Spanish Congress of Deputies
Encyclopedia
The Spanish Congress of Deputies (Spanish
: Congreso de los Diputados) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales
, Spain
's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation
in constituencies matching the Spanish province
s using the D'Hondt method
. Deputies serve four-year terms. The President of the Congress of Deputies
is the analogue to a Speaker and presides over debates in Spain's lower chamber of parliament.
In the Congress, members of the Parliament from the political parties, or groups of parties, form parliamentary groups. Groups must be formed by, at least, 15 MPs, but a group can also be formed with only five MPs if the parties in it got, at least, 5% of the nationwide vote, or 15% of the votes in the constituencies they run for seats.
The MPs belonging to parties who can't create their own parliamentary group shall form the Mixed Group. The composition of the 10th term Congress is:
Source: Ministerio del Interior - Elecciones Generales 2011
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The building, Congreso de los Diputados, has a neoclassical style. It was designed by Narcisco Pascual y Colomer, and built between 1843 and 1850. It sits by the Carrera de San Jerónimo, in Madrid.
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...
: Congreso de los Diputados) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in constituencies matching the Spanish province
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
s 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...
. Deputies serve four-year terms. The President of the Congress of Deputies
President of the Congress of Deputies
The President of the Congress of Deputies is the presiding officer of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of Spain's Cortes Generales...
is the analogue to a Speaker and presides over debates in Spain's lower chamber of parliament.
In the Congress, members of the Parliament from the political parties, or groups of parties, form parliamentary groups. Groups must be formed by, at least, 15 MPs, but a group can also be formed with only five MPs if the parties in it got, at least, 5% of the nationwide vote, or 15% of the votes in the constituencies they run for seats.
The MPs belonging to parties who can't create their own parliamentary group shall form the Mixed Group. The composition of the 10th term Congress is:
| Leader | Spokesperson | Dep. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Popular Group (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... , UPN Navarrese People's Union The Navarrese People's Union , abbreviated to UPN, is a regional conservative political party in Navarre, Spain. Until 2008, it was a fraternal party of the People's Party , acting as the latter's Navarrese branch.... , PAR Aragonese Party The Aragonese Party is a political party which advocates the interests of Aragon within Spain. The party was founded in 1978 under the name Aragonese Regionalist Party, but changed its name in 1990, keeping the initials PAR.... ) |
Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey is a Spanish People's Party politician and is the Prime Minister-elect since 20 November 2011. He will be sworn into office in mid-December 2011.... |
To be confirmed | 186 | |
| Socialist Group (Spanish Socialist Workers' 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... ) |
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba is a Spanish politician and a leading figure in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He served in the government of Spain as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993 and as Minister of the Interior from 2006 to 2011; in addition, he was First Deputy Prime Minister from... |
José A. Alonso | 110 | |
| Catalan Group (Convergence and Union) | Josep A. Duran i Lleida Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida is a Spanish politician. A qualified lawyer, Duran began his political career when he was elected MP in the General Elections of Spain in 1979, representing Lleida becoming tinent d'alcalde in the municipality of Lleida.Currently Duran is an MP for Barcelona district,... |
16 | ||
| United Left Group (United Left United Left (Spain) The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain... -Initiative for Catalonia Greens Initiative for Catalonia Greens Initiative for Catalonia Greens is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was formed as a merger of Iniciativa per Catalunya and Els Verds. IC had been an alliance led by Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya and was the equivalent of Izquierda Unida in Catalonia... -Chunta Aragonesista) |
Cayo Lara Cayo Lara Cayo Lara Moya is a Spanish politician. He has been the leader of United Left since December 2008. He is also a member of the leadership of the Communist Party of Spain.-Early Years and Regional Leadership:... |
11 | ||
| Basque Group (Basque Nationalist Party Basque Nationalist Party The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country... ) |
Josu Erkoreka | 5 | ||
| Mixed Group, composed by: Amaiur Amaiur Amaiur is a left-wing Basque nationalist and separatist political coalition from the Southern Basque Country in Spain, which encompasses the autonomous communities of the Basque Country and Navarre... (7), UPyD Union, Progress and Democracy Union, Progress and Democracy is a Spanish political party founded in September 2007.It is a progressivist party, between social democracy and social liberalism. One of its goals is to build a federal system for Spain and European Union, with clear responsibilities distributed among local... (5), ERC (3), BNG (2), CC 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... (2), Compromís Coalició Compromís Coalició Compromís , literally Coalition Commitment, is an electoral alliance in the Valencian Community in Spain. The parties involved include the Valencian Nationalist Bloc, the left-wing Valencian People's Initiative, and ecologist parties... -Equo (1), FAC (1), GBai Geroa Bai Geroa Bai is a political coalition created for the Spanish general election, 2011. It includes the Basque Nationalist Party , Atarrabia Taldea and the Zabaltzen partnership... (1) |
none | To be confirmed | 22 | |
| Total | 350 | |||
Elections
Elections to the Congress and the Senate were held on November 20, 2011.| Political Party | | Congress | | Senate Spanish Senate The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election... |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Votes | % | +/- | Deputies | +/- | Senators | +/- | ||
| People's Party (PP) 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... |
10,830,693 | 44.62% | 4.68% | 186 | 32 | 136 | 35 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 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... |
6,973,880 | 28.73% | 15.14% | 110 | 59 | 48 | 40 | |
| United Left (IU) United Left (Spain) The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain... |
1,680,810 | 6.92% | 3.15% | 11 | 9 | - | - | |
| Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) Union, Progress and Democracy Union, Progress and Democracy is a Spanish political party founded in September 2007.It is a progressivist party, between social democracy and social liberalism. One of its goals is to build a federal system for Spain and European Union, with clear responsibilities distributed among local... |
1,140,242 | 4.69% | 3.50% | 5 | 4 | - | - | |
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 1,014,263 | 4.17% | 1.14% | 16 | 6 | 9 | 5 | |
| Amaiur Amaiur Amaiur is a left-wing Basque nationalist and separatist political coalition from the Southern Basque Country in Spain, which encompasses the autonomous communities of the Basque Country and Navarre... |
333,628 | 1.37% | 1.37% | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) Basque Nationalist Party The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country... |
323,517 | 1.33% | 0.14% | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) - Reagrupament Reagrupament Reagrupament or Reagrupament Independentista is a political party in Catalonia, Spain, formally constituted on 3 October 2009. It is an umbrella group for various supporters of Catalan independence and the creation of a sovereign state for Catalonia. Currently, it has no representation in the... - Catalunya Sí |
255,961 | 1.05% | 0.11% | 3 | - | - | ||
| Catalan Agreement of Progress Catalan Agreement of Progress The Catalan Agreement of Progress is a union of center-left and left wing and Catalan political parties in Catalonia. The union consists of three parties: Socialists' Party of Catalonia , Initiative for Catalonia Greens and United and Alternative Left... (PSC Socialists' Party of Catalonia The Socialists' Party of Catalonia is a social-democratic political party in Catalonia, Spain resulting from the merge of two parties PSC Reagrupament led by Josep Pallach i Carolà and PSC Comgres. It is the Catalan referent of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , and its Aranese section is... -ICV Initiative for Catalonia Greens Initiative for Catalonia Greens is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. It was formed as a merger of Iniciativa per Catalunya and Els Verds. IC had been an alliance led by Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya and was the equivalent of Izquierda Unida in Catalonia... -EUA United and Alternative Left United and Alternative Left is a political party from Catalonia, Spain. EUiA has 4000 members and it is the Catalan correspondent of the Spain-wide United Left .... ) |
7 | 5 | ||||||
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) | 183,279 | 0.75 % | 2 | |||||
| Canarian Coalition (CC-NC-PNC) 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... |
143,550 | 0.59 % | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Compromís-Q | 125,150 | 0.51 % | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Asturian Forum (FAC) Asturian Forum The Asturian Forum , abbreviated to FAC, is a centre-right political party in the autonomous community of Asturias, Spain. It was founded in January 2011 by former Deputy Prime Minister Francisco Álvarez Cascos, who left the People's Party after failing to be selected as the party's candidate for... |
99,173 | 0.40 % | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Geroa Bai Geroa Bai Geroa Bai is a political coalition created for the Spanish general election, 2011. It includes the Basque Nationalist Party , Atarrabia Taldea and the Zabaltzen partnership... (Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Atarrabia Taldea, Zabaltzen) |
42,411 | 0.17 % | 1 | 1 | ||||
| TOTAL (turnout 71.69%) | 92.92 % | N/A | 350 | 208 | ||||
Source: Ministerio del Interior - Elecciones Generales 2011
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