Step 1 of 6 · The King
Consultations
After the new Congress is constituted, the King consults the representatives of the parties with seats, then proposes a candidate through the President of the Congress.
✶ Investiture · Constitution art. 99
176 on the first vote.
Then more yes than no.
Spaniards do not elect their prime minister. After the election the Congress of Deputies votes on a candidate proposed by the King: an absolute majority wins outright, and two days later a simple majority will do, so abstentions can decide who governs.
0yes
0no
0abstain / absent
- First vote · absolute majority
- Second vote, 48 hours later · more yes than no
Yes
Abstain
No
Tap a party to cycle yes → no → abstain. A party votes as a bloc here; in reality deputies sometimes break ranks.
Article 99, step by step
From the polls to a President of the Government
The same procedure applies after every general election, and whenever a government falls without a motion of censure.
Step 2 of 6 · The candidate
Debate
The candidate sets out the government's programme to the Congress and asks for its confidence. The Senate has no part in investiture.
Step 3 of 6 · Congress of Deputies
First vote
An absolute majority of all members is needed: 176 of 350 votes in favour, however many abstain or are absent.
Step 4 of 6 · Congress of Deputies
Second vote
If the first vote fails, a second is held 48 hours later. A simple majority is enough: more yes than no votes. Abstentions can therefore let a minority candidate through.
Step 5 of 6 · The King
New proposals
If both votes fail, the King can propose the same or another candidate, any number of times.
Step 6 of 6 · The King, countersigned by the President of the Congress
Automatic dissolution
If no candidate is invested within two months of the first vote, both chambers are dissolved and new elections are called (art. 99.5).
When nobody wins
Two repeat
elections.
The two-month clock has run out twice. After the December 2015 election Pedro Sánchez stood for investiture and lost the second vote 131 to 219, the first time a candidate had ever been defeated; the Cortes were dissolved and Spain voted again on 26 June 2016. The PSOE then abstained to let Mariano Rajoy form a minority PP government.
After the April 2019 election nobody was invested within two months, and Spain went back to the polls on 10 November 2019. In January 2020 he was invested on the second vote with 167 votes, having fallen short on the first (166 to 165), and formed the first nationwide coalition government since the Second Republic.
Sources: 2015–2016 and 2019–2020 government formation ↗.
Losing office · art. 113
A motion of censure
names a successor.
The Congress can remove a government only by electing another. A motion needs the signatures of a tenth of the deputies (35), must name a candidate, cannot be voted for five days, and passes only with an absolute majority. If it passes, its candidate is invested. If it fails, its signatories cannot table another in the same session.
| Year | Against | Candidate | Yes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Adolfo Suárez | Felipe González | 152 |
| 1987 | Felipe González | Antonio Hernández Mancha | 67 |
| 2017 | Mariano Rajoy | Pablo Iglesias | 82 |
| 2018 | Mariano Rajoy | Pedro Sánchez | 180 ✓ |
| 2020 | Pedro Sánchez | Santiago Abascal | 52 |
| 2023 | Pedro Sánchez | Ramón Tamames | 53 |
Six motions since 1980; only the 2018 motion passed, with 180 votes, making Pedro Sánchez prime minister. Source ↗
Calling an election · art. 115
The prime minister
picks the date.
- Who The President of the Government proposes the dissolution, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers; the King decrees it, and the decree sets polling day.
- When not Not while a motion of censure is pending, and not within a year of the last dissolution, except the automatic one of art. 99.5. Not during a state of alarm, exception or siege (art. 116.5).
- 2026 Real Decreto 806/2026 dissolved both chambers on 6 October 2026 and set polling day for 29 November, 54 days later, as the electoral law requires.