How many seats are needed to obtain an absolute majority and to govern in the 2023 general elections?
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The general elections this Sunday, July 23, are already taking place and Spain is risking its political future in them. At this time it is common for not only doubts to arise about how to vote, but also questions about the distribution of seats or how many of them a political party needs to govern, with or without an absolute majority.
Spain is a parliamentary monarchy. According to the Constitution, an absolute majority is obtained when a party meets the requirement of obtaining a certain number of seats, then it can govern alone.. This condition is very easy to explain, since it is achieved through the favorable vote of more than half of the members of the corresponding body..
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In the case of Spain, that body is the Congress of Deputies made up of 350 members.. Therefore, the formation that wants to govern with an absolute majority must achieve a minimum of 176 seats, the whole number higher than half, 175. However, that number of votes is not necessary for a candidate to be able to govern.
And if an absolute majority is not obtained?
If this number of seats is not reached once the votes have been counted, the Spanish regulatory framework establishes that an agreement must be reached to present a candidate who will be proposed by the Head of State for the presidency. This candidate would need to obtain the support of an absolute majority, in which it would be necessary to obtain again 176 positive contributions.
In this case, the political formations will have to agree with others to help them obtain the necessary seats to be able to govern, although if they do not agree, another election will be held in Congress.. In this second appointment, it will be enough to obtain a simple majority, in which more votes in favor than against will be necessary to obtain the confidence of the chambers.
In the event that the investiture of a candidate is not agreed at this point either, the voting in Congress would be repeated for the third time. This call should be submitted within a maximum period of two months from the first. After that period, the Cortes would be dissolved and new elections would be called, as happened in 2015. Madrid is the province that contributes the most deputies, followed by Barcelona. On the contrary, Soria is the constituency with the least representation along with Ceuta and Melilla.