The PP reinvents itself on networks with memes, artificial intelligence, and a community manager who understands about virality.

As of October 22, 2026, the initiative most directly related to the use of artificial intelligence in electoral campaigns is no longer in process: it expired on October 6, 2026, with the dissolution of the Cortes. This is the Organic Law Proposal regulating simulations of images and voices of people generated by means of artificial intelligence. It did not become law.

What the initiative was and how far it got

The proposal was presented by the Plurinational Sumar Parliamentary Group and aimed to regulate artificial recreations of images and voices, including their uses against candidates during electoral processes. The Congress Board agreed to admit it for processing on March 19, 2024; its text was published on March 22, 2024. That admission allowed the procedure to begin, but it did not equate to approving its content or turning it into current legislation (BOCG, March 22).

The milestone that determines its current status is the expiration on October 6. Therefore, it would not be correct to now describe it as pending amendments, in committee, or awaiting Senate approval. Its parliamentary journey ended without completing legislative approval (Dissolution of the Cortes).

It is important to distinguish it from an earlier version with the same title, published on October 13, 2023, which was withdrawn on March 15, 2024. The withdrawal of that first proposal and the expiration of the subsequently published one are two different outcomes, not successive phases of an approved law (Publication of the withdrawal).

What would have changed in campaigns

The March 2024 proposal included an amendment to the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime, known as LOREG. It proposed adding a article 144 bis on the malicious distribution of images and voices generated by AI. It covered the period between the electoral call and the end of the voting day, and referred to images or audios of candidates altered or recreated by automated systems (Text of the proposal).

The text also proposed visible or audible warnings to identify certain artificial content, changes in the protection of honor and image, and precautionary measures to facilitate urgent removal. These were proposed measures: the expiration prevented them from acquiring the force of law through that initiative.

Other proposals that may cause confusion

• Organic Bill for the proper use and governance of artificial intelligence. It was a general regulation, not exclusively electoral. The Council of Ministers approved its submission to Congress on May 26, 2026, to establish supervisory authorities and a sanctioning regime linked to the European AI Regulation. It also expired on October 6, 2026, without completing approval (Council of Ministers Reference).
• Non-legislative motions on AI in electoral processes. They were published on May 31 and June 4, 2024. They were requests to the Government, not texts that directly modified legislation. They also expired on October 6 (Proposal for the Plenary; Proposal for committee).

In conclusion, there is no pending parliamentary approval within those procedures: they ended due to expiration. To recover specific regulation of artificial images and voices in campaigns, a new initiative would have to be promoted in the next legislature. This does not mean that any electoral use of AI is lawful: limits derived from the European framework and general Spanish rules still exist.

The answer requires an important distinction: the national Statutes of the Partido Popular approved at its XXI Congress in 2025 do not configure the national spokesperson as an autonomous body with its own set of competencies. Therefore, one should not attribute to that position, as if it were an explicit statutory faculty, everything that a political spokesperson usually does. Their actions must be understood within the party's political leadership and the mandate they receive.

What the Statutes establish

The main reference is the 2025 statutory text, published by the PP itself. The relevant conclusion is that it does not contain a specific catalog enumerating the functions of the party's national spokesperson. This requires separating the competencies expressly attributed to other bodies from the communication tasks that may be assigned to a person.

In particular, the consulted regulation places the definition of the general strategy, political and programmatic pronouncements, and the main lines of action of institutional groups in the national presidency. It also attributes to it the authorization of statements made on behalf of the party or that may politically commit it. This framework limits the actions of the person exercising the spokesperson role: communicating a position does not equate to having the competence to decide it.

What functions may derive from this framework

With that clarification, the activity of the national spokesperson can be described in the following terms, without presenting them as a literal enumeration from the Statutes:

• Explain and convey the PP's political position. Their task consists of publicly transmitting the decisions, priorities, and orientations adopted by the competent bodies, not replacing them.
• Publicly defend that position. They may develop arguments and respond to current issues within the scope entrusted to them, respecting the party's political guidelines.
• Act as a communicative interlocutor. Appearances before the media and explanations to public opinion are tasks proper to a spokesperson, but do not themselves constitute an independent statutory competence.
• Contribute to message coherence. Communication must align with the general strategy. However, this does not imply an autonomous power to direct all PP representatives.

The national spokesperson and parliamentary spokespersons are not the same

This is the most important caution to correctly interpret the text. The Statutes contemplate powers of the presidency regarding spokespersons and leadership positions of institutional groups, including their appointment and dismissal and the approval of corresponding regulations. This provision should not be automatically transferred to the party's national spokesperson as if it were the same position.

Therefore, directing the actions of a parliamentary group, intervening in chamber debates, or negotiating initiatives with other groups are functions linked to a specific institutional spokesperson role. They do not automatically correspond to the national spokesperson by virtue of that title. If a person holds both positions, it is necessary to distinguish in which capacity they act.

Scope and limits

In short, the Statutes do not allow presenting the national spokesperson as an independent authority who unilaterally sets strategy, authorizes any statement, or commits the party outside its leadership bodies. The most precise formulation is that they exercise communication and public defense of the PP's position according to the mandate received. To specify additional attributions, one would have to refer to the appointment agreement or corresponding organizational decisions, not attribute them simply to the statutory text.

The Partido Popular won the last general elections held in Spain on July 23, 2023, ahead of the PSOE both in votes and deputies. The PP obtained 137 seats, compared to the 121 of the PSOE: a lead of 16 representatives in Congress. In vote percentage, the gap was approximately 1.4 points: around 33.1% for the PP and 31.7% for the PSOE.

Comparison of results

These results allow distinguishing two dimensions of the PP's victory: it came first in electoral support and achieved the largest parliamentary representation. The difference in votes was relatively narrow, while the difference in deputies reached 16 seats. Demócrata collects the rounded percentages of 23-J in its electoral result analysis and confirms the final distribution of deputies in its comparison with polls.

What the PP's advantage means

The first conclusion is that the PP surpassed the PSOE but did not obtain an absolute majority. The absolute majority threshold in Congress is 176 deputies, so its 137 seats were 39 short of that figure. The PSOE's 121 were 55 short. Therefore, neither party gathered that number of representatives alone.

It is also important to separate the electoral victory from what happened afterward. The PP finished first at the polls, but the subsequent investiture of Alberto Núñez Feijóo did not succeed. Pedro Sánchez later managed to be invested and continue as President of the Government. That sequence, recorded in the cited Demócrata analysis, does not change who won the elections: it explains that the first electoral position and government formation had different outcomes.

How the PSOE fared compared to its previous result

Although it was second in 2023, the PSOE improved its figures compared to the November 10, 2019 general elections. It went from 120 to 121 deputies and from 6,792,199 to 7,821,718 votes, according to the definitive results collected by Demócrata. This represents 1,029,519 additional ballots. Its final percentage in 2023 was 31.68%, which rounded to one decimal is the 31.7% used in the previous comparison (Pedro Sánchez results).

The comparison helps avoid a mistaken interpretation: finishing behind the PP did not mean that the PSOE lost votes or deputies compared to its immediately previous election. It improved both indicators, but that improvement was not enough to retain the first position. The same review of results points out that July 2023 was Sánchez's highest vote count as a candidate, although not his highest number of seats.

The simplest reading

In summary, the answer is: the PP obtained 16 more deputies than the PSOE and about 1.4 points more in votes. It was the most voted candidacy and the leading force in Congress, while the PSOE came second. The percentages are rounded for easier reading and the seats correspond to the definitive result. These are results from the 2023 elections, not estimates of voting intention or projections from subsequent polls.