PSC and Comuns agree on joint lists for the Senate in Tarragona, Girona, and Lleida to safeguard their seats after the PP-Vox agreement.

The agreement between PSC and Comuns is politically closed and announced, but does not amount to an approved parliamentary initiative. As of October 27, 2026, its execution has two distinct paths: the withdrawal of Senate candidacies in three provinces and the subsequent election, in the Parliament of Catalonia, of a senator proposed by the Comuns. The commitment between parties should not be confused with a parliamentary designation already made.

What exactly has been agreed

The information gathered in the joint note from both formations specifies a different formula from shared lists: the Comuns commit to withdrawing their Senate candidacies in Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona, in favor of those of the PSC. In exchange, the socialists will facilitate that a person proposed by the Comuns reaches the Senate by autonomous designation; that person will not appear on the ballots of the general elections on November 29. (Demócrata, October 27).

Therefore, although initial information described the understanding as joint lists with the presence of the Comuns in the three provinces, the explanation based on the joint statement speaks of electoral withdrawal in exchange for autonomous representation. This distinction determines what must be executed now and what will later require parliamentary action. (Initial information from Demócrata).

Barcelona is excluded from the agreement: the Comuns maintain their own Senate candidacy, headed by Laura Alzamora. There is also no joint PSC-Comuns list for the Congress; the Comuns maintain their candidacies within the Broad Front. (Comuns candidacies).

What is its parliamentary status

The pact is, in its parliamentary aspect, pending materialization. The sources consulted do not record a nominal proposal presented to the Parliament, a vote held, or a designation concluded linked to this commitment. What has been announced is that the PSC will facilitate the election of a senator from the Comuns, not that this election has taken place. (Designation commitment).

Additionally, the PSC has postponed discussion about specific names until after the general elections. There is no closed parliamentary calendar in the sources consulted to execute that part of the agreement, nor what position would allow doing so. Therefore, it should not be presented as an automatic designation after November 29. (PSC explanation).

Next steps to execute it

• Make the electoral withdrawal effective. The Comuns' commitment must be conveyed to the candidacies of Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona before the electoral administration. The political announcement certifies the agreement but does not by itself prove that the withdrawals have been formalized. (Joint note collected by Demócrata).
• Check the published and proclaimed candidacies. The published schedule places the publication of the presented candidacies on October 28 and the proclaimed ones on November 3. These are the next milestones to verify how the pact is reflected electorally. (Candidacy schedule).
• Specify the senator proposal. After the general elections, the name proposed by the Comuns must be agreed upon and their election by autonomous designation in the Parliament must be materialized. The identity and date remain publicly unspecified. (Pending development of the pact).

The president of the Generalitat is the highest institutional figure of Catalan self-government: he represents the Generalitat, directs the Government, and coordinates its actions. He also exercises the ordinary representation of the State in Catalonia. Salvador Illa belongs to the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya (PSC), of which he is the first secretary, and has presided over the Generalitat since August 2024.

Main powers and responsibilities

To understand his role, it is useful to distinguish three dimensions: institutional representation, executive power direction, and political responsibility before the Parliament. It is not a merely ceremonial position, but it also does not concentrate all the powers of Catalan institutions.

• Represent the Generalitat. Acts as its highest representative in institutional relations with the State, other autonomous communities, and the institutions with which Catalonia interacts. This representation refers to the institution as a whole, not only to the party supporting the Government.
• Direct the Government's action. Establishes the general guidelines of government policy and coordinates its development. His responsibility is to ensure that the different departments act coherently with the government program and the decisions adopted by the executive.
• Form and organize the executive. Appoints and dismisses members of the Government, within the applicable legal framework, and determines its political structure. This allows distributing responsibilities among ministries and modifying the team when he considers it necessary to change the organization or priorities.
• Preside over Government meetings. Calls and presides over Government meetings and directs their deliberations. Although he occupies a central position, many decisions correspond to the Government as a collegiate body, that is, to all its members collectively, not to the president separately.
• Exercise functions related to laws. Promulgates, in the name of the king, the laws approved by the Parliament and orders their publication. This function does not equate to personally approving them: the approval of laws corresponds to the legislative chamber.
• Maintain political relations with the Parliament. Presents and defends government actions, responds to parliamentary control, and may use the mechanisms provided to verify or renew the confidence of the chamber. He also has powers of electoral call and parliamentary dissolution, subject to legal requirements and limits.

What responsibilities he assumes and what limits he has

His main political responsibility is to answer for the orientation and results of the Government. This includes coordinating priorities, supervising the actions of ministers, and explaining decisions before the representatives of the citizenry. The exercise of the office is subject to the Constitution, the Statute of Autonomy, and the rest of the legal system.

It is important not to confuse the president's powers with those of the entire Generalitat. The concrete management of services and public policies corresponds to the competent departments and agencies. Additionally, the Parliament approves laws and budgets and controls the executive: the president cannot replace these functions by his own decision.

Salvador Illa's political affiliation

The precise name of his party is PSC. Illa holds two different responsibilities: as first secretary, he directs his political organization; as president, he heads the Catalan executive and institutionally represents the Generalitat. Both positions can coincide in one person but have different functions: one belongs to the party sphere and the other to the institutional sphere.

The last Senate elections held in Catalonia were on July 23, 2023. In the four provinces, 16 senators were directly elected: PSC-PSOE obtained 12, ERC got 3, and Junts secured 1. The PSC won three of the four seats in each province; ERC obtained the fourth in Barcelona, Lleida, and Tarragona, and Junts achieved it in Girona.

Seat distribution by party

The combined distribution of the four Catalan constituencies was as follows. The percentages express the proportion of seats obtained, not the percentage of votes:

• PSC-PSOE: 12 senators, 75% of the 16 directly elected seats.
• ERC: 3 senators, 18.75% of the seats elected at the polls.
• Junts: 1 senator, 6.25% of the direct representation.
• PP, Vox, Sumar, and other candidacies: no directly elected seats in Catalonia.

This provincial distribution is recorded in the information from El País and in the summary by Demócrata about the 2023 elections.

Results in each province

• Barcelona: three PSC seats and one ERC seat. Elected were Manuel Cruz Rodríguez, with 843,902 votes; Elena Vila Gómez, with 815,146; and Gabriel Colomé García, with 756,763, for the PSC. The fourth seat went to Joan Queralt i Jiménez, of ERC, with 479,555 votes. Details can be consulted at RTVE.
• Girona: three PSC seats and one Junts seat. The PSC elected Consol Canteny Arbolí, with 81,738 votes; Martí Sans Pairuto, with 74,857; and Lluïsa Blanch Fulcarà, with 73,013. Junts obtained its only direct seat in Catalonia through Joan Bagué Roura, who received 71,617 votes.
• Lleida: three PSC seats and one ERC seat. Represented were Dionís Oña Martín, with 47,516 votes; Pasión Gador Romero García, with 44,763; and Jan Pomés López, with 43,534, for the PSC. Sara Bailac i Ardanuy, of ERC, secured the fourth seat with 43,194 votes.
• Tarragona: three PSC seats and one ERC seat. Elected were Manel de la Vega Carrera, with 106,923 votes; Núria Rovira Costas, with 104,351; and Mario Soler Santos, with 97,356, for the PSC. Jordi Gaseni Blanch, of ERC, obtained the remaining seat with 70,175 votes.

How to interpret these figures

In these Senate elections, voters choose specific individuals, not a closed list as in the Congress. Each voter can mark up to three candidates, and the four most voted in their province are elected. Therefore, it is not advisable to sum the votes of a party's candidates and present them as unique votes for that party: the same voter may have supported several of them.

The official results can be verified in the BOE publication and in the electoral information from Idescat.

Direct election and autonomous designation

The 16 seats mentioned above are exclusively those contested in the general elections. They should not be confused with the eight senators designated by the Parliament of Catalonia through another procedure. After the 2024 autonomous elections, those eight seats were distributed among PSC, with three; Junts, with three; ERC, with one; and PP, with one, according to Demócrata. That subsequent designation does not modify the July 2023 electoral result: 12 for PSC, 3 for ERC, and 1 for Junts.