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Index
Municipal Register
01. What is the Municipal Register and what is it for?
02.Why register with a Local Council?
03. Residents’ rights
04. Requirements, documentation and procedure
05. Revising the Municipal Register
06. Documentation for the registration (empadronamiento)
07. The Register and the Electoral Roll
Electoral process in Spain
01. Local elections (Elecciones Municipales)
02. Who can vote and be voted for in Local Elections?
03. The Electoral process
04. The Electoral campaign
05. How and where to vote?
06. Postal Voting
07. How can disabled people vote?
08. How are the Mayor and Councillors chosen?
09. Relevant legislation
What is the municipal register and what is it for?
The Municipal Register is an administrative register listing all the residents in a given municipality.
The Register will include at least the following information:
- Names and surnames
- Gender
- Habitual residence
- Nationality
- Place and date of birth
- National ID Card Number (Documento Nacional de Identidad, DNI), or the corresponding foreign national ID card number. For European residents, this refers to the number on the Certificate of Inscription in the Central Foreigners Register (Registro General de Extranjeros). In the absence of this Certificate, the register will record the number of the identity document or valid passport issued by the authorities of the country of origin.
- The resident’s academic or school certificate or title.
- Other information that may be required to draw up the Electoral Roll (Censo Electoral), in full compliance with the fundamental rights recognised in the Constitution.
The resident may also consent to the inclusion of the following information:
- List of people that can represent the resident before the Municipal Administration for registration purposes.
- Telephone number.
All residents must inform their Local Council (Ayuntamiento) regarding any changes in their personal circumstances that modify the above information.
Being listed in the Register demonstrates residency and habitual residence in the municipality. Nevertheless, it does not constitute proof of legal residence in Spain, neither does it confer on the listed citizen any right that is not conferred by current legislation.
Registration with a local council is intended for counting and identifying the residents of a municipality for the purpose of providing public services (health centres, education centres, public transport, etc.) and to ensure they can sufficiently service the population. By law, each Local Administration has to provide certain municipal services to the citizens. The more inhabitants in a municipality, the greater the number of mandatory services.
Thus, the Municipal Register basically stands as a design and planning instrument for policies and municipal services and as a guideline for drawing up the Electoral Roll. The number of Councillors in a municipality is directly related to the number of people listed in its Municipal Register.
The Local Council is in charge of creating, maintaining and revising the Register. The National Statistics Institute (INE) has a recognised ex officio role in ensuring that the Register is maintained properly. The Register is continuously updated. The official number of residents in each municipality is established for all administrative and other purposes at the beginning of each year.
Why register with a local council?
All Spanish residents must be listed in the Register of the municipality where they habitually reside.
Apart from being a legal requirement, registration is highly advisable and both important and useful for the citizen. Registration grants a resident status, and therefore confers the rights implied by this condition, as will be seen in the next section of this information guide.
Registration is a necessary requirement for access to essential services such as schooling, primary health care and obtaining the Healthcare Card (Tarjeta Sanitaria).
Being registered in a Municipality of the Community of Valencia also provides other benefits for the citizen such as, for example, fiscal benefits in the matter of inheritance or specific fiscal reductions in acquiring
the habitual home.
The Statute of Autonomy of the Community of Valencia establishes in article 3 that all Spanish citizens who have or acquire administrative residence in any of the Municipalities of the Community of Valencia will have the political status of “Valencian”. In the same article, citizens of the European Union who are resident in the Community of Valencia will enjoy the same rights and will be subject to the same obligations as Valencians, with the exceptions envisaged in the Constitution or the Laws of the State.
Residents’ rights
The condition of Resident bestows on the citizen a series of rights in their relations with their Local Council and generally in social participation and in public affairs. The most important of these rights are:
- Ser elector y elegible en las elecciones municipales de acuerdo con lo dispuesto en la legislación
electoral.
- The right to vote and be voted for in municipal elections as set out in electoral legislation.
- The right to participate in municipal management as set out in the laws and when voluntary collaboration is requested by government bodies or the Municipal Administration.
- The right to use municipal public services and access communal land as set out in applicable regulations.
- The right to contribute legally established financial and personal support to the exercise of municipal powers and responsibilities.
- The right to be informed, following reasonable requests, and to direct applications to the Municipal Administration in relation to all municipal files and documentation.
- The right to request a referendum under the terms set out in the Law.
- The right to demand the provision and, where appropriate, the setting up of public services, provided that these are mandatory services that fall within the municipal powers.
- The right to take part in a referendum under the terms set out in the Constitution.
- Other rights and obligations established by the laws.
In relation to the activities of the Local Council, residents enjoy the full right of access to information in various spheres of municipal action such as approving the Budget, town planning, approving local ordinances and regulations of the Local Corporation and the content of the agreements adopted by the Municipal Council meetings. These rights of information and participation in Council decision-making and actions can be exercised individually by each resident or jointly through the Residents’ Association.
Requirements, documentation and procedure
Citizens should register in the municipality where they habitually resides. Citizens with more than one home in Spain, should to register in the municipality where they spend the most time during the year.
Being listed in the municipal Register is free of charge.
People living habitually in a municipality who are not listed in its Register must apply to be listed. They must declare that they are not listed or are unaware of being listed in the Register of any other municipality and ex officio agree to the cancellation of any listing in any Spanish Register prior to the date of application.
To proceed with the registration, the applicant must provide the original and photocopy of their DNI, Passport or Certificate of Inscription in the Central Foreigners Register (if available), provisional document of their request for asylum or valid identity document for non-EU foreign citizen issued by a Spanish Authority.
In any case, if the applicant does not have a document issued by a Spanish Authority, Spanish Law allows listing in the Register with the number of an identity document or valid Passport issued by the country of origin. This does not imply, however, that there is no further obligation for inscription in the Central Foreigners Register (certificate of registration as a citizen of the European Union).
Citizens need to provide evidence to demonstrate habitual residence at the address such as, for example:- Deed of ownership of the property
- Rental contract
- Authorisation by the owner of the house to be listed using that address, together with a photocopy of
the owner’s DNI, passport or other personal identity document. Sometimes, the presence of the house
owner will be requested to demonstrate their agreement to the municipal officer.
- In some Local Councils, other means of demonstrating home ownership such as the latest utility receipts
(water, gas, electricity, etc.) may also be accepted.
Non-emancipated minors and disabled elderly people will have the same residence as those looking after
them or those with custody, or in their absence, their legal representatives, except when these provide
written authorisation for residence in another municipality.
For listing minors whose parents are separated or divorced, authorisation from both parents or the original
and photocopy of the court ruling or regulating agreement demonstrating custody or guardianship must
be provided.
Revising the Municipal Register
Local Councils perform the actions and operations necessary to keep their Registers updated to guarantee
the authenticity of the information. They provide the National Statistics Institute with a monthly list of
changes made to their Municipal Registers.
If Local Councils fail to check the authenticity of the information, the National Statistics Institute can ex
officio proceed to check the accuracy of the Register information.
The Municipal Register is also updated monthly with the information provided by the Civil Register regarding
changes in name or surname, gender and nationality; by the Ministry of the Interior regarding changes to
the DNI or residence cards; and by the Ministry of Education and Culture regarding school and academic
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titles that are issued or recognised. In these cases, the affected residents must be notified of the change
so they can make any appropriate declaration.
For a change of address that involves transfer to another municipality, citizens must request in writing
to be listed in the municipality where they wish to set up their new residence. The new municipality will
notify the old municipality for removal of the listing from the old Register within the first ten days of the
following month.
Applications occurring as a consequence of a change of address within the municipality will simply result in
a change in the listed details in the Municipal Register without the need to be removed from the Register
and subsequently listed again in the Register.
Non-EU foreign citizens must renew their listing every two years even if there has been no change in their
personal circumstances. If they fail to do this, they will be removed from the Register.
Types of REMOVAL from the Register:
Removal after death. Deceased residents will be removed from the Register after presentation of the
Family Book or the Death Certificate. The INE provides information to each Local Council about deceased
citizens who should be removed from the Register.
Removal after Change of Residence. Change of Residence is understood to be change of address to
another Municipality or Country. Once notification has been received of inscription in another municipality
or listing in the Consular Office or Section in the destination country, the resident will be removed from
the previous Register.
Removal after inappropriate listing (duplicate). The Local Council will remove duplicate listings from
their Register, keeping only one listing. If such a duplication is identified by the National Statistics Institute
or the Local Council, an administrative file will be initiated and sent to the listed addresses. The affected
resident will be informed that one of the listings will be removed from the Register. If the resident responds
and declares their wish to appear listed in one municipality, the correct listing will be maintained, and the
listing in the other Registers will be removed.
The National Statistics Institute will communicate to Local Councils where duplications have been identified
when comparing the Registers of different municipalities.
Removal after inappropriate ex officio listing. When the Local Council has made an ex officio listing of
individuals (e.g. minors or disabled citizens who have been ex officio listed in the Register in the municipality
where their parents or tutors reside), it will remove these listings after verifying the mistake.
Ex officio removal of listing. If the Local Council discovers that the person no longer resides in the
municipality, it will initiate a file to remove that person from the Register. Periodical checking by the Local
Councils is often performed for this purpose.
Documentation for the registration (empadronamiento)
Certificates issued with Registration information are considered to be public documents and authoritative
for all administrative purposes.
The Certificate of Registration (Certificado de Empadronamiento) is the document that demonstrates
residence and the habitual address. It is often requested when undertaking certain official procedures
with certain public bodies such as:
- Judicial bodies (courts and tribunals)
- Military bodies or foreign authorities
- Civil Register (marriage, nationality, change of name and/or surname, adoptions, etc.)
- Declaring heirs
- Registration of common-law partnerships
- Other Official Registers, prisons, Customs, Universities, Employment Offices (INEM).
The Registration Slip (Volante de Empadronamiento) is a purely informative document that indicates
residence and the habitual address.
Both Certificates and Slips are issued free of charge and are valid for a period that depends on the specific
official procedure for which they are required, although maximum validity is usually 3 months from the
date of issue.
Registration Certificates and Slips of non-emancipated minors must be requested by the parents or legal
representatives with whom they are registered.
The Certificate of a deceased person can be requested by any person who demonstrates a legitimate
interest: children, spouse, parents or anyone authorised by them.
The register and the electoral roll
The Municipal Register is the guideline used to draw up the Electoral Roll.
Local Councils send a monthly list of the changes occurring over the previous month to the corresponding
Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office for the purpose of updating the Electoral Roll. Such
changes include new listings and removals of listings of adult residents with respect to the last day of
the previous month as well as changes of address and other modifications regarding data included in the
Electoral Roll.
For Spanish citizens with the right to vote, being listed in the Municipal Register implies inclusion in the
Electoral Roll, provided that they have not been deprived of the right of suffrage for any of the reasons
described in the next section of this guide.
By contrast, nationals of other EU Member States must declare their wish to exercise the right of active
suffrage in Spain in municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament, citing the local body or
Member State voting district where they were last registered in the electoral roll.
This declaration is made by completing the form CERE.DFA-1 in the Local Council where they are registered.
This declaration is made once only and does not need to be repeated for each electoral process. So if a
European resident has previously declared their intention to vote in municipal elections in Spain, they
remain on the Electoral Roll permanently until they formally request otherwise.
Other citizens with the right to vote in local elections must also request their inclusion in the Electoral
Roll when they fulfil the following requirements:
- They have a residence card.
- They have resided in Spain legally and without interruption for the minimum specified for each
country.
- They are listed in the Register of the municipality where they habitually reside.
The declaration of the desire to exercise the right to vote by non-EU citizens must be renewed for every election.
Local Elections
The Spanish Constitution establishes in articles 23 and 13.2 the basic conditions of the right of suffrage.
These are the right to vote (active suffrage) and to be voted for (passive suffrage). Citizens of nationalities
other than Spanish may participate in local elections.
Municipal Elections are electoral processes through which the members of the Local Corporations, Local
Councils and Provincial Councils are elected. These elections are made by the residents of the municipality
with the right to vote through universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage.
Elections are regulated by Organic Law 5/1985, dated 19 June, on the General Electoral System, specifically
in Title III on regulating the details of these types of electoral processes.
Who can vote and be voted for in Local Elections?
The following groups of people can vote in municipal elections in Spain:
All adult Spanish citizens, with full civil rights and listed in the Electoral Roll, irrespective of whether
they are living in Spain or abroad. Those living abroad will vote in the elections of the municipality
where they last resided in Spain.
Citizens of European Union Member States who are resident in Spain: Spanish legislation, applying
the European reference regulation (Directive 94/80/EC), dated 19 December 1994, lists the following
requirements:
- They must be registered in the municipality where they wish to exercise their right to vote.
- They must be registered in the Foreign Residents Electoral Roll (CERE).
- They have declared their intention to vote in municipal elections. This declaration must be made
officially on the Formal Declaration of Intention to Vote form (“CERE.DFA”), which can be obtained from
the Local Council. This declaration is permanent while the citizen continues to reside in Spain and does
not have to be reiterated for each electoral process.
- They must be adults on the day of voting and must not be incapable of voting.
National Citizens of Norway must fulfil the requirements for EU citizens and have resided legally
and without interruption in Spain for more than three years (Exchange of Letters between Spain and
Norway, made in Madrid on 6 February 1990, and Appendix BOE [Spanish Official Gazette] No. 153,
dated 27 June 1991).
Nationals of Non-EU States Both the Constitution and Spanish Electoral Law allow that, following reciprocal agreements, nationals of
States that are not members of the EU or European Economic Area can participate in municipal elections
provided that this participation is authorised by International Treaty or Law.
The following agreements on participation in municipal elections by nationals of one country resident in
the territory of the other have been signed up to May 2010:
- Exchange of Notes, dated 6 February 2009, constituting the Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain
and the Republic of Peru. (BOE No. 122, dated 19 May 2010).
- Exchange of Notes, dated 12 May 2009, constituting the Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and
the Republic of Chile. (BOE No. 35, dated 9 February 2010).
- Exchange of Notes, dated 5 February 2009, constituting the Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain
and the Republic of Columbia. (BOE No. 18, dated 21 January 2010).
- Exchange of Notes, dated 25 February 2009, constituting the Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain
and the Republic of Ecuador. (BOE No. 4, dated 5 January 2010).
- Agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and New Zealand, made in Wellington on 23 June 2009 (BOE
No. 5, dated 6 January 2010).
There are also other Treaties and Agreements signed with other States such as Argentina, Bolivia, Burkina
Faso, Cape Verde, South Korea, Iceland, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago that are awaiting parliamentary
authorisation before coming into force. There are also open negotiations with other States that may result
in new treaties and will thereby grant the nationals of other countries the possibility of participating in
local elections in Spain.
The respective treaties will lay down the requirements demanded of the nationals of these States. Those
signed to date demand the following:
a) To be in possession of authorisation for residence in Spain.
b) To have lived in Spain, legally and without interruption for at least five years before the application for
listing in the Electoral Roll.
c) To exercise the right to vote in the Municipality of habitual residence, being listed in their Register.
Being listed in the Foreign Residents Electoral Roll in Spain is required. This listing will be made on reques
and within the timescale fixed for each election.
As regards the right of passive suffrage in local elections, i.e. the right to be voted for (be a candidate),
Electoral Law demands the following requirements for Spanish citizens:
a) To meet the requirements for being a voter.
b) Not to be convicted of a penalty that removes this right. The exercise of public activity is often
particularly sensitive to certain offences (corruption, bribery, influence peddling, terrorism, offences
against State Institutions, etc.) and the sentence must specifically deprive the citizen of the right to
be voted for.
c) Not being subject to any reason for ineligibility listed by Law, which fundamentally refers to citizens
undertaking public functions such as belonging to the judiciary or the armed forces, which could
compromise the normal electoral process. In the case of municipal elections, other specific exclusions
are also established that attempt to prevent conflicts of interest, including active staff of the Local
Council (which on being elected would have to apply for a suspension of their position), Local Council
contractors or attorneys with lawsuits against the Local Council.
It is not necessary to be registered in the municipality in which the citizen stands as a candidate.
For EU citizens, it is additionally required that they have not been deprived of the right of passive suffrage
in their country of origin. In the case where an EU citizen wishes to be a candidate, together with the
documentation demonstrating compliance with the requirements demanded of all Spanish citizens, they
must present a formal declaration which states: a) their nationality and address in Spain; b) that they
have not been deprived of the right of passive suffrage in their country of origin; and c) their last address
in the European State of origin. They must also provide an office copy of their official identity document.
The Electoral Board may demand administrative documentation from the country of origin demonstrating
that the European Citizen has not been deprived of their right of passive suffrage.
Non-EU nationals, including citizens of Norway, do not have a right to passive suffrage and consequently
cannot be elected.
The Spanish Constitution attributes to Political Parties the function of expressing political pluralism,
forming and manifesting popular will and being a fundamental instrument for political participation.
Their legal regulation is mainly set out in Organic Law 6/2002, dated 27 June, on Political Parties, where
free formation of political parties by Spanish citizens is authorised, with no explicit reference to their
creation by EU citizens.
The law establishes that affiliation (membership) to a political party must be free and voluntary and there
must never be an obligation to affiliate and no differences are established by nationalities.
As regards the internal organisation of political parties, the Law determines that they must respect the
democratic principle and respect the law in their operations.
Financing of political parties is regulated by a specific law, Organic Law 3/1987, dated 2 July, on Financing
Political Parties, listing the sources of finance, both public and private, to which political parties may
appeal.
Political parties can stand for elections either individually or through coalitions with other parties (unions
of two or more parties for specific elections).
Citizens can participate in elections by means of Voters’ Groups without needing to create a Political Party.
Voters’ Groups are political formations constituted by a number of signatures determined by Law and have
the exclusive aim of being a candidate in specific electoral process and for a specific constituency.
The electoral process
The municipal electoral process starts with the calling of elections. In all Local Councils throughout Spain this
call is made by means of a Royal Decree of the Council of Ministers published in the BOE.
The Electoral Administration in Municipal elections consists of the Central, Provincial and Area Electoral Boards
and their function is to guarantee the transparency and objectivity of the electoral process.
Local Councils are obliged to maintain a service allowing the electoral lists to be reviewed during the days
following a call for elections.
The electoral lists can be checked electronically (if the Local Council has the necessary technology), prior
identification of the interested party, or can be exhibited publicly.
If the citizen wishes to lodge a complaint about the Electoral Roll, if they are not listed or the information is
not accurate, they must contact the Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office or the Local Council,
which will forward it to the Delegation.
Complaints presented must be resolved in the deadline of three days and the corrections, if appropriate, must
be exhibited to the public and notified to the complainants and the Local Councils. An appeal may be made to
the courts against this resolution.
Political Parties, Federations and Coalitions wishing to participate in the elections must designate a
representative in writing to the Electoral Boards before the 9th day after the call for elections.
Between 15 and 20 days after the call for elections, the Political Formations (Political Parties, Coalitions and
Voters’ Groups) present their candidates. The candidates are the list of people presented by each Political
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Formation to be Councillors. These lists include a number of people equal to the number of Councillors in the
Local Council (the number of councillors is determined by the size of the population included in the Register
of the municipality). There can be supplementary candidates. These lists must include the same number of
women as men, except in the municipalities with less than 3,000 inhabitants. The candidates appear in order
of preference on this list, so that the first name (the head of the list) is the Political Formation’s candidate to
Mayor followed by Councillors in the order shown on the list. Next to the name of the candidates, the list may
show if the candidates are independent.
The lists are published in the Official Province Gazette alongside a deadline indicated for allegations to be
made against them and to resolve any disputes. On the 27th day after the call for elections, the candidates
meeting the requirements and who will be participating in the elections will be proclaimed.
The electoral campaign
The political campaign is that set of actions through which the Political Formations present their electoral
programme and their candidates to those on the Electoral Roll.
The electoral campaign begins on the 38th day after the call for elections and lasts 15 days. The campaign concludes
at midnight of the day before the voting day. After this time, no electoral propaganda may be communicated,
neither must any electoral campaign action take place. This is known as the day of reflection.
Public campaign actions performed by Political Formations are regulated by legislation on the freedom of
assembly envisaged in the Spanish Constitution.
Local Councils have the obligation to reserve official local facilities and public places for use free of charge by
Political Formations to hold campaign actions.
During this period, the public authorities can issue institutional publicity to inform citizens on issues such as
the voting day, the voting procedure and the requirements and process of postal voting, without influencing
their vote.
Institutional publicity appears on public social communications media in the area corresponding to the
electoral process in question. These slots are given free of charge.
The Law contains explicit prohibitions for certain people (active members of the armed forces, police or judges)
as regards broadcasting propaganda and other electoral campaign actions on specific Political Formations.
How and where to vote?
In general, voting is universal, free, equal, direct and secret. Voting in Spain is not mandatory, therefore
sanctions are not imposed on those who do not vote, even though they have previously declared their
desire to do so.
Voting is performed in Polling Stations (Colegios Electorales), which in turn are composed of Sections
and Tables (Sección and Mesa).
On the day of voting, voters should go to the Polling Station, Section and Table indicated to them on
the voting card between 9 am and 8 pm.
The polling card is a document showing the current information listed in the Electoral Roll and
identifying the Section and Table for each voter.
It is important to note that this polling card does not
identify the voter. Voters must therefore use one of the documents, which must be original, that is
indicated in electoral legislation:
- Identity card.
- Passport (with photograph).
- Driving licence (with photograph).
Polling Stations will have paper slips with the names of
all the candidates and voting envelopes, and booths to
preserve confidentiality while making a choice. Voters
approach the electoral table one by one, with their voting
paper slips in the corresponding envelopes and give their
names and surnames to the president of the table, proving
their identity by any of the documents above.
Any voter included in the Electoral Roll can be selected
by draw to be on an Electoral Table, in which case the
Administration is responsible for providing suitable
training. Attending as a member of an electoral table
is mandatory. Not complying with this obligation
without justification will give rise to the imposition of
a sanction. A Citizen of nationality other than Spanish
must demonstrate that they have sufficient knowledge
of Spanish to the Local Council Secretary, otherwise they
will be replaced.
Postal Voting
If the voter finds that they will be absent from the area where they should vote on the day of the
election, or if they are unable to attend the Polling Station in person (work, illness, etc.), they may
apply for a postal vote.
To do this, they must apply to the Provincial Delegation of the Electoral Census Office using an official
form, which can be obtained from any Post Office.
This application must be made from the day the election is called to the tenth day before voting.
After checking the identity of the potential voter, an inscription is made in the Electoral Roll so that
the voter can no longer cast a vote in person. After this annotation, the Electoral Census Office will
send an instruction sheet, the paper slips with candidates and the electoral envelopes, a certificate
of inscription in the electoral roll and an envelope with the address of the electoral table to the voter
by certified post.
The chosen voting paper slip will be put it into the voting
envelope which shall then be sealed. If several electoral
processes have been called at one time (local elections
and elections to the European Parliament, for example),
the process will be repeated for each of the electoral
processes.
The voting envelope or envelopes for each election and the
certificate are placed in the envelope addressed to the electoral
table and sent by registered post before the third day prior to
election day. This envelope does not require a stamp.
How can disabled people vote?
Spanish legislation demands that electoral facilities must
be accessible to people with restricted mobility. Voters
who cannot travel to a Post Office to apply for postal vote
due to illness or disability should proceed as follows:
The application for inclusion in the Electoral Roll can be
performed on behalf of the voter by another person who is
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authorised by notarial or consular document. This document applies individually for each voter and may not
include the names of several voters. A single person may not represent more than one voter.Note that travel
by Notaries to the homes of sick or disabled voters to grant notarial power is free of charge for the voter.
Article 87.1 of Organic Law 5/1985, dated 19 June, on the General Electoral System, indicates that people
with visual disability may be assisted by a trusted person. Also, if they so wish, they may make use of the
accessible voting procedures regulated in Royal Decree 1612/2007, dated 7 December, which consists of
Braille documentation provided by the Electoral Table to those voters who have previously requested it,
which allows them to select their voting option autonomously.
This procedure can be used by people with visual disability able to use the Braille reading-writing system
and whose degree of disability has been assessed at equal to or greater than 33% or who are affiliated to
ONCE (Spanish Organisation of Blind People).
The use of this procedure is voluntary. Thus, people who so desire can continue to be assisted by a trusted
person, as set out in article 87.1 of Organic Law 5/1985, dated 19 June, on the General Electoral System
(LOREG, in Spanish).
How are the Mayor and Councillors chosen?
The Spanish Constitution establishes that municipal government and administration is the responsibility of
the Local Councils, made up by Mayors and Councillors. It also indicates that the Councillors are elected by
the residents of the municipality by universal, equal, free, direct and secret suffrage, as set out by Law,
and that Mayors are chosen by Councillors or residents.
In accordance with Spanish legislation, each municipal area represents one constituency in local
elections.
Each local area will elect a number of councillors that depend on the population, in accordance with a
scale established in article 179 of the Law on the General Electoral System.
In Spain, except in municipalities that operate in the open council system because they have fewer than
100 residents, the Mayor is not directly elected by the voters. The voters select the Councillors and then
the Mayor is chosen from those that were at the top of the lists.
As regards the election of the Councillors, once the number of votes for each Political Formation has been
counted, each Political Formation is allocated a number of Councillors using the D’Hondt method.
Candidates that have not obtained at least 5% of the valid votes cast in the municipality are not taken into
account.
The elected Councillors make up the so-called Municipal Corporation which then proceeds to appoint the
Mayor in the Constitution Session. The procedure is as follows:
a) The Councillors heading the corresponding lists of candidates that are represented in the Corporation
may be candidates.
b) If any of them obtains an absolute majority of Councillors’ votes, they are proclaimed Mayor.
c) If none of them obtains an absolute majority, the Councillor heading the list that has obtained the
highest number of votes in the municipality is proclaimed Mayor. In the case of a dead heat, the matter
is resolved by a draw of names.
Once the Local Councils have been formed, the Provincial Council is formed by appointing Provincial
Deputies, which in turn will appoint the President of the Provincial Council.
The number of Provincial Deputies is determined according to the number of residents in each Province, in
line with a scale set by the Law.
The Provincial Councils are indirectly elected bodies as their composition does not depend on a specific
vote for these Councils but depends on the Councillors won by each Political Formation within the Province.
Those designated Provincial Deputies by their respective Political Formations must first have been elected
as Councillors in some municipality of the Province.
Relevant Legislation
Municipal Register:
- Law 7/1985, dated 2 April, regulating the local system rules.
- Royal Decree 1690/1986, dated 11 July, approving the Regulation on Population and Demarcation of
Local Authorities.
- Royal Decree 2568/1986, dated 28 November, approving the Regulation on organisation, operation and
legal status of Local Authorities.
- Order of 11 July 1997 on electronic communications between the Public Administrations with reference
to information on the municipal Registers.
Municipal elections and the electoral process
- Spanish Constitution: articles 13.2, 23, 140.1 and 141.
- Organic Law 5/1985, dated 19 June, on the General Electoral System.
- Organic Law 3/1987, dated 2 July, on Financing Political Parties.
- Organic Law 2/1988, dated 3 May, regulating Electoral Publicity on private television stations.
- Organic Law 10/1991, dated 8 April, on Electoral Publicity on Municipal Radio Stations.
- Organic law 14/1995, dated 22 December, on electoral publicity on local television stations using
surface wavelengths.
- Organic Law 4/2000, dated 11 January, on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their
Social Integration: article 6.
- Organic Law 6/2002, dated 27 June, on Political Parties.
- Law 7/1985, dated 2 April, regulating the Local System Rules.
Links
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (National Statistics Institute) http://www.ine.es/
Ministerio del Interior(Ministry of the Interior) http://www.mir.es/
Junta Electoral Central(Central Electoral Board) http://www.juntaelectoralcentral.es/
Federación Española de Municipios y Provincias (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces) http://www.femp.es/
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