 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 350 seats in theCongress of Deputies and 208 (of 266) seats in theSenate 176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 35,779,491 2.0% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 24,666,441 (68.9%) 4.9pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress) Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress) Election results by constituency (Congress) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ageneral election was held inSpain on Sunday, 20 November 2011, to elect the members of the 10thCortes Generales under theSpanish Constitution of 1978. All 350 seats in theCongress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in theSenate.
The second term ofPrime MinisterJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was quickly overshadowed by the impact of theGreat Recession in Spain, aggravated by the bursting of theSpanish property bubble that led to areal state crisis.Unemployment reached record highs aspublic deficit and therisk premium soared, with the popularity ofZapatero's government and hisSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) plummeting after being forced toU-turn in economic policy and adopt tough spending cuts andausterity measures, as well as a constitutional reform in 2011 capping future deficits. Concurrently, the weakening of theCatalan Statute of Autonomy by theConstitutional Court in 2010 sparkedprotests and helped fuelpro-independence sentiment in the region. Despite the economic outlook, the government still attempted to push through some measures in its social agenda, such as aliberalization of abortion laws.
Consistentopinion polling leads for the oppositionPeople's Party (PP) underMariano Rajoy—who had survived a plot to overthrow him during a2008 party congress—ageneral strike, anair traffic controllers' strike forcing the government's use ofemergency powers for the first time in democracy, the onset of theanti-austerity15-M Movement, and the PSOE's collapse in the2011 local andregional elections, forced Zapatero to renounce running for a third term in office (with thefirst deputy prime minister,Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, beingselected as PSOE candidate without opposition) and for asnap election to be called for November 2011, five months ahead of schedule. During this period, separatist groupETA announced apermanent ceasefire and cessation of armed operations, turning the election into the first since theSpanish transition to democracy without ETA activity.[1]
Under fallingvoter turnout, the election resulted in the PSOE being swept out from power in the worst defeat for a sitting government in Spain up until that time since1982, losing 4.3 million votes and scoring its worst result in a general election ever since the first democratic election in1977.[2] In contrast, Rajoy's PP won a recordabsolute majority in alandslide, being his party's best historic result as well as the second largest and, to date, last single-party majority in Spanish democracy.[3] Also for the first time in a general election, the PSOE failed to come out on top in bothAndalusia andCatalonia, with the nationalistConvergence and Union (CiU) emerging victorious in the later, whereas theabertzale leftAmaiur achieved a major breakthrough in both theBasque Country andNavarre.[4]United Left (IU) saw a turnaround of its electoral fortunes with its first remarkable increasein fifteen years,[5] whereas centristUnion, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) exceeded all expectations with over one million votes, five seats and just short of the 5% threshold required for being recognized aparliamentary group in Congress.[6][7]
The2008 general election resulted in a victory for theSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) ofJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who formed anew minority cabinet. The PSOE had been re-elected on afull employment platform,[8] despite theSpanish economy showing signs of fatigue and economic slowdown after a decade of growth.[9]
Following his defeat,Mariano Rajoy's continued leadership of the oppositionPeople's Party (PP) was questioned by some party sectors and conservative media outlets.[10][11] After fending off a failed challenge byMadrilenian presidentEsperanza Aguirre,[12][13] While Rajoy was re-elected as PP leader at thecongress held in July 2008,[14] the internal crisis remained unresolved for months, as Rajoy and Aguirre continued to clash frequently.[15] In early 2009,El País uncovered an alleged plot by theMadrid regional government tospy on Aguirre's political rivals,[16][17][18] but the case was closed in 2010 after no criminal charges could be established.[19] Another scandal saw theNational Court opening a judicial probe into the recently uncovered "Gürtel case", implicating the PP—and particularly its branches in theMadrid andValencia regions—in a scheme involvingbribery,money laundering, andtax evasion.[20] Investigations were delayed as a result of theexamining magistrate,Baltasar Garzón, being suspended for violatinglawyer-client privilege.[21][22]
The impact of theGreat Recession in Spain dominated Zapatero's second term, immediately facing worseningeconomic forecasts,[23][24] a transport strike against the rapid increase inoil prices,[25] and theMartinsa-Fadesabankruptcy—a result of theSpanish property bubble's bursting causing areal state crisis—turning into Spain's biggest ever corporatedefault.[26] Zapatero's initial refusal to publicly acknowledge the crisis came under criticism,[27][28] until he was forced to do so after adopting an initial package ofausterity andfinancial stimulus measures.[29][30][31] By the end of 2008, Spain had enteredrecession for the first time in fifteen years,[32] withunemployment reaching its highest in ten years,[33] as the country was hit with the highest job destruction rate in the world.[34] The "E Plan", aSpanish government-funded stimulus plan to create 300,000 jobs throughout 2009,[35][36]—failed short of its goals and came under criticism over its spending unsustainability.[37] Abanking crisis forced Zapatero to bailout a number of failingsavings banks—Caja Castilla-La Mancha,CajaSur,CAM,Unnim,CatalunyaCaixa,Novagalicia Banco andBanco de Valencia[38][39]—with theFund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) being established to manage the restructuring process.[40] 2009 saweconomy and finance ministerPedro Solbes being replaced byElena Salgado,[41] and the adoption of measures such as a "limited and temporary" tax hike worth €16 billion,[42][43][44] the suppression of a €400tax deduction, and aVAT hike to 18%, to tackle the ongoingrevenue fall and spending increase.[45]
Despite these efforts, unemployment kept climbing,[46]public deficit soared to over 11% ofGDP,[47] and Spain'srisk premium reached the 100 basis point-mark,[48] forcing cuts to all public spending except forsocial benefits,welfare state policies and those involving aproduction model renewal.[49] By May 2010, unemployment had reached 20% for the first time since the1993 economic crisis,[50] while thecrisis in Greece—which threatened aeurozone crisis—caused the risk premium to rise dramatically and theMadrid Stock Exchange to deepen its losses.[51] As a result, Zapatero announced a new austerity package aimed at preventing thecountry's default, which included cuts intopublic wages anddependency spending,state pension freezing and the removal ofbirth allowances.[52][53][54] This was followed by alabour reform introducing suspension ofcollective agreements during economic downturns, a lowerredundancy pay in cases ofwrongful dismissal and cheaper dismissals for companies facing losses.[55] Zapatero'sU-turns caused his and PSOE's approval to plummet inopinion polls,[56] as well as ageneral strike on 29 September 2010 against the proposed reforms.[57] As the risk premium kept rising,[58][59] a new austerity package in late 2010 saw the removal of a €426 allowance for long-term unemployed, the privatizations ofAENA and theState Lotteries, a tax cut for SMEs, and a reform to increase theretirement age from 65 to 67 years to be applied "flexibly and progressively" until 2027.[60][61][62]
During this period, the Spanish government had to deal with anair traffic controllers' strike over working conditions in December 2010, which led to astate of alarm being declared—the first since thecountry's transition to democracy—to militarize operations until the conflict was resolved.[63][64] Mounting discontent led to the15-M Movement in May 2011, withanti-austerity protests,demonstrations, andoccupations sprawling in Spain during the ensuing years.[65] Economic hardship and the weakening of theCatalan Statute of Autonomy by theConstitutional Court (a consequence of anappeal tabled by the PP in 2006) sparkedprotests and fueled asovereigntist movement inCatalonia, which helped bring about the end of the"tripartite" government in the2010 regional election and paved the ground for an increase inpro-independence sentiment in the region.[66] Nonetheless, and while most of Zapatero's second-term pledges were either eclipsed or withdrawn as a result of the economic crisis, his government was able to passlegislation liberalizing abortion during the first 14 weeks ofpregnancy, and allowing it in the following weeks whenrisks to a woman's life,her health orfetal impairment existed.[67][68]
The Basque separatist groupETA maintainedits activity during the 2008–2010 period—seeing theBurgos andPalma Nova bombings in 2009, among others—but police operations inflicted severe blows on the band's operational capacity.[69][70] A judicial probe into the "Faisán case" unveiled a tip-off amid the2006 ceasefire that prevented the collapse of an ETA extortion ring centered on the Faisán bar inIrun;[71] the PP attempted to blame the case oninterior ministerAlfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, but no implication was ever proven and only two police officers were convicted for these events.[72] ETA's last killing took place in March 2010,[73][74] and on 5 September that year the group announced a ceasefire, which was declared as "permanent" in January 2011.[75][76] Concurrently, theSupreme Court and theConstitutional Court bannedseveral parties with reported ties to ETA and the outlawedBatasuna:[77][78] theCommunist Party of the Basque Homelands (PCTV/EHAK);[79][80]Basque Nationalist Action (ANV);[81][82] several groupings created to contest the2009 Basque regional election (such asDemokrazia Hiru Milioi andAskatasuna);[83][84] andSortu in March 2011.[85][86] However, the Constitutional Court overturned a ruling by the Supreme Court that blocked theabertzale left from contesting the2011 local elections under theBildu banner,[87][88][89] with the new alliance achieving a major electoral breakthrough.[90][91]
Zapatero announced on 2 April 2011 that he would not seek a third term as prime minister,[92][93] but his initial plans to hold aparty primary to elect a successor were scrapped following the PSOE's heavy defeats in the local andregional elections of 22 May 2011.[94]defence minister and likely candidateCarme Chacón withdrew from the race in favour of Rubalcaba, now thefirst deputy prime minister ,[95][96] who became new prime ministerial candidate unopposed.[97][98] The final months of Zapatero's term were dominated by his decision to bring forward the general election to November 2011 in the face of mounting political and economic pressure,[99] as well as by a constitutional reform in the summer of 2011 that introduced a cap on future deficits, the principle of budgetary stability, and the prioritization of public debt payments over all other state expenditures.[100]
Under the1978 Constitution, the SpanishCortes Generales were envisaged as animperfect bicameral system.[101][102] TheCongress of Deputies had greater legislative power than theSenate, having the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from aprime minister and to override Senatevetoes by anabsolute majority of votes.[103] Nonetheless, the Senate possessed a limited number of functions—such asratification ofinternational treaties, authorization of collaboration agreements betweenautonomous communities, enforcement ofdirect rule, regulation of interterritorial compensation funds, and its role inconstitutional amendment and in the appointment of members to theConstitutional Court and theGeneral Council of the Judiciary—which were not subject to the Congress's override.[104]
Voting for each chamber of theCortes Generales was on the basis ofuniversal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor beinglegally incapacitated.[105][106] Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 introduced a requirement forSpaniards abroad toapply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish:Voto rogado).[107][108]
TheCongress of Deputies was entitled to a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 400 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 350. 348 members were elected in 50multi-member constituencies—corresponding to theprovinces of Spain, with each being allocated an initial minimum of two seats and the remaining 248 being distributed in proportion to their populations—using theD'Hondt method and aclosed listproportional voting system, with anelectoral threshold of three percent of valid votes (which includedblank ballots) being applied in each constituency. The two remaining seats were allocated toCeuta andMelilla assingle-member districts and elected usingplurality voting.[109][110] The use of the electoral method resulted in a highereffective threshold based on thedistrict magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.[111]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:[112]
208 seats in theSenate were elected using anopen listpartial block voting system: in constituencies electing four seats, electors could 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 districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as theBalearic andCanary Islands, districts were the islands themselves, with the larger (Mallorca,Gran Canaria andTenerife) being allocated three seats each, and the smaller (Menorca,Ibiza–Formentera,Fuerteventura,La Gomera,El Hierro,Lanzarote andLa Palma) one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally,autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants.[113][114][115]
The law did not provide forby-elections to fillvacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in thelist and, when required, by the designatedsubstitutes.[116]
Spanish citizens of age and with the legal capacity to vote could run for election, provided that they were not sentenced to imprisonment by a final court ruling nor convicted, even if by a non-final ruling, to forfeiture of eligibility or to specific disqualification or suspension from public office under particular offences:rebellion,terrorism or othercrimes against the state. Other causes of ineligibility were imposed on the following officials:[117][118]
Other causes of ineligibility for both chambers were imposed on a number of territorial-level officers in the aforementioned categories—during their tenure of office—in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction, as well as employees of foreign states and members of regional governments.[117][118] Incompatibility provisions extended to the president of theNational Commission on Competition; members ofRTVE's board and of the offices of the prime minister, the ministers and the secretaries of state; government delegates inport authorities, hydrographic confederations and toll highway concessionary companies; presidents and other high-ranking members of public entities,state monopolies, companies with majority public participation and publicsaving banks; deputies and senators elected on candidacies subsequently declared illegal by a final court ruling; as well as the impossibility of simultaneously holding the positions of deputy and senator or regional legislator.[119]
The electoral law allowed forparties andfederations registered in theinterior ministry,alliances andgroupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties, federations or alliances that had not obtained a mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies.[120] Additionally, a balanced composition of men and women was required in the lists of candidates, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition.[121]
The term of each chamber of theCortes Generales—the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they weredissolved earlier.[122] The electiondecree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in theOfficial State Gazette (BOE), withelection day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication.[123] Theprevious election was held on 9 March 2008, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 9 March 2012. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 14 February 2012, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Sunday, 8 April 2012.
The prime minister had the prerogative to propose the monarch to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call asnap election, provided that nomotion of no confidence was in process, nostate of emergency was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one.[124] Additionally, both chambers were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a prime minister within a two-month period from the first ballot.[125] Barring this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections to the Congress and the Senate.[126] Still, as of 2025, there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.
As the Great Recession took its hold in Spain, prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero rejected several demands from the opposition PP to call a snap election in 2009 and 2010,[127][128][129] as well as following the PSOE's heavy defeat in the May 2011 local and regional elections, assuring that it would be held when due in March 2012.[130][131] However, on 29 July 2011, Zapatero announced that he had opted for the next general election to be held on 20 November of that same year, justifying this in order to allow the elected government to "face the economic year and the responsibilities of the country as of January 1", provide "certainty" and "stability" and "work on economic recovery, deficit reduction and ensure the consolidation of the recovery".[99] Behind the scenes, it was said that the decision was the result of PSOE candidate Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba's desire to avoid further political erosion due to the worsening economic indicators.[132]
TheCortes Generales were officially dissolved on 27 September 2011 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting election day for 20 November and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 13 December.[112]
The tables below show the composition of theparliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.[133][134]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Below is a list of the mainparties andelectoral alliances which contested the election:
TheSocialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC),Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) andUnited and Alternative Left (EUiA) continued their Catalan Senate alliance without ERC, under theAgreement for Catalonia Progress name.[150][151] Concurrently, the new greenEquo party allied itself withPSM–Nationalist Agreement (PSM–EN),Initiative Greens (IV) andAgreement for Majorca (ExM) in the Balearic Islands and with Sí Se Puede (SSP) and Socialists for Tenerife (SxTf) in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife constituency.[152][153][154]
The key dates are listed below (all times areCET. TheCanary Islands usedWET (UTC+0) instead):[155]
| Party or alliance | Original slogan | English translation | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOE | « Pelea por lo que quieres » | "Fight for what you want" | [157] | |
| PP | « Súmate al cambio » | "Join the change" | [158] | |
| CiU | « La nostra força » | "Our strength" | [159][160] | |
| EAJ/PNV | « Euskadiren alde. Euskadi puede » | "For the Basque Country. The Basque Country can do it" | [161] | |
| Esquerra | « República del Sí » | "Republic of Yes" | [162] | |
| IU–LV | « Rebélate! » | "Rebel!" | [163] | |
| BNG | « A alternativa que te defende. O voto útil en Galiza » | "The alternative that defends you" & "The tactical vote in Galicia" | [164][165] | |
| UPyD | « Cada voto vale » | "Each vote counts" | [166] | |
| GBai | « Sí, tenemos futuro » « Bai, dadugu geroa » | "Yes, we have a future" | [167][168] | |
| FAC | « Más Asturias, Mejor España » | "More Asturias, Better Spain" | [169] | |
| Amaiur | « Eraiki zubia » « Tendiendo puentes » | "Bridging" | [170] | |
| Compromís–Q | « Som com tu » | "We are like you" | [171] | |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present[n] S Surrogate[o] NI Not invited I Invited A Absent invitee | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSOE | PP | IU | CiU | PNV | Share | Ref. | |||
| 7 November | TV Academy | Manuel Campo Vidal | P Rubalcaba | P Rajoy | NI | NI | NI | 54.2% (12,006,000) | [172] |
| 9 November | TVE | María Casado | S Jáuregui | S Gallardón | S Llamazares | S Macias | P Erkoreka | 11.5% (2,164,000) | [173] |
| Debate | Polling firm/Commissioner | PSOE | PP | Tie | None |  ? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 November | Metroscopia/El País[174] | 41.0 | 46.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[175] | 44.2 | 51.4 | – | – | 4.4 | |
| TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3[176] | 33.1 | 43.9 | – | 23.0 | – | |
| Invymark/laSexta[177][178] | 39.9 | 48.6 | 11.5 | – | – | |
| CIS[179] | 23.4 | 39.6 | 5.4 | 24.4 | 7.2 |
The table below shows registeredvoter turnout on election day, without includingnon-resident citizens.
| Region | Time | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | 18:00 | 20:00 | |||||||
| 2008 | 2011 | +/– | 2008 | 2011 | +/– | 2008 | 2011 | +/– | |
| Andalusia | 39.06% | 37.76% | −1.30 | 59.51% | 57.66% | −1.85 | 73.79% | 70.69% | −3.10 |
| Aragon | 42.40% | 39.54% | −2.86 | 61.39% | 57.44% | −3.95 | 76.79% | 72.57% | −4.22 |
| Asturias | 38.39% | 36.71% | −1.68 | 59.55% | 56.23% | −3.32 | 73.82% | 70.33% | −3.49 |
| Balearic Islands | 39.18% | 35.17% | −4.01 | 56.07% | 50.37% | −5.70 | 68.19% | 62.20% | −5.99 |
| Basque Country | 37.30% | 38.34% | +1.04 | 53.42% | 56.08% | +2.66 | 64.90% | 69.22% | +4.32 |
| Canary Islands | 30.65% | 28.03% | −2.62 | 49.86% | 45.95% | −3.91 | 67.61% | 63.72% | −3.89 |
| Cantabria | 42.66% | 40.44% | −2.22 | 65.17% | 61.53% | −3.64 | 78.35% | 75.37% | −2.98 |
| Castile and León | 41.83% | 38.12% | −3.71 | 63.94% | 59.33% | −4.61 | 79.60% | 75.08% | −4.52 |
| Castilla–La Mancha | 42.65% | 39.53% | −3.12 | 65.30% | 61.71% | −3.59 | 80.64% | 76.71% | −3.93 |
| Catalonia | 39.31% | 35.55% | −3.76 | 57.45% | 53.21% | −4.24 | 71.22% | 66.83% | −4.39 |
| Extremadura | 43.82% | 39.67% | −4.15 | 63.76% | 59.60% | −4.16 | 79.68% | 75.63% | −4.05 |
| Galicia | 35.60% | 32.87% | −2.73 | 60.73% | 57.28% | −3.45 | 75.46% | 71.82% | −3.64 |
| La Rioja | 45.81% | 41.88% | −3.93 | 65.08% | 59.73% | −5.35 | 80.77% | 75.88% | −4.89 |
| Madrid | 41.67% | 39.61% | −2.06 | 65.18% | 61.33% | −3.85 | 80.88% | 76.03% | −4.85 |
| Murcia | 45.74% | 42.50% | −3.24 | 67.46% | 63.36% | −4.10 | 80.47% | 75.53% | −4.94 |
| Navarre | 42.72% | 39.11% | −3.61 | 59.92% | 55.82% | −4.10 | 73.25% | 71.34% | −1.91 |
| Valencian Community | 47.57% | 43.95% | −3.62 | 66.74% | 62.73% | −4.01 | 79.66% | 75.50% | −4.16 |
| Ceuta | 31.87% | 26.63% | −5.24 | 49.81% | 42.50% | −7.31 | 64.75% | 55.05% | −9.70 |
| Melilla | 31.08% | 25.56% | −5.52 | 47.93% | 40.08% | −7.85 | 66.59% | 52.85% | −13.74 |
| Total | 40.46% | 37.88% | −2.58 | 60.95% | 57.65% | −3.30 | 75.35% | 71.71% | −3.64 |
| Sources[180] | |||||||||
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| People's Party (PP)1 | 10,866,566 | 44.63 | +4.52 | 186 | +32 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 7,003,511 | 28.76 | −15.11 | 110 | −59 | |
| United Left–The Greens:Plural Left (IU–LV)2 | 1,686,040 | 6.92 | +3.00 | 11 | +9 | |
| Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) | 1,143,225 | 4.70 | +3.51 | 5 | +4 | |
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 1,015,691 | 4.17 | +1.14 | 16 | +6 | |
| Amaiur (Amaiur)3 | 334,498 | 1.37 | +1.05 | 7 | +7 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 324,317 | 1.33 | +0.14 | 5 | −1 | |
| Republican Left (esquerra) | 256,985 | 1.06 | −0.10 | 3 | ±0 | |
| Equo (Equo) | 216,748 | 0.89 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 184,037 | 0.76 | −0.07 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Coalition–New Canaries (CC–NC–PNC)4 | 143,881 | 0.59 | −0.24 | 2 | ±0 | |
| Bloc–Initiative–Greens–Equo:Commitment Coalition (Compromís–Q)5 | 125,306 | 0.51 | +0.39 | 1 | +1 | |
| Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 102,144 | 0.42 | +0.25 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Forum of Citizens (FAC) | 99,473 | 0.41 | New | 1 | +1 | |
| Blank Seats (EB) | 97,673 | 0.40 | +0.38 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Party (PA)6 | 76,999 | 0.32 | +0.05 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Platform for Catalonia (PxC) | 59,949 | 0.25 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 44,010 | 0.18 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Yes to the Future (GBai)7 | 42,415 | 0.17 | −0.07 | 1 | ±0 | |
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 27,210 | 0.11 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 26,254 | 0.11 | +0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Anti-capitalists (Anticapitalistas) | 22,289 | 0.09 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Pirates of Catalonia (Pirata.cat) | 21,876 | 0.09 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) | 15,869 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 10,132 | 0.04 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spain 2000 (E–2000) | 9,266 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) | 6,863 | 0.03 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Republicans (RPS) | 5,430 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Hartos.org (Hartos.org) | 3,820 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Pirate Party (Pirata) | 3,426 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Nationalist Alternative (ANC) | 3,180 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) | 2,898 | 0.01 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL) | 2,848 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Castilian Party (PCAS)8 | 2,431 | 0.01 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| United for Valencia (UxV)9 | 2,210 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Individual Freedom Party (P–LIB) | 2,065 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) | 2,058 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI) | 2,007 | 0.01 | −0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| National Democracy (DN) | 1,867 | 0.01 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party for Eastern Andalusia (PRAO) | 1,784 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Caballas Coalition (Caballas) | 1,712 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| XXI Convergence (C.XXI) | 1,443 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Unity of the People (UP) | 1,138 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Convergence for Extremadura (CEx) | 1,090 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andecha Astur (Andecha) | 1,087 | 0.00 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens of Democratic Centre (CCD) | 1,074 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens' Action for Málaga (ACIMA) | 966 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 829 | 0.00 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Death to the System (+MAS+) | 791 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Union of Independent Citizens of Toledo (UCIT) | 785 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Let us Give the Change (DeC) | 778 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Centre and Democracy Forum (CyD) | 720 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL) | 709 | 0.00 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Party for the Regeneration of Democracy in Spain (PRDE) | 678 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internet Party (Internet) | 603 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left Republican Party–Republicans (PRE–R) | 419 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Enough is Enough, Open Grouping of Political Parties (Basta Ya) | 380 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Constitutional and Democratic Party (PDyC) | 304 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV) | 293 | 0.00 | −0.12 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Democratic Hygiene (HD) | 206 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Socialists for Teruel (SxT) | 169 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Navarrese and Spanish Right (DNE) | 0 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots | 333,461 | 1.37 | +0.26 | |||
| Total | 24,348,886 | 350 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 24,348,886 | 98.71 | −0.65 | |||
| Invalid votes | 317,555 | 1.29 | +0.65 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 24,666,441 | 68.94 | −4.91 | |||
| Abstentions | 11,113,050 | 31.06 | +4.91 | |||
| Registered voters | 35,779,491 | |||||
| Sources[180][181][182][183] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
| PP | 44.63% | |||
| PSOE | 28.76% | |||
| IU–LV | 6.92% | |||
| UPyD | 4.70% | |||
| CiU | 4.17% | |||
| Amaiur | 1.37% | |||
| EAJ/PNV | 1.33% | |||
| esquerra | 1.06% | |||
| BNG | 0.76% | |||
| CC–NC–PNC | 0.59% | |||
| Compromís–Q | 0.51% | |||
| FAC | 0.41% | |||
| GBai | 0.17% | |||
| Others | 3.24% | |||
| Blank ballots | 1.37% | |||
| PP | 53.14% | |||
| PSOE | 31.43% | |||
| CiU | 4.57% | |||
| IU–LV | 3.14% | |||
| Amaiur | 2.00% | |||
| UPyD | 1.43% | |||
| EAJ/PNV | 1.43% | |||
| esquerra | 0.86% | |||
| BNG | 0.57% | |||
| CC–NC–PNC | 0.57% | |||
| Compromís–Q | 0.29% | |||
| FAC | 0.29% | |||
| GBai | 0.29% | |||
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| People's Party (PP)1 | 29,363,775 | 46.31 | +5.90 | 136 | +35 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 16,469,470 | 25.97 | −11.25 | 48 | −40 | |
| United Left–The Greens:Plural Left (IU–LV)2 | 3,234,188 | 5.10 | +2.06 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Agreement for Catalonia Progress (PSC–ICV–EUiA) | 2,842,651 | 4.48 | −3.09 | 7 | −5 | |
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 2,590,266 | 4.09 | +0.60 | 9 | +5 | |
| Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) | 1,060,766 | 1.67 | +0.68 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Amaiur (Amaiur)3 | 953,349 | 1.50 | +1.18 | 3 | +3 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 928,724 | 1.46 | +0.17 | 4 | +2 | |
| Republican Left (esquerra) | 665,554 | 1.05 | +1.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 593,076 | 0.94 | −0.10 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank Seats (EB) | 517,733 | 0.82 | +0.80 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Equo (Equo) | 516,150 | 0.81 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 374,483 | 0.59 | +0.40 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Bloc–Initiative–Greens–Equo:Commitment Coalition (Compromís–Q)5 | 306,260 | 0.48 | +0.35 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Forum of Citizens (FAC) | 286,394 | 0.45 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Canarian Coalition–New Canaries–Canarian Nationalist Party (CC–NC–PNC)4 | 264,803 | 0.42 | −0.10 | 1 | ±0 | |
| Andalusian Party (PA)6 | 261,330 | 0.41 | +0.08 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Platform for Catalonia (PxC) | 139,925 | 0.22 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 102,109 | 0.16 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Yes to the Future (GBai)7 | 96,978 | 0.15 | −0.11 | 0 | ±0 | |
| For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 96,771 | 0.15 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Pirates of Catalonia (Pirata.cat) | 90,652 | 0.14 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 78,440 | 0.12 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) | 42,353 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 35,693 | 0.06 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spain 2000 (E–2000) | 29,927 | 0.05 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Assembly for the Senate (ASRM) | 29,762 | 0.05 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) | 24,505 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL) | 13,935 | 0.02 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Hartos.org (Hartos.org) | 13,395 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Castilian Party (PCAS)8 | 12,552 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Leonese People's Union (UPL) | 10,407 | 0.02 | −0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) | 10,028 | 0.02 | −0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) | 7,955 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Individual Freedom Party (P–LIB) | 7,455 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens' Action for Málaga (ACIMA) | 6,298 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| United for Valencia (UxV)9 | 5,033 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI) | 4,979 | 0.01 | −0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Andecha Astur (Andecha) | 4,740 | 0.01 | ±0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Convergence for Extremadura (CEx) | 4,564 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| National Democracy (DN) | 4,563 | 0.01 | −0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Party for Eastern Andalusia (PRAO) | 3,921 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL) | 3,612 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Let us Give the Change (DeC) | 3,250 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Caballas Coalition (Caballas) | 3,226 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Union of Independent Citizens of Toledo (UCIT) | 3,164 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Party for the Regeneration of Democracy in Spain (PRDE) | 3,153 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Citizens of Democratic Centre (CCD) | 2,730 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| XXI Convergence (C.XXI) | 2,705 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Centre and Democracy Forum (CyD) | 2,462 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Unity of the People (UP) | 2,454 | 0.01 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,974 | 0.00 | −0.06 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Enough is Enough, Open Grouping of Political Parties (Basta Ya) | 1,892 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Socialist Party of Menorca–Nationalist Agreement (PSM–EN) | 1,733 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Republicans (RPS) | 1,116 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Feminist Initiative (IFem) | 1,115 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left Republican Party–Republicans (PRE–R) | 940 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Navarrese and Spanish Right (DNE) | 903 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV) | 732 | 0.00 | −0.16 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Socialists for Teruel (SxT) | 446 | 0.00 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots[p] | 1,264,947 | 5.36 | +3.30 | |||
| Total | 63,408,466 | 208 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 23,578,950 | 96.30 | −1.41 | |||
| Invalid votes | 904,722 | 3.70 | +1.41 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 24,483,672 | 68.43 | −6.06 | |||
| Abstentions | 11,295,819 | 31.57 | +6.06 | |||
| Registered voters | 35,779,491 | |||||
| Sources[134][180][181][182][184][185] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
| PP | 46.31% | |||
| PSOE | 25.97% | |||
| IU–LV | 5.10% | |||
| EPdC | 4.48% | |||
| CiU | 4.09% | |||
| UPyD | 1.67% | |||
| Amaiur | 1.50% | |||
| EAJ/PNV | 1.46% | |||
| esquerra | 1.05% | |||
| CC–NC–PNC | 0.42% | |||
| Others | 5.95% | |||
| Blank ballots | 5.36% | |||
With an overall voter turnout of 68.9%—the lowest in a decade—theSpanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) suffered its worst ever defeat in a general election, while also scoring one of the worst electoral performances for a ruling party in Spain since theUCD collapse in the1982 election. ThePeople's Party (PP) was able to win an historicabsolute majority with 186 out of 350 seats—the largest obtained by a party since 1982—after almost eight years in opposition. The PSOE went on to finish below first place in all but two provinces—Barcelona andSeville—while also losing bothAndalusia andCatalonia, which up to that point had been carried by the PSOE in every general election. The 2011 Spanish election marked the continuation of a string of severe government election losses across European countries since the start of the2008 financial crisis, includingIceland,Greece,Hungary, theUnited Kingdom,Ireland orPortugal.
Minoritary national parties, such asUnited Left (IU) andUnion, Progress and Democracy (UPyD), benefitted greatly from the PSOE collapse, winning 11 and 5 seats respectively—2 and 1 in the previous parliament. This was the first time since the1989 election than more than one of the smaller nationwide-contesting parties obtained more than 1 million votes in a general election, as well as enough seats to form parliamentary groups on their own right. The PSOE collapse also resulted in nearly all parties winning parliamentary presence in theCongress of Deputies increasing their vote shares—onlyRepublican Left of Catalonia (ERC) andGeroa Bai (GBai) lost votes compared to2008. TheBasque Nationalist Party (PNV) lost 1 seat despite scoring higher than in 2008, but this came as a result ofAmaiur's irruption, with 6 out of its 7 seats being elected in theBasque Country.
Convergence and Union (CiU), the party federation formed byDemocratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) andDemocratic Union of Catalonia (UDC), was elected to an historic general election victory in the region of Catalonia. TheSocialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), PSOE's sister party in the region—which had, up until that point, been the first Catalan political force in every general election held since1977—scored a poor showing by finishing in second place with 27% of the vote. The 2011 election would be the last time both parties would dominate the Catalan political landscape in a general election; the next election, held on 20 December 2015, would see the alliance between CDC and UDC broken and the PSC being crushed to third place regionally by both theEn Comú Podem alliance and ERC.
In terms of vote share, PSOE's electoral result, with 28.76%, would remain the worst electoral performance for a sitting Spanish government in a nationwide-held election since 1982 until the2014 European Parliament election held two and a half years later, when the PP obtained 26.09% of the share, and in a general election until 2015—the PP obtaining 28.71%.
| Investiture Congress of Deputies Nomination ofMariano Rajoy (PP) | ||
| Ballot → | 20 December 2011 | |
|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 176 out of 350 Y | |
187 / 350 | ||
149 / 350 | ||
14 / 350 | ||
| Absentees | 0 / 350 | |
| Sources[186] | ||
Media related toSpanish general election, 2011 at Wikimedia Commons.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}