IPU PARLINE database: SPAIN (Senado), Last elections

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

Dates of election / renewal (from/to)

9 March 2008

Purpose of elections

Elections were held for all the elective seats in the Senate following premature dissolution of this body on 14 January 2008. Elections to the Senate had previously taken place on 14 March 2004.

On 20 December 2007, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced that parliamentary elections would be held on 9 March. The bicameral parliament was subsequently dissolved on 14 January 2008. At stake were all 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and the 208 directly elected seats in the 264-member Senate.

The previous elections had been held on 14 March 2004, three days after the bombings of commuter trains and train stations which killed nearly 200 people and wounded more than 1,400. The then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of the People's Party (PP) initially blamed ETA (the Basque separatist group) for the attack. However, al Qaeda later claimed responsibility for the attack, linking the bombing to Mr. Aznar's policy towards Iraq. The incident reportedly boosted support for Mr. Zapatero's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). It became the largest party in the Congress of Deputies, taking 168 seats, 16 more than the PP led by Mr. Mariano Rajoy. The PP remained the largest party in the Senate winning 126 seats, while the PSOE took 96. Other seats went to small parties.

Mr. Zapatero was sworn in as Prime Minister in April 2004. He ordered the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, who subsequently left Iraq on 28 April. Mr. Zapatero implemented numerous reforms. They included a gender equality law, the legalization of gay marriage, an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the country, as well as a historical memory law passed by the Parliament in October 2007. This stipulates that trials held under the Francisco Franco regime, - which cost an estimated 500,000 lives between 1939 and 1975 -, would be ruled illegitimate and the victims of the regime recognized. The PP argued the law unnecessarily stirred up the past. Human rights groups criticised the law for falling short of providing justice and called for measures to annul the trials in order to clear the victims' names.

As a result of the gender equality law, all parties had a 50-50 gender balance for the candidates contesting the 2008 elections. Once again, there was a duel between the PSOE and the PP. Due to the stagnating economy and a 12-year high inflation rate, Mr. Rajoy (PP) accused the socialist government of not taking enough measures to boost the economy. Prime Minister Zapatero rebutted that his government was willing to use a budget surplus to revive the economy. Both PSOE and the PP promised tax cuts.

The PP also called for a "contract" for immigrants. It argued that immigrants should respect Spanish customs and values and should be expelled if they failed to find work within a year of their arrival. The proposal was reportedly aimed at African immigrants. Prime Minister Zapatero argued that the immigration issue must be treated comprehensively, through political and economic cooperation with African countries.

Two days before the polls, a former town councillor, Mr. Isaias Carrasco of the PSOE was shot dead in the Basque region. Police blamed ETA for the shooting, and the election campaign was briefly halted.

Voters cast separate ballots for each chamber. Turnout was recorded at 75.32 per cent for the Congress of Deputies, and 76.03 per cent for the Senate among nearly 39 million registered voters.

The PSOE remained the largest party in the Congress of Deputies with 169 seats, followed by the PP with 153. The PP took 101 seats of the 208 directly elected seats in the Senate, 12 more than the PSOE. In all, 127 women were elected to the Congress of Deputies, while 67 were elected to the Senate.

On 1 April, both chambers held their first sitting. Mr. José Bono Martínez (PSOE) was elected Speaker of the Congress of Deputies. Mr. Francisco Javier Rojo García (PSOE) was re-elected as Senate President.

On 11 April, Mr. Zapatero won the confidence of the Congress of Deputies, with 169 votes at the second round of voting. On the following day, he appointed a 17-member cabinet, including nine women.

Voter turnout

Round no 1

9 March 2008

Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes

33'872'901
25'752'839 (76.03%)
1'109'398
24'643'441

Notes

Distribution of votes

Round no 1
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
People's Party (PP)
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)
PSC-ERC-ICV-EUiA Coalition
Convergence and Union (CiU)
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV)

Distribution of seats

Round no 1
Political Group	Total
People's Party (PP)	101
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	89
PSC-ERC-ICV-EUiA Coalition	12
Convergence and Union (CiU)	4
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV)	2

Distribution of seats according to sex

Men
Women
Percent of women

184
79
30.04%

Distribution of seats according to age

Distribution of seats according to profession

Comments

Note:
The PRC-ERC-ICV-EUiA stands for Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC) - Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) - Initiative for Catalonia-Greens (ICV) - United and Alternative Left (EUiA). The number of indirectly elected seats in the Senate has increased from 51 to 56. As at 15 July 2008, there was one vacant seat, which will be filled by the Parliament of Andalucia. Sixty-seven women were directly elected, 12 others were indirectly elected.

Sources:
- http://www.generales2008.mir.es/ini99v.htm
- http://www.senado.es/

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