| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Las Cortes Generales / The Cortes |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Senado / Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Congreso de los Diputados / Congress of Deputies
|
| LEGAL FRAMEWORK |
| Electoral Law |
16 June 1985
Last amendment: 8 September 2011 |
| Mode of designation |
directly elected 208
indirectly elected 58 |
| Constituencies |
- directly elected Senators: 59 multi-member constituencies corresponding to the country's provinces, plus Ceuta and Melilla. The provinces elect 4 Senators each. In the case of insular provinces, major islands elect 3 Senators each while small islands elect 1 Senator each. The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla elect 2 Senators each.
- indirectly elected Senators: each of the 17 Autonomous Communities return one Senator, plus one more for each 1,000,000 inhabitants, chosen by the legislative assembly of each Community. |
| Voting system |
Mixed:
Mixed system:
- directly elected Senators: simple majority vote. Lists compiled at provincial level.
- indirectly elected Senators: elected by the legislative assemblies of the Autonomous Communities, according to their own rules of procedure, on proportional basis.
Vacancies are filled by substitutes elected at the same time as titular members.
Voting is not compulsory.
|
| Voter requirements |
- age: 18 years
- Spanish citizenship
- full possession of political rights |
| CANDIDATES |
| Eligibility |
Qualified electors
- age: 18 years
- Spanish citizenship
|
| Incompatibilities |
- certain high-ranking government, political and public posts
- membership of the armed forces
- membership of an electoral committee (junta)
|
| Candidacy requirements |
- directly elected Senators:
candidatures submitted by duly registered political associations and federations, coalitions of the same, or by at least 0.1% (and no fewer than 500) of the constituency's registered electorate
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Electoral system module
