Spanish general election, 2016

Spanish general election, 2016
Spain
26 June 2016
All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of the 265) seats in the Senate
176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Opinion polls
 
Leader Mariano Rajoy Pedro Sánchez Pablo Iglesias
Party PP PSOE Podemos+IU
Leader since 2 September 2003 26 July 2014 15 November 2014
Leader's seat Madrid Madrid Madrid
Last election 123 seats, 28.7% 90 seats, 22.0% 71 seats, 24.4%[lower-alpha 1]
Current seats 122 90 71
Seats needed Increase54 Increase86 Increase105
 
Leader Albert Rivera Gabriel Rufián Francesc Homs
Party C's ERC DL
Leader since 9 July 2006 7 November 2015 6 November 2015
Leader's seat Madrid Barcelona Barcelona
Last election 40 seats, 13.9% 9 seats, 2.4% 8 seats, 2.3%
Current seats 40 9 8
Seats needed Increase136 Unable Unable

Most voted party by autonomous community and province.
Incumbent Prime Minister

Mariano Rajoy (caretaker)
PP

The 2016 Spanish general election will be held on Sunday, 26 June 2016, to elect the 12th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. At stake will be all 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 of 265 seats in the Senate.

No party secured a majority in the 2015 election, which had resulted in the most fragmented parliament since 1977. Ensuing negotiations led to a political deadlock, with failure in coalition talks paving the way to a fresh election for 26 June[1][2]—the first time in Spanish recent history that an election was triggered as a result of failure in the government formation process.[3]

Overview

Electoral system

The Spanish legislature, the Cortes Generales (Spanish for General Courts) is composed of two chambers at the time of the 2016 election:

This bicameral system is regarded as asymmetric, because while legislative initiative belongs to both chambers (as well as to the Government), the Congress of Deputies has greater legislative power than the Senate, and it can also override most of the Senate initiatives by an absolute majority of votes. Also, only Congress has the ability to grant or revoke confidence from a Prime Minister. Nonetheless, the Senate possesses a few exclusive functions which are not subject to the Congress' override, but these are limited.[4]

Settled customary practice has been to dissolve and re-elect both chambers at the same time, thus triggering a "general" election. Article 115 of the Spanish Constitution allows, however, for each chamber to be elected separately. The electoral system in Spain is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot.

Congress of Deputies

For the Congress of Deputies, 348 members are elected in 50 multi-member districts using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional representation for four-year terms. In addition, Ceuta and Melilla elect one member each using plurality voting. Each district is entitled to an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 248 seats being allocated among the 50 provinces in proportion to their populations. Only lists polling above 3% of the total vote in each district (which includes blank ballots—for none of the above) are entitled to enter the seat distribution. However, in most districts there is a higher effective threshold at the constituency level, depending on the district magnitude.[5]

For the 2016 election, seats will be distributed as follows:

Seat distribution for the 2016 election[6]
Seats Districts
36 × 1 = 36 Madrid
31 × 1 = 31 Barcelona
16 × 1 = 16 Valencia(+1)
12 × 2 = 24 Alicante and Seville
11 × 1 = 11 Málaga
10 × 1 = 10 Murcia
9 × 1 = 9 Cádiz
8 × 5 = 40 A Coruña, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Las Palmas and Biscay
7 × 4 = 28 Granada, Pontevedra, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Zaragoza
6 × 7 = 42 Almería, Badajoz, Córdoba, Girona, Gipuzkoa, Tarragona and Toledo
5 × 7 = 35 Cantabria, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Huelva, Jaén, Navarre and Valladolid
4 × 10 = 40 Álava, Albacete, Burgos, Cáceres, León(–1), Lleida, Lugo, Ourense, La Rioja and Salamanca
3 × 8 = 24 Ávila, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Huesca, Palencia, Segovia, Teruel and Zamora
2 × 1 = 2 Soria
1 × 2 = 2 Ceuta and Melilla
= 350 Total seats
Senate

For the Senate, each of the 47 peninsular districts (the provinces) is assigned four seats. For the insular provinces, the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, districts are the islands themselves, with the larger — Mallorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife—being assigned three seats each, and the smaller—Menorca, Ibiza-Formentera, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma—one each. Ceuta and Melilla are assigned two seats each, for a total of 208 directly elected seats. The system used is that of limited voting. In districts electing four seats, electors may vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member constituencies. Electors vote for individual candidates; those attaining the largest number of votes in each district are elected for four-year terms.

In addition, the legislative assemblies of the autonomous communities are entitled to appoint at least one senator each, and one senator for every million inhabitants, adding a variable number of appointed seats to the 208 directly-elected senators.[7] This appointment usually does not take place at the same time as the general election, but after the autonomous communities hold their respective elections.

Eligibility

Dual membership of both chambers of the Cortes or of the Cortes and regional assemblies is prohibited, meaning that candidates must resign from regional assemblies if elected. Active judges, magistrates, ombudsmen, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals are also ineligible,[8] as well as CEOs or equivalent leaders of state monopolies and public bodies, such as the Spanish state broadcaster RTVE.[9] Additionally, under the Political Parties Law, June 2002, parties and individual candidates may be prevented from standing by the Spanish Supreme Court if they are judicially perceived to discriminate against people on the basis of ideology, religion, beliefs, nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation, foment or organise violence as a means of achieving political objectives or support or compliment the actions of "terrorist organisations".[10]

Following changes to the electoral law which took effect for the 2007 municipal elections, candidates' lists must be composed of at least 40% of candidates of either gender and each group of five candidates must contain at least two males and two females.[11]

Parties and coalitions of different parties which have registered with the Electoral Commission can present lists of candidates. Groups of electors which have not registered with the Commission can also present lists, provided that they obtain the signatures of 1% of registered electors in a particular district. Also since 30 January 2011, political parties without representation in any of the Chambers in the previous general election are required to obtain the signatures of 0.1% of registered electors in the districts they want to stand for in order to present lists for those districts.[9][12]

Background

Election aftermath

Podemos celebrating its election result on 20-D.

After the 2015 election resulted in the most fragmented Congress of Deputies in recent times, the possibility of a new election having to be held as a result of parliamentary deadlock during the investiture of a Prime Minister candidate became real for the first time since the Spanish transition to democracy.[13] According to Article 99.5 of the Spanish Constitution, "if within a period of two months from the first investiture vote no candidate has obtained the confidence of Congress, the King shall dissolve both chambers and call a new election, with the endorsement of the Congress President."[14]

A period of crisis developed within the PSOE after the December election result, with critics accusing Secretary-General Pedro Sánchez of lack of self-criticism in advance of the PSOE's spring leadership spill.[15] While Sánchez favoured trying to reach an agreement with Podemos, regional party leaders refused to accept Podemos' negotiation terms and instead favoured allowing the PP to try to form a government on its own,[16] with the possibility of a PSOE-Podemos pact fading.[17] President of Andalusia Susana Díaz, who was reported to be leading an open rebellion within the party, was said to be seeking to replace Sánchez as party leader and to eventually lead the PSOE into a new general election in 2016.[18][19][20][21]

As neither of the two possible pacts between the major parties (PP–C's or PSOE–Podemos) was enough to command a majority on its own, attention focused on the PSOE as it underwent a leadership crisis.[22] The PP wished for the Socialists to either abstain in Rajoy's investiture or form a joint grand coalition with them;[23] C's pressured the PSOE into abstaining and avoiding a snap election;[24] while Podemos accused Sánchez of losing control over his party.[25] PSOE and C's feared that a new election could harm them and benefit both PP and Podemos.[26]

PP scandals

The unveiling of a wave of corruption scandals kept striking the PP throughout the negotiation process. On 22 January, the PP became the first party to ever be judicially charged in a corruption case after being accused of destroying Bárcenas' hard drives in 2013, which allegedly contained information related to the party's illegal funding.[27][28] The same day, one of Deputy PM Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría's right-hand staff was forced to resign from his post after it was discovered that he had been involved in a case of fraudulent awarding of public contracts.[29]

Operation Taula, a major police operation in Valencia that took place on 26 January 2016, resulted in the arrest of several former and incumbent high-ranking members from the regional PP branch as a consequence of the ongoing investigation on the PP's corruption in the region during its time in government. By early February, a massive illegal financing network had been uncovered affecting the PPCV, with dozens of party officials and city councillors indicted or arrested.[30][31][32] Judicial investigation also pointed to former long-time Mayor of Valencia Rita Barberá as a participant in the scandal; her arrest or imputation only being prevented by the fact she had legal protection as an incumbent senator.[33] A few days later, on 1 February, all PP city councillors in the city of Valencia were charged for a possible money laundering offense, including new local party leader Alfonso Novo, as well as most members of Barberá's late government.[32] The party found itself at risk of losing its municipal group in the city of Valencia—the third largest of Spain, which had seen 24 years of PP rule under Barberá's command—and rumours arising on a refoundation of the party in the region.[34]

On 11 February, the scandal spread to Madrid after the Civil Guard was sent to register the PP main headquarters as part of the ongoing investigation resulting from the Operation Punica scandal, unveiled in October 2014. Evidence suggested that the public work contract kickbacks of the Punica case could also involve a possible illegal financing of the PP branch in the region.[35][36] Esperanza Aguirre, former President of Madrid in the 2003–2012 period and president of the party's regional branch since 2004, resigned as regional leader on 14 February as a consequence of the scandal's political fallout, emphasizing her lack of "direct responsibility" in the scandal but "assuming [her] political responsibility" as both party leader and former regional premier.[37][38]

In April, an urban planning corruption scandal was revealed to involve Granada's mayor and his government, all from the PP.[39] Concurrently, the Spanish Treasury fined former Prime Minister José María Aznar for evading tax payments through a society.[40] On 15 April, caretaker Industry Minister José Manuel Soria renounced his post as a result of his involvement in the Panama Papers scandal and his confusing and changing clarifications on the issue.[41][42]

Economy

As negotiations for government formation were underway, Spain's public deficit for 2015 was revealed to be at 5.2%, well short of the 4.2% target agreed with the European Union and even exceeding the European Commission 4.8% forecast.[43] The International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded that the excessive 2015 deficit be translated into "substantial fiscal tightening", blaming the deficit to the PP government's 2015 tax cuts as a result of the election year.[44] On 16 April, the government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2016 from 3% to 2.7%.[45] As a result, Finance Minister Cristóbal Montoro announced a €2 billion spending cut in order to curb public deficit,[46] while also demanding 12 autonomous communities to approve their own austerity plans within 15 days to freeze public spending.[47][48]

Other economic data for Q1 2016 showed the Spanish economy growing by 0.8% since the previous quarter,[49] but with unemployment increasing slightly by 11,900 to 21%.[50]

Government formation

On 22 January, Mariano Rajoy turned down King Felipe VI's task of forming a government after Podemos offered a coalition proposal to the PSOE, with Sánchez as Prime Minister, Pablo Iglesias as his deputy and also including IU.[51] Such an offer shocked the PSOE—which suddenly found itself at the mercy of Iglesias' party—with prominent PSOE figures regarding the proposal as an "insult" and "blackmail".[52] The next day, Sánchez also renounced to run for the investiture until Rajoy clarified whether he was willing to make his try or stepped back definitely.[53] Corruption scandals affecting the PP caused rejection in other parties and their withdrawal from negotiations with Rajoy.[54] This situation lasted for a week until, on 2 February, the King tasked Pedro Sánchez with the formation of a government.[55][56]

After several weeks on inter-party negotiations, the PSOE surprisingly struck a government deal with C's on 24 February.[57] The agreement's form and content, however, met with criticism from parties both to the left and right of the spectrum, including PP and Podemos.[58] The PP stated its opposition to the PSOE–C's pact, refusing to cave in to C's demands to "abstain" in the investiture to an agreement they saw as "a farce".[59] On the other hand, Podemos and all other left-wing parties felt betrayed and broke up negotiations with PSOE, seeing the deal as an unholy alliance between the two former opposing parties. Other minor parties, such as ERC, DL, PNV and EH Bildu, also announced their opposition.[60][61] As a result, Pedro Sánchez's investiture was rejected on 4 March by an overwhelming majority of 219 to 131 in the Congress of Deputies, thus becoming the first candidate to ever fail to pass an investiture vote.[62]

Parties kept negotiating throughout March and April, but the rift between Podemos and C's made any three-way PSOE–Podemos–C's pact impossible.[63] The PP pressured the PSOE to cave in to a grand coalition,[64] a scenario which the latter rejected.[65] A final round of talks on 25–26 April proved inconclusive, with King Felipe VI failing to nominate a candidate for Prime Minister, President of the Congress Patxi López announcing the Cortes Generales' dissolution for 3 May and a fresh election to be called for 26 June[2]—an outcome already seen as inevitable by all parties after the failure of negotiations.[66][67][68]

Fresh election

On 3 May, the King executed the constitutional mandate and triggered an election—with the endorsement of Patxi López—by issuing a royal decree dissolving the Parliament. The decree came into force the same day by its publication in the BOE. This marked the first time in democracy that an election was held under Article 99.5 of the Constitution, by which the initiative of issuing the Cortes' dissolution belonged to the King and not to the Prime Minister.[69]

Opinion polls

Pre-election

Electoral calendar

Electoral calendar for the 2016 election[6][70][71]
Date Event
2 May 2016 After failure in the forming of a new government, the decree ordering the Cortes Generales' dissolution and the calling of the general election is ratified by the King with the endorsement of the President of the Congress of Deputies.
3 May 2016 The decree enters into force by its publication in the BOE. Parliament is officially dissolved and the general election is called. Official start of the electoral period.
13 May 2016 Deadline for parties intending to contest the election in coalition with other parties to communicate it to the appropriate electoral boards.
18–23 May 2016 Time limit for parties intending to contest the election to submit their candidacies to the Electoral Board.
25 May 2016 Submitted candidacies are provisionally published in the BOE.
28 May 2016 Deadline for Spanish electors residing abroad to apply for voting.
28 May–1 June 2016 Sweepstakes to appoint members of the polling stations.
31 May 2016 Candidacies for parties, coalitions and groups of voters standing for election are proclaimed and published in the BOE after a period of notification and amendment of possible irregularities in 27–29 May 2016.
10 June 2016 Official start of the electoral campaign at 00:00 CET (UTC+01:00).
16 June 2016 Deadline for electors residing in Spain to apply for postal voting.
21–25 June 2016 Legal ban on opinion polling publication in Spanish territory.
24 June 2016 Official end of the electoral campaign at 24:00 CET (UTC+01:00).
25 June 2016 Reflection day.
26 June 2016 Election Day. Polls open from 09:00 CET to 20:00 CET. Provisional vote count officially starting from 21:00 CET.
19 July 2016 The elected Congress and Senate convene.
  • From the Cortes' convening but without a defined term, the King calls for a round of talks with political parties' representatives so that, depending on each other parliamentary representation, nominate a candidate for Prime Minister, which is submitted to Congress for an investiture debate and subsequent vote.
  • The nominated candidate must muster an absolute majority of votes in the first ballot, or a relative majority in a second ballot to be held 48 hours after the first, in order to be elected. If within two months from the first investiture vote no candidate has obtained the confidence of Congress, the Cortes Generales are dissolved and a new general election called.

Coalitions and alliances

Regional coalitions

In Asturias, FAC announced its will to continue their electoral coalition with the PP, due to the PP–FAC tandem obtaining 3 out of the 8 seats at stake in the December election.[72] Meanwhile in Navarre, both UPN and PP were likely to maintain their alliance ahead of the upcoming general election, aiming at keeping their status as the first political force in the region. I-E, IU's regional branch, started talks with Podemos ahead of an alliance, while Geroa Bai and EH Bildu were open to "explore" on coalition possibilities after being shut down from the Congress in the region after the 2015 election.[73][74] NCa was favorable at continuing their alliance with PSOE in the Canary Islands.[75]

CDC—which contested the 2015 election under the DL banner—offered ERC to reedit the unitary coalition in which they both contested the 2015 Catalan regional election.[76] Former Catalonia President Artur Mas offered himself to lead such a coalition into the election if it was eventually formed.[77] ERC, however, rejected the offer and chose to run alone instead.[78] Subsequently, debate arose within CDC on the opportunity to continue the DL alliance or to opt for alternative formulas to contest the election.[79][80]

Podemos En Común

Podemos aimed at enlarging its alliance system from December, seeking to conglomerate all forces to the left of PSOE in a single, unitary alliance for the 2016 election.[81] Both En Comú Podem and En Marea had already announced their intention to continue their successful coalitions,[82][83] while Compromís' leaders expressed their will to renew their alliance with Podemos but also seeking to include EUPV, which had been left out of the coalition for the previous election.[84][85] Talks between Podemos and Més had also started in the Balearic Islands ahead of a prospective election alliance, aiming at forming a "grand coalition of the left" in the islands.[86] Podemos tried to probe PACMA for a common nationwide list for the 2016 election—similarly to what had been done with Equo—but this was rejected by the latter as it perceived that Podemos was "not clear enough on the issue of bullfighting banning".[87]

From 20 April, media outlets reported that Podemos and IU-UPeC were undergoing negotiations for a joint list aimed at relegating PSOE to third place ahead of a new election.[88][89] Juan Carlos Monedero, one of Podemos' founders, proposed that both parties should come together under the "Podemos En Común" formula (Spanish for We Can In Common).[90] Leaders from both parties denied that any agreement had been reached and stated that they "would not do anything until it [the new election] was sure", but confirmed that unofficial talks had begun.[91] By 30 April, both parties acknowledged that coalition talks had formally started and that, despite differences over "important points"—namely the coalition name and the composition of party lists—talks should continue for an agreement to be reached throughout the next week.[92] Concurrently, IU submitted its alliance with Podemos to a membership vote to be held on 2–4 May,[93] which received a favourable vote of 85%.[94]

By 4 May, despite talks still ongoing and negotiations underway,[95][96] Podemos and IU leaders took the coalition between both parties for granted, setting the PP as their main election rival and seeking to marginalize the PSOE.[97] Both parties intended to formally announce their alliance during the 5th anniversary of the 15-M Movement.[98]

Pre-campaign

In the lead up to the June election, parties geared up for the upcoming election campaign. The PP faced the fresh election looking back at the corruption scandals under judicial investigation in which the party was involved—some of which, involving senior party members such as Rita Barberá, stirred up debate as to whether it was best to maintain these people within party ranks or force their withdrawal.[99]

Meanwhile, the PSOE suffered from the end of the negotiations period. Carme Chacón—former Defence Minister and heading the party list in Barcelona since 2008—and Irene Lozano—an independent, formerly aligned to UPyD, personally enlisted into PSOE by Pedro Sánchez for the December election—both announced their will not to contest the June election within PSOE lists.[100][101] Concurrently, PSOE leaders had tried to pressure IU into avoiding an electoral alliance with Podemos out of fear for being pushed into third place nationally.[102] Some commented that the PSOE's actions had been erratic and confusing throughout negotiations. Coupled with growing pessimism within PSOE ranks, this was said to potentially be able to harm them going into the campaign.[103] On 30 April, Sánchez tried to stir up morale among party members and asked for "unity and trust" around him ahead of the new election.[104] Susana Díaz, Sánchez's rival for the party's leadership, warned him that she would only accept "a PSOE win".[105]

Pablo Iglesias blamed the PSOE for the failure in negotiations and commented that Podemos' aim in the June election would be to directly face the PP as equals, in what he referred to as a "second round" of the December run.[106] Iglesias offered to explore the possibility of an accord with PSOE after the election, expressing his will to form a "progresist" government, but condemned the way the PSOE had—in his view—treated his party up until that point.[107] During an interview held a few days later, Iglesias took for granted that his party had already surpassed the PSOE nationally and stated he would offer Sánchez be his deputy in a Podemos-led cabinet.[108]

C's discarded its pact with the PSOE after it was announced that a new election would be held, with party leaders stating that it "won't be in force anymore" once the Cortes were dissolved. However, they wanted to use the accord as a showing of the party's "willingness to negotiate" with forces both to the left and right of the spectrum. The party's main aim was to prevent that a possible campaign polarization could cast "fearful" voters away to the PP to prevent a Podemos' rise.[109] Albert Rivera said that the PP was "controlled by the 'old guard'" and that his party would not negotiate with the PP so long as Rajoy remained as leader.[110]

Campaign cost

One of the main themes going into the June election was the economic cost that a new campaign would mean for the budget. During the final round of talks, King Felipe VI—anticipating a fresh election—had asked parties to run austere campaigns.[111]

The PP proposed that the party avoid large scale rallies, aiming at running a "simpler" campaign—with smaller events in medium-sized cities and towns[112]—while also suggesting reducing the campaign's length to 10 days and removing external advertising—namely that involving advertising through billboards and flags.[113] The PSOE suggested reducing campaign spending by 30%, cutting mailing spending and removing external advertising.[114] Podemos and C's proposed unifying party mailing, with C's being favourable to cutting party spending by 50%.[115] Podemos went further and suggested limiting parties' spending to 3 million each.

All three PSOE, Podemos and C's were against PP's proposal of making a shorter campaign or for cuts to affect election debates.[112] As some of these proposals required changes in the electoral law—something which could not happen as the Cortes would be dissolved[116]—parties called for reaching a gentlemen's agreement; in Albert Rivera's words, "a political pact through which changing the law wouldn't be necessary".[117]

Campaign

Leaders' debates

After its success in the 2015 election, the organizing of new leaders' debates for the incoming campaign started after the Cortes' dissolution. As in the previous election, the first debate was organized by the Demos Association, to be held in the Charles III University of Madrid on 6 June. The leaders of the four main parties were invited, with Pablo Iglesias and Albert Rivera confirming their presence. Atresmedia also announced the group's intention to have a four-way debate, scheduled for 16 June, similar to the one held on 7 December.[118]

Spanish general election debates, 2016
 N°. Date Broadcaster Moderator Invitees Notes
 Name  Invited Participant.    N  Non-invitee.    A  Absent invitee.   C's PP PSOE Podemos
1 6 June UC3M Rivera Iglesias
2 16 June Atresmedia

Results

Congress of Deputies

Overall

← Summary of the 26 June 2016 Spanish Congress of Deputies election results
Party Vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP)
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)
We Can In Common (Podemos En Común)
Citizens-Party of the Citizenry (C's)
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)
Democracy and Freedom (DL)
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV)
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)
Basque Country Unite (EH Bildu)
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)
Canarian Coalition-Canarian Nationalist Party (CC-PNC)
Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)
Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC)
Vox (Vox)
More for Majorca (Més)
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)
Yes to the Future (GBai)
Blank ballots
Total 100.00 350 ±0
Valid votes
Invalid votes
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters
Source:

Senate

The Spanish Senate at the time of the 2016 election is made up of 265 seats:

All senators serve for four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time. The appointment process of these seats depends on the legislatures' parliamentary composition, and it is frequent for changes to happen each time regional elections are held.

For the Senate election, voters have one, two or three votes, depending on the number of senators awarded to each constituency.

← Summary of the 26 June 2016 Spanish Senate election results
Party Election Not up Total seats +/−
Seats +/− Before 2015
Citizens-Party of the Citizenry (C's) 3
Republican Left of Catalonia-Catalonia Yes (ERC-CatSí) 2
Democracy and Freedom (DL) 2
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV) 1
Basque Country Unite (EH Bildu) 1
Change (Cambio-Aldaketa) –
Canarian Coalition-Canarian Nationalist Party (CC-PNC) 1
Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) –
Total 208 ±0 57 265 –1 –1
Source(s):

Notes

  1. 1 2 Compared to the Podemos+IU-UPeC results in the 2015 election.

References

  1. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez: "We are doomed to a new election"" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-26.
  2. 1 2 "The King doesn't nominate any candidate heading to a new election in June" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-26.
  3. ↑ "Spain, forced to repeat elections for the first time" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-26.
  4. ↑ "Article 66 Summary". Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  5. ↑ "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Retrieved 2015-10-21.
  6. 1 2 "Royal Decree 184/2016, of 3 May, of dissolution of the Congress of Deputies and Senate and of the calling of elections" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado number 107 of 3 May 2016 (in Spanish): 29959–29961. ISSN 0212-033X.
  7. ↑ "General Aspects of the Electoral System".
  8. ↑ "The Spanish Constitution of 1978".
  9. 1 2 "Law governing electoral procedures". Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  10. ↑ "Law regarding registration of political parties". Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  11. ↑ "OSCE observers task force report on 2008 Spanish election" (PDF). Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe OSCE. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
  12. ↑ "BOE.es – Documento consolidado BOE-A-1985-11672".
  13. ↑ "Who benefits and who loses from a scenario of a new election" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2015-12-21.
  14. ↑ "Spanish Constitution of 1978; Title IV. Of the Government and Administration.". congreso.es. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  15. ↑ "Susana Diaz maneuvers to avoid a pact with Podemos and to remove Sánchez" (in Spanish). El Español. 2015-12-22.
  16. ↑ "The 'old guard' and party regional leaders hold back Sánchez for a pact with Podemos" (in Spanish). La Información. 2015-12-21.
  17. ↑ "The PSOE-Podemos pact fades away: Iglesias doesn't give up the referendum and Sánchez wouldn't negotiate with Spain's unity" (in Spanish). laSexta. 2015-12-28.
  18. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez and Susana Díaz move towards a train crash" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2015-12-27.
  19. ↑ "PSOE regional leaders want a new election without Sánchez" (in Spanish). El Español. 2015-12-28.
  20. ↑ "PSOE regional leaders have decided for a conference in March with Susana Díaz as candidate to Prime Minister" (in Spanish). El Confidencial Digital. 2015-12-28.
  21. ↑ "PSOE divides because of the attempts of a sector to remove Sánchez" (in Spanish). El País. 2015-12-29.
  22. ↑ "PP, Podemos and Citizens take advantage of the PSOE crisis to press Pedro Sánchez" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2015-12-28.
  23. ↑ "The PP uses the PSOE rebellion to raise the pressure on Sánchez" (in Spanish). El País. 2015-12-28.
  24. ↑ "Rivera: "We face the need for the PSOE to move"" (in Spanish). El País. 2015-12-28.
  25. ↑ "Iglesias waves the phantom of a "three-way grand coalition" after meeting Rajoy" (in Spanish). El País. 2015-12-28.
  26. ↑ "PP and Podemos would be the main beneficiaries should the election be repeated" (in Spanish). La Información. 2016-01-02.
  27. ↑ "The judge accuses the PP of destroying Bárcenas' hard drives" (in Spanish). El Diario. 2016-01-22.
  28. ↑ "The PP, first-ever accused party with Gallardón's Criminal Code reform" (in Spanish). La Sexta. 2016-01-25.
  29. ↑ "Resigns Federico Ramos de Armas, Santamaría's 'number 3', after the Acuamed scandal" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-01-26.
  30. ↑ "24 arrested in an anti-corruption operation centered in Valencia" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-01-26.
  31. ↑ "Arrested former PPCV President, Alfonso Rus, in corruption and money laundering charges" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-01-26.
  32. 1 2 "Judge charges all PP city councillors for money laundering of Barberá's illegal funds" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-02-01.
  33. ↑ "Corruption investigation in Valencia points to Rita Barberá" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-01-26.
  34. ↑ "The Valencian PP already plans on its refoundation" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-02-03.
  35. ↑ "Judge searches for illegal financing of the Madrid PP through 'Púnica'" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-02-11.
  36. ↑ "Civil Guard searches for evidence of illegal financing in the PP main HQ in Madrid" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-02-11.
  37. ↑ "Esperanza Aguirre resigns as President of the Madrid PP: "I assume my political responsibility"" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-02-14.
  38. ↑ "Corruption forces Esperanza Aguirre to resign as Madrid PP leader" (in Spanish). El Diario. 2016-02-14.
  39. ↑ "The judge investigates a "corrupt plot" in the city of Granada" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-13.
  40. ↑ "Treasury fines José María Aznar for evading taxes" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 2016-04-14.
  41. ↑ "Minister Soria is on the Panama Papers" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-11.
  42. ↑ "José Manuel Soria renounces as Minister of Industry" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-15.
  43. ↑ "Spain ended 2015 with a 5.2% deficit over GDP, one point more than the target" (in Spanish). El Economista. 2016-03-31.
  44. ↑ "The IMF says Spain needs a "significant" deficit adjustment" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-13.
  45. ↑ "Spain lowers its economic forecast to 2.7%" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-16.
  46. ↑ "Montoro announces a €2 billion cut in public spending" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-15.
  47. ↑ "Autonomies' mutiny against Montoro" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-04-08.
  48. ↑ "Montoro issues ultimatum to autonomies to freeze spending" (in Spanish). Diario Sur. 2016-04-08.
  49. ↑ "Spanish economy grew by 0.8% during Q1" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-29.
  50. ↑ "Unemployment grows by 11,900 in Q1" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-28.
  51. ↑ "War of watches" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-01-22.
  52. ↑ "Socialist leaders think that Iglesias' offer is an insult" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-01-22.
  53. ↑ "Sánchez will tell the King that it is the PP the ones who must try to form government" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-01-23.
  54. ↑ "Corruption within the PP increases difficulty in negotiations between Rajoy and Rivera" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-01-26.
  55. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez tells the King that he is "willing to try to form a government"" (in Spanish). El Diario. 2016-02-02.
  56. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez will try to form a government with "the forces of change" y asks for regeneration "with the PP in opposition"" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-02-02.
  57. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez and Albert Rivera invite all other parties "from left and right" to their pact" (in Spanish). El Diario. 2016-02-24.
  58. ↑ "Sánchez awaits for the PNV while pressure on his agreement with Citizens increases" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-02-25.
  59. ↑ "Mariano Rajoy: "The pact between PSOE and C's is useless"" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-02-24.
  60. ↑ "Podemos paralyzes negotiations with the PSOE until after the first investiture session" (in Spanish). El Diario. 2016-02-24.
  61. ↑ "IU and Compromís suspend the four-round table and their bilateral negotiations with the PSOE" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 2016-02-24.
  62. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez fails in the second round of his investiture" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-03.
  63. ↑ "Fails the three-way meeting because of the differences between C's and Podemos" (in Spanish). Expansión. 2016-04-07.
  64. ↑ "Rajoy insists on the grand coalition, but delays his call to Sánchez" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-09.
  65. ↑ "The PSOE takes for granted the repetition of elections" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-11.
  66. ↑ "De Guindos to Dijsselbloem: "We're heading to elections"" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-22.
  67. ↑ "Rajoy: "PSOE and C's made it impossible"" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-22.
  68. ↑ "Iglesias seeks to scare Sánchez with the "sorpasso" to PSOE on 26 June" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-24.
  69. ↑ "The King dissolves the Cortes for the first time in democracy" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-05-03.
  70. ↑ "Calendar for the 26 June election" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 2016-04-27.
  71. ↑ "Organic Law 5/1985, of 19 June, of the General Electoral Regime" (in Spanish). boe.es. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
  72. ↑ "Asturias Forum wants to continue the coalition with PP because "things that work well, better keep them"" (in Spanish). lainformacion.com. 2016-04-26.
  73. ↑ "Parties already studying how they will contest the election" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 2016-04-27.
  74. ↑ "Time for electoral coalitions" (in Spanish). Noticias de Navarra. 2016-04-28.
  75. ↑ "Pedro Quevedo, favoring that New Canarias continues coalition with PSOE" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-25.
  76. ↑ "Homs on the CDC-ERC unitary list for the general election: "They give me pumpkins for now"" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-26.
  77. ↑ "Mas will only run for election "should there be an unitary list and they asked me"" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 2016-04-29.
  78. ↑ "ERC chooses to run on its own in the general election" (in Spanish). El Economista. 2016-05-01.
  79. ↑ "CDC, to resist is to overcome" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-04-30.
  80. ↑ "PSC and CDC make up for 26-J" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-05-01.
  81. ↑ "Podemos aims at joining all forces to the left of PSOE" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-05-01.
  82. ↑ "En Comú Podem will contest the 26-J as "confluence" but will seek "legal forms" to pave the way for having a parliamentary group" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-22.
  83. ↑ "Podemos, Anova and EU concur in re-editing the 20-D lists if there is a new general election" (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 2016-04-21.
  84. ↑ "Compromís bids to join with Podemos and IU ahead of elections" (in Spanish). Las Provincias. 2016-04-18.
  85. ↑ "Compromís wants to repeat the coalition with Podemos and have IU join in if election is held" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-26.
  86. ↑ "Més "welcomes" Podemos to form a grand coalition of the left" (in Spanish). Diario de Mallorca. 2016-04-27.
  87. ↑ "PACMA rejects joining Podemos for the general election" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-28.
  88. ↑ "Podemos and IU finalize a pact to concur together if there is a new election" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-04-20.
  89. ↑ "Podemos and IU advance towards a pact to overcome the PSOE on 26-J" (in Spanish). La Razón. 2016-04-24.
  90. ↑ "Monedero insists on the Podemos En Común formula and believes Garzón will not have IU's identity prevail over what people ask" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-21.
  91. ↑ "Podemos opens itself to negotiate a statewide agreement with IU" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-20.
  92. ↑ "Podemos and IU acknowledge that they have differences over "important points" but commit to keep talking" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-30.
  93. ↑ "IU's question to its membership: "Do you approve of an electoral coalition with Podemos other forces?"" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-29.
  94. ↑ "IU membership approves an electoral coalition with Podemos" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-05-05.
  95. ↑ "Podemos and IU start working in a joint manifesto" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-05-04.
  96. ↑ "Podemos and IU negotiate against time a left pact for 26-J" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-05-04.
  97. ↑ "Garzón says the alliance between Podemos and IU could fight for top on 26-J" (in Spanish). Público. 2016-05-04.
  98. ↑ "Podemos and IU will formalize their alliance on 15-M during a first campaign rally" (in Spanish). La Razón. 2016-05-04.
  99. ↑ "The 'Barberá case' might complicate Rajoy's campaign" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-04-30.
  100. ↑ "Carme Chacón: "I go for political motives"" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 2016-04-28.
  101. ↑ "Irene Lozano also renounces to enlist PSOE files in Madrid" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-28.
  102. ↑ "PSOE pressures IU into avoiding running with Podemos" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-26.
  103. ↑ "The PSOE campaign starts badly" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-29.
  104. ↑ "Pedro Sánchez: "I ask for unity and trust in me for the 26-J election"" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-30.
  105. ↑ "Díaz promises to help Sánchez but warns him: "I look only for a PSOE win"" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-30.
  106. ↑ "Iglesias asks followers to "give the sorpasso to the PP" and "win the election"" (in Spanish). Europa Press. 2016-04-26.
  107. ↑ "Pablo Iglesias: "Our enemy is not the PSOE, we want to win the election to PP" (in Spanish). 20 Minutos. 2016-04-27.
  108. ↑ "Pablo Iglesias takes the 'sorpasso' for granted and offers Sánchez to be his deputy" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-05-04.
  109. ↑ "Rivera assumes both his agreement with the PSOE and Rajoy as "timed out"" (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 2016-04-30.
  110. ↑ "Rivera calls for a deputy secretary's rebellion within the PP to succeed Rajoy" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-04-29.
  111. ↑ "The King anticipates a fresh election and asks for an austere campaign" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-25.
  112. 1 2 "What parties say on the electoral campaign" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-26.
  113. ↑ "PP proposes an electoral campaign of 10 days and without posters" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2016-04-30.
  114. ↑ "PSOE proposes reducing campaign spending by 30% and cut mailing spending" (in Spanish). ABC. 2016-04-28.
  115. ↑ "Rivera proposes to reduce party spending by 50% and to unify mailing" (in Spanish). El Confidencial. 2016-04-27.
  116. ↑ "Patxi López sees it difficult to decrease the campaign's length despite "anger and frustration"" (in Spanish). Faro de Vigo. 2016-04-27.
  117. ↑ "Parties begin contacts to agree on a reduction in campaign spending" (in Spanish). El País. 2016-04-28.
  118. ↑ "Atresmedia proposes 16 June for a new four-way debate" (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 2016-05-04.
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