Spain formally calls early general election for Nov. 29

Spain’s Official Gazette on Tuesday published a royal decree dissolving parliament and calling an early general election for Nov. 29.

The decree was issued by King Felipe VI on the proposal of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, according to the gazette. It dissolves the Congress of Deputies and Senate elected in July 2023 and calls elections for both chambers.

The vote will take place nearly eight months earlier than previously scheduled, launching a 54-day electoral process under Spain’s electoral law.

The official campaign will begin at midnight on Nov. 13 and end at midnight on Nov. 27, two days before the election, the gazette said.

Voters will elect 350 members of the Congress of Deputies across 52 constituencies, covering Spain’s 50 provinces and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Madrid will elect the largest delegation, with 38 deputies, followed by Barcelona with 32 and Valencia with 16.

Voters will also directly elect 209 senators. Each provincial constituency will elect four senators, while Gran Canaria, Mallorca and Tenerife will elect three each. Ibiza, Formentera, Menorca, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma will elect one senator each, while Ceuta and Melilla will elect two each.

The newly elected chambers are scheduled to hold their constitutive sessions on Dec. 23.