Since its transition to democracy

Spanish transition to democracy

The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...

 in the late 1970s, Spain has been organized in a quasi-federal system called the "State of Autonomies". Each Autonomous Community

Autonomous communities of Spain

An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...

 is required by the Constitution to have its own three-branched

Separation of powers

The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...

 system of government with its basic rules codified in a special law called a Statute of Autonomy

Statute of Autonomy

Nominally, a Statute of Autonomy is a law hierarchically located under the constitution of a country, and over any other form of legislation...

, a sort-of regional constitution. Although there is no Constitutional requirement imposed upon regional elections other than that they must be based in proportional methods, all regional legislatures are unicameral, their members being elected in multi-member constituencies matching the provinces in the Autonomous Community with seats allocated to party lists using the D'Hondt method

D'Hondt method

The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...

.

Autonomous Cities

The cities of Ceuta and Melilla are explicitly empowered by the Constitution to form Autonomous Communities on their own. Such provision was exercised by the respective City Councils in 1995, but not to its full extent: instead, the cities decided to adopt a regime between a normal city and a full fledged Autonomous Community, with the main differences being:

• The Assemblies of Ceuta and Melilla assume all the powers of the old City Councils, with the new Mayor-President assuming the role of the old Mayor. In particular, meetings of the Assemblies are presided over by the President of the City instead of having a separate Speaker of the Parliament like most legislatures.
• Their legislatures are not allowed to pass primary legislation
  Primary legislation
  Primary legislation is law made by the legislative branch of government. This contrasts with secondary legislation, which is usually made by the executive branch...
  
   except on matters specifically allowed by the Spanish Cortes. Nevertheless, they are allowed to pass secondary legislation regarding matters far beyond the normal competences of cities in Spain.
• In compensation for not being able to pass their own primary legislation, Ceuta and Melilla can formally introduce legislation in the Spanish Cortes, a privilege not held by other cities, not even the capital Madrid.
• Elections to the cities' legislatures are fixed not to a certain date (like those of most Autonomous Communities), but to the date of the Spanish local elections. The writs are issued through a Royal Decree of the Spanish Government, while in all other Autonomous Communities (even in those with fixed election dates) it is the regional President who issues a decree dissolving the legislature and mandating elections to be held at the usually pre-fixed date.

City	Legislature name Local name	Members	Mayor-President Party	Last election Fixed
Ceuta Ceuta Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...	Assembly of Ceuta Sp. Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...  Asamblea de Ceuta	25	Juan Jesús Vivas Lara Juan Jesús Vivas Lara Juan Jesús Vivas Lara is the Mayor-President of the autonomous city of Ceuta in Spain.-References:... People's Party People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...	May 27, 2007 By Spanish law
Melilla Melilla Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...	Assembly of Melilla Sp. Asamblea de Melilla	25	Juan José Imbroda Ortiz Juan José Imbroda Ortíz Juan José Imbroda Ortíz is the president of Melilla, located in northern Africa.-External links:*... People's Party	May 27, 2007 By Spanish law

Autonomous Communities

Except for Andalusia, the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia, which were created by a special fast procedure, most communities have very similar Statutes of Autonomy and election laws. Elections in those communities are fixed to a certain common date, which is currently "the fourth Sunday of May each four years", so regional Presidents cannot trigger a snap election

Snap election

A snap election is an election called earlier than expected. Generally it refers to an election in a parliamentary system called when not required , usually to capitalize on a unique electoral opportunity or to decide a pressing issue...

 nor select the final election date from a range of close dates. However, there have been occasions when the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly has been forced to call an out-of-sync election because the legislature was deadlocked in the President election. In those cases, the next election still takes place at the fixed common date, causing the new term out of the fresh elections to be shorter than normal: see President of Madrid#The 6th term scandal.

On the other hand, Presidents of communities created by the "fast procedure" can select the actual election date and trigger snap elections, and have frequently done so, particularly in the Basque Country and Catalonia. The Andalusian elections are usually set to coincide with the Spanish general elections, but again, there is no requisite to that effect in the Andalusian legislation.

Community	Legislature name Local names	Seat	MPs	Speaker Party	Last election Fixed
Andalusia Andalusia Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...	Andalusian Parliament Sp. Spanish language Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...  Parlamento de Andalucía	Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...	109	Fuensanta Coves Botella Socialist Party Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...	March 9, 2008 By President
Aragon Aragon Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...	Aragonese Cortes Sp. Cortes de Aragón	Zaragoza Zaragoza Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...	67	Francisco Pina Cuenca Socialist Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Asturias Asturias The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...	Parliament of Asturias Sp. Junta General del Principado de Asturias	Oviedo Oviedo Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....	45	María Jesús Álvarez González Socialist Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Balearic Islands Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...	Balearic Islands Parliament Sp. Parlamento de las Islas Baleares Cat. Catalan language Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...  Parlament de les Illes Balears	Palma	59	Maria Antònia Munar Majorcan Union	May 27, 2007 By law
Basque Country Basque Country (autonomous community) The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....	Basque Parliament Basque Parliament The Basque Parliament is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible.... Sp. Parlamento Vasco Ba. Basque language Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...  Eusko Legebiltzarra	Vitoria-Gasteiz	75	Arantza Quiroga Cia Arantza Quiroga Cía Arantza Quiroga Cía is the current President of the Basque Parliament, an office commonly known in the Anglophone world by the name of "Speaker of the Parliament". Mrs... People's Party People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...	March 1, 2009 Basque parliamentary election, 2009 Elections to the Basque regional parliament were held in the Basque Country on 1 March 2009.Shortly before the election, two parties reportedly tied to ETA – D3M and Askatasuna, "Freedom" – were banned by a court ruling from standing in the election.-Results:In stark contrast with the latest... By President
Canary Islands Canary Islands The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...	Canarian Parliament Canarian Parliament The Canarian Parliament is the regional legislature of the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. The Parliament has sixty members, elected every four years. The parliament is based in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of the Canaries' two capitals.... Sp. Parlamento de Canarias	Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...	60	Antonio Castro Cordobez Canarian Coalition Canarian Coalition The Canarian Coalition , abbreviated to CC, is a Canarian nationalist and liberal political party in the Canary Islands of Spain. The party aim is for greater autonomy for the islands, but short of independence. The party has governed the Canary Islands since 1993...	May 27, 2007 By law
Cantabria Cantabria Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...	Parliament of Cantabria Parliament of Cantabria The Parliament of Cantabria is the legislative body of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria. The task of the Members of the Parliament is to represent the Cantabrian citizens. They are elected by, equal, free, direct, secret and universal suffrage.... Sp. Parlamento de Cantabria	Santander Santander, Cantabria The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...	39	Miguel Ángel Palacio Socialist Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Castile-La Mancha Castile-La Mancha Castile-La Mancha is an autonomous community of Spain. Castile-La Mancha is bordered by Castile and León, Madrid, Aragon, Valencia, Murcia, Andalusia, and Extremadura. It is one of the most sparsely populated of Spain's autonomous communities...	Castilla-La Mancha Cortes Sp. Cortes de Castilla-La Mancha	Toledo Toledo, Spain Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...	47	Francisco José Pardo Piqueras Socialist Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Castile and Leon Castile and León Castile and León is an autonomous community in north-western Spain. It was so constituted in 1983 and it comprises the historical regions of León and Old Castile...	Castilla y León Cortes Sp. Cortes de Castilla y León	Valladolid Valladolid Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...	83	José Manuel Fernández Santiago People's Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Catalonia Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...	Parliament of Catalonia Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia is the unicameral legislature of Catalonia. It is formed by 135 members , who are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of Catalonia, by universal suffrage in proportional lists with four... Sp. Parlamento de Cataluña Cat. Parlament de Catalunya	Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...	135	Ernest Benach i Pascual Ernest Benach i Pascual Ernest Benach was the President of the Catalan Parliament from 2003 to 2010. Also is a member of the Catalan independentist party Republican Left of Catalonia .-Education and professional background:... Republican Left of Catalonia	November 1, 2006 By President
Extremadura Extremadura Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...	Extremaduran Assembly Sp. Asamblea de Extremadura	Mérida Merida Places of the world named Mérida or Merida include:*Mérida, Spain, capital city of the Spanish Community of Extremadura*Mérida, Yucatán, capital city of the Mexican state of Yucatán*Merida, Leyte, a municipality in Leyte province in the Philippines...	65	Juan Ramón Ferreira Díaz Socialist Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Galicia	Parliament of Galicia Parliament of Galicia The Galician Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. It is formed by 75 deputies . Deputies are elected every four years in ordinary period, or extraordinarily upon dissolution and call of elections by the President of the Xunta of Galicia, by... Sp. Parlamento de Galicia Gal. Galician language Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...  Parlamento de Galicia	Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...	75	Pilar Rojo Noguera People's Party	March 1, 2009 Galician parliamentary election, 2009 The Galician parliamentary election of 2009 was held on Sunday, 1 March 2009 to elect members to the Galician Parliament.The election saw the People's Party of Galicia retake control of the parliament from the coalition of the Socialists and the Galician Nationalist Bloc, with a majority of 1 seat... By President
La Rioja	Parliament of La Rioja Sp. Parlamento de La Rioja	Logroño Logroño Logroño is a city in northern Spain, on the Ebro River. It is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja, formerly known as La Rioja Province.The population of Logroño in 2008 was 153,736 and a metropolitan population of nearly 197,000 inhabitants...	33	José Ignacio Ceniceros González People's Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Madrid	Madrid Assembly Madrid Assembly The Madrid Assembly is the unicameral regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983.... Sp. Asamblea de Madrid	Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...	120	Elvira Rodríguez Herrer People's Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Region of Murcia Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast....	Murcian Regional Assembly Sp. Asamblea Regional de Murcia	Cartagena Cartagena, Spain Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...	45	Francisco Celdrán Vidal People's Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Navarre Navarre Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...	Parliament of Navarre Parliament of Navarre The Parliament of Navarra or also known as Cortes de Navarra is the Navarre autonomous unicameral parliament.-Functions:... Sp. Parlamento de Navarra Ba. Nafarroaku Parlamentua	Pamplona-Iruña Pamplona Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...	50	Elena Torres Miranda Socialist Party	May 27, 2007 By law
Land of Valencia	Valencian Cortes Corts Valencianes The Corts Valencianes are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of Benicarló in Valencia; however it can meet at any location in Valencian territory. The Corts has its origins in bodies... Sp. Cortes Valencianas Val. Corts Valencianes	Valencia	99	Milagrosa Martínez Navarro People's Party	May 27, 2007 By law