Spain election: 929 lists, Senate entries fall by 167

Spain’s 29 November general election has 929 candidate lists on file: nearly 15% fewer than in 2023, with the sharpest drop in Senate entries. Parties and coalitions have submitted the lists for Congress and the Senate, according to figures published by Spain’s Official State Gazette on Wednesday, 28 October. Election boards must still check them before they become final.

Why the Senate has fewer lists

The Senate has 373 submitted lists, down 167 from 2023. Congress has 556, six more than last time. Together, the two chambers have 161 fewer lists than in 2023.

Much of the Senate drop comes from an alliance between the Socialist Party (PSOE) and Frente Amplio. They are standing together in most constituencies as Senado de Progreso. The People’s Party (PP) and Vox are also not standing in some provinces. One more Senate seat is at stake this year: a constitutional change gives the Spanish island of Formentera its own senator.

Checks before the final ballot

Election boards now have two days to flag problems with the lists. Parties then have 48 hours from notification to put errors right. The boards have until next Monday to approve the final candidacies, which are due to be published on 3 November.

For the first time in a Spanish general election, the boards must check that women and men alternate on lists for both chambers. Parties that won no seats in either chamber at the previous election must also supply signatures from at least 0.1% of registered voters in each constituency. In 2023, 66 lists from parties outside parliament failed the checks, chiefly because they lacked enough signatures.

Topics: Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com