Spain General Election 2026: Full Guide to the November 29 Vote
The Cortes have been dissolved and the vote called for November 29. Legal calendar, polling hours, postal voting and how every seat is allocated.
What happened
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Monday, October 5, 2026, the dissolution of the Cortes Generales and early elections for Sunday, November 29, in an institutional address from Moncloa. The legislature that began after the 2023 vote is thus cut short.
The decision follows the Congress rejecting the two housing decrees pushed by the government after PP, Vox and Junts joined forces to block them. The PSOE and Sumar administration had relied since its inauguration on agreements with ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV and BNG.
Why November 29
The general electoral law sets the script: in an early dissolution the decree is published in the BOE the day after it is issued, and the vote takes place on the fifty-fourth day after that publication. For election day to fall on a Sunday, the decree must appear in the BOE on a Tuesday, which forces the Council of Ministers to meet on a Monday.
Starting from the Friday, October 2 plenary, the first reachable Sunday was November 29: extraordinary council on Monday the 5th, decree in the BOE on Tuesday the 6th, and 54 days of countdown.
The full electoral calendar
The decree dissolving the Cortes and calling the election is published in the BOE on Tuesday, October 6. Candidates are filed between October 21 and 26, and the final lists are proclaimed on November 2.
The campaign opens on Friday, November 13, lasts the fifteen statutory days and ends at midnight on the 27th. The postal voting deadline expires on Thursday the 19th, Saturday the 28th is the Day of Reflection, and the polls open on Sunday the 29th.
How to vote on November 29
Polling stations on the mainland open at 09:00 and close at 20:00 with no breaks. Voters must show an official photo document: national ID, passport, driver's license or the MiDGT app, and expired originals are accepted.
Postal voting is requested in any Correos office or online with a digital certificate or electronic ID, until November 19. Anyone registered in the consular electoral roll can vote from abroad.
How seats are allocated
The Congress elects 400 members across 52 constituencies using the D'Hondt method, with a guaranteed minimum of two deputies per province and one for Ceuta and Melilla. The Senate works with open lists: voters choose individual candidates rather than party lists.
Polling station members are drawn by lottery among registered residents under 70 who can read and write, and accepting the role is mandatory. Campaigning and asking for votes are banned on the day before the vote.
The political landscape
The clash over housing acted as the trigger for the early vote. As in the two-party years, fragmentation has left the government in a difficult position and opens an unusually short campaign: parties have under two months to finalize lists and programs.
Feijóo has called for change and a national reconstruction, Sumar says it is ready with a broad-front candidacy key for the left, and Abascal urges caution. One October poll put the PP at around 34.7%, PSOE at 26.3% and Vox at 17.3%, though polls can move.
A campaign crossed with the international agenda
The electoral calendar overlaps with other events: the National Day holiday on October 12, the US midterms on November 3, and the COP31 climate summit in Antalya from November 9 to 20.
The results on November 29 will determine the composition of the Congress and the Senate, and with it who forms the next government. UntilDay keeps a live countdown to election day.