporting a person to form a Government, the formal procedure is the investiture, regulated in Articles 170 to 172 of the Congress Rules of Procedure. Its main steps are:

• Call: upon receiving the proposal of candidacy for the Presidency of the Government, the Presidency of the Congress calls the Plenary.
• Presentation and debate: the candidate presents their program and requests confidence. Then parliamentary groups intervene, with corresponding turns of response and reply.
• First vote: requires an absolute majority of the members of Congress.
• Second vote: if that majority is not achieved, another vote is held forty-eight hours later. A simple majority suffices: more favorable votes than opposing.
• Result: if confidence is obtained, it is communicated to the monarch for appointment. If no candidacy obtains it within two months after the first vote, the Cortes are dissolved and elections are called.

The decisive point is that confidence is granted to the candidate. The agreed commitments may explain the support but do not become laws by that vote nor are they individually ratified.

3. If the agreement contains government measures

A programmatic or coalition government pact also does not have a general approval procedure as a document. To develop its commitments, the corresponding procedures for each measure must be used.

If it requires changing a law, the pertinent legislative initiative must be processed, with publication, amendments, debate, and votes. If a political pronouncement is sought, groups can present a non-legislative motion: a resolution proposal that is admitted, debated, and voted on, but does not replace a law. The Government can also submit communications, programs, or plans for parliamentary examination, according to Articles 193 to 198 of the Rules.

In summary: the electoral pact is formalized before the Electoral Administration when it creates a coalition; the investiture decides who receives the confidence of Congress; and the agreed measures require their own procedures to produce legal effects.

The president of the Senate represents the Chamber, directs its work, and guarantees order and compliance with the Rules of Procedure. Their powers are concentrated in Articles 37 to 39 of the Senate Rules of Procedure, complemented by other regulatory and constitutional provisions. They do not replace the Plenary or the Board: many decisions require their agreement or the hearing of the Board of Spokespersons.

1. Representation and institutional relations

They are the spokesperson and natural representative of the Senate in official acts. They maintain communications with the Government and authorities and sign, together with a secretary, the Chamber's messages, including reasoned messages related to vetoes and legislative amendments —Articles 37 and 41—.

Once the Senate is definitively constituted, they communicate this constitution to the King, the Congress, the Government, and the legislative assemblies or higher autonomous bodies —Article 14—. They also channel requests for information and assistance that committees direct to the Government and other authorities —Article 67—.

2. Parliamentary convocation and direction

• Bodies: calls and presides over the Plenary, the Board, and the Board of Spokespersons. They may call and preside over any committee when deemed convenient and harmonize their calls —Articles 37, 43, and 61—.
• Agenda: sets the order of the day of the Plenary in agreement with the Board and after hearing the Board of Spokespersons. They may call committees and set their agenda for legislative needs; once a session has started, modifying it requires the agreement of the majority of senators present —Article 71—.
• Debates: opens and closes sessions, grants the floor, orders turns, resolves allusions and procedural questions, and may close certain debates after consulting the Board —Articles 80, 84 to 90, and 126—.
• Votes: proposes agreements by assent, intervenes in determining the procedure, and proclaims results. Ties are resolved according to Article 100, not by a presidential casting vote.

They must call extraordinary sessions within ten days following a valid request from the Government, the Permanent Deputation, or an absolute majority of senators —Article 70—.

3. Interpretation of the Rules and discipline

They interpret the Rules and fill its gaps in agreement with the Board of the Rules Committee; the Board of Spokespersons must be heard on these rules. Additionally, they ensure courtesy and parliamentary customs —Articles 37 and 44—.

They may call senators to order or to the question. After three calls to order in one session, they may exclude the senator from the remainder of it and extend the measure to the next. If the expulsion is disobeyed, they may agree on suspension for up to one month; other sanctions correspond to the Board or the Chamber —Articles 101 to 103—.

They exercise supreme authority in the Senate buildings, issue order measures, and give instructions to officials and agents. They may expel the public that disturbs sessions and, in regulatory cases, order their detention and delivery to authorities —Articles 38 and 39—.

4. Legislation, continuity, and limits

They order the publication of bills and send those taken into consideration to the Congress; communicate approved vetoes and resolve controversies of the Government's budgetary conformity procedure. They may adjust certain legislative deadlines in agreement with the Board —Articles 108, 113, 122, and 151—.

They preside over the Permanent Deputation and convene it on their own initiative and mandatorily in cases of Article 48. Vice presidents substitute them, in order, in case of vacancy, absence, or impossibility —Article 40—. If participating in a debate, they must leave the Board until the discussion ends —Article 91—. Their powers are subject to the Constitution and the rights of senators.

Before assuming the national presidency of the Popular Party on April 2, 2022, Alberto Núñez Feijóo had developed a career of more than three decades in Administration and politics. His path included healthcare management in Galicia and Madrid, the presidency of Correos, the Government of Manuel Fraga, and finally, leadership of the Galician PP and the presidency of the Xunta, where he achieved four consecutive absolute majorities.

From civil servant to senior official of the Xunta

Born in Os Peares, Ourense, in 1961, Feijóo studied Law and entered as a civil servant in the Galician Administration in 1985. His entry into political responsibilities came from administrative management before holding elected representative positions.

In 1991 he was appointed technical secretary general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Forests. Shortly after, he moved to the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Between 1992 and 1996 he also held responsibilities as vice president and secretary general of the Galician Health Service, Sergas. These positions constituted his first stage as a senior official in the governments of Manuel Fraga (PP biography).

The state stage: Health and Correos

After José María Aznar's arrival to Government in 1996, he moved to Madrid. Between 1996 and 2000 he held the General Secretariat of Health Assistance of the Ministry of Health and Consumption and the presidency of the National Health Institute, Insalud. His state experience was thus initially linked to the administration of health services.

In 2000 he became president of the State Society Correos y Telégrafos, a responsibility he held until 2003. Before becoming an electoral leader, he had accumulated experience leading autonomous and state public bodies. This sequence appears in biographical profiles about his arrival at national leadership (RTVE profile).

Return to Galicia and succession of Fraga

In 2003 he returned to the Galician Government as minister of Territorial Policy, Public Works, and Transport. In 2004 he also assumed the First Vice Presidency of the Xunta, positioning himself among the main officials of the last government presided by Fraga.

In the 2005 regional elections, he was elected deputy for Pontevedra. The loss of the Galician government by the PP opened the succession process of Fraga at the head of the party. Feijóo was elected president of the Galician PP on January 15, 2006, with the support of 96% of delegates, after an internal competition that ended with José Manuel Barreiro joining his candidacy (Galician PP succession).

Four absolute majorities and the national leap

As leader of the PPdeG, he led the opposition until the March 2009 elections, when he recovered the Xunta with an absolute majority. He was invested president in April and renewed that majority in 2012, 2016, and 2020. He remained at the head of the Galician Government until 2022, accumulating four consecutive regional victories (presidents of the Xunta).

In 2018 he decided not to compete for Mariano Rajoy's succession and continued in Galicia. The leap came in 2022, after the internal crisis that ended Pablo Casado's leadership. He was elected national president at the extraordinary congress in Seville on April 2. Thus, he arrived with experience in state and regional management, party leadership, parliamentary opposition, and thirteen years of Galician presidency (transition to national leadership).