Political parties have until midnight this Friday, October 16, to register with the electoral administration the electoral coalitions they have agreed upon for the general elections on November 29. This is stipulated by the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG), which grants a period of ten days from the call for elections to communicate these agreements.
These alliances must be notified to the competent electoral boards: to the provincial boards if they are limited to a single constituency, or to the Central Electoral Board (JEC) when they cover more than one province. This communication must include the name of the coalition, the internal rules by which it is governed, and the identity of the individuals holding its governing or coordinating bodies.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, there is no specific public registry of electoral coalitions, and these are not required to register in the Registry of Political Parties nor as associations. Furthermore, they can only be composed of political parties and federations of parties, excluding voter groups, which cannot be part of these alliances.
Unlike federations, which must be listed in the Registry of Political Parties, coalitions are created temporarily to jointly participate in specific elections and are required to communicate their agreements in each new electoral call. Once registered by the corresponding electoral board, these agreements are sent to the General Directorate of Internal Policy when requested.
The electoral regulations also establish that parties that are part of a coalition cannot present their own lists in those constituencies where the alliance competes.
Distribution of votes and seats in Congress
In the elections to Congress, the votes received by a coalition are summed up as a block, without differentiating between the parties that compose it, and are counted the same as any other candidacy for the purpose of seat distribution.
Thus, the threshold of 3% of valid votes required to enter the distribution of seats in each constituency applies to the entire candidacy, just like the proportional distribution system provided in the LOREG.
The electoral legislation does not determine, however, how many deputies correspond to each party integrated in a coalition, since the seats are assigned to the candidates following the order in which they appear on the registered electoral list.
On the ballots for Congress, the name, the initials, and the emblem of the coalition will appear, along with the names of the candidates and substitutes. The regulations also allow for the indication of each candidate's status as independent or the political party to which they belong next to their name.
Specific NIF and account for campaign financing
Electoral coalitions have their own legal personality, distinct from that of the parties or federations that comprise them, so they must request a specific tax identification number (NIF) from the State Agency for Tax Administration (AEAT).
Likewise, they must have an exclusive bank account for electoral expenses, opened in the name of the coalition and associated with its NIF, as they assume the same obligations of control and oversight as the other political formations that compete in the elections.
Being considered legal entities, coalitions are also required to interact electronically with public administrations, in accordance with Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure. For this reason, the Ministry of the Interior advises that they obtain a digital certificate linked to their tax identification.
In the last general elections, held in July 2023, around a dozen coalitions were formed, three of state scope, with Sumar being the one that grouped the largest number of parties, in addition to a coalition for the Senate and eight of an autonomous nature.
Calendar for the presentation of candidacies
After the deadline for registering coalitions closes, parties, federations, coalitions, and electoral groups must present their candidacies for Congress and the Senate between October 21 and 26 before the provincial electoral boards.
These lists will be published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), although they will not be definitive at first, as a period will subsequently open to rectify possible defects and resolve challenges.
It will not be until November 3 when the BOE publishes the candidacies proclaimed by the provincial electoral boards, once reviewed and, if applicable, corrected. Ten days later, at midnight on Friday the 13th, the electoral campaign will officially begin, which will last for two weeks and end at midnight on Friday the 27th.
The following Saturday will be the day of reflection, during which it will be prohibited to hold campaign events, and on Sunday, November 29, the general elections will take place, in which more than 38.7 million Spanish citizens are called to vote.