Senate of Spain

The Senate (Spanish: Senado) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber—comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid.

Senate of Spain Senado de España
14th Senate of Spain
Type
Type	Upper house
History
Founded	1834 (disbanded 1923–1977) 1977 (reinstituted)
Leadership
President	Pilar Llop (PSOE) since 3 December 2019
First Vice President	Cristina Narbona (PSOE) since 21 May 2019
Second Vice President	Pío García-Escudero (PP) since 21 May 2019
Majority leader	Ander Gil (PSOE) since 21 May 2019
Minority leader	Ignacio Cosidó (PP) since 21 May 2019
Structure
Seats	265
Political groups	Government (115)      PSOE (113)      Confederal Left group (2)      UP (2) Supported by (17)      PNV (10)      Confederal Left group (4)      Compromís (1)      MM (1)      Més (1)      GBai (1)      Mixed group (3)      TE (2)      PRC (1) Opposition (133)      PP (97)      ERC–EH Bildu group (15)      ERC (13)      EH Bildu (2)      Cs (9)      Nationalist group (6)      JxCat (5)      CCa (1)      Mixed group (6)      Vox (3)      PAR (1)      ASG (1)      UPN (1)
Elections
Voting system	Limited voting
Meeting place
Palacio del Senado Centro, Madrid Kingdom of Spain
Website
senado.es

The composition of the Senate is established in Part III of the Spanish Constitution. The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a province, an autonomous city or an autonomous community. Each mainland province, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by four senators; in the insular provinces, the big islands are represented by three senators and the minor islands are represented by a single senator. Likewise, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla elect two senators each. This direct election results in the election of 208 senators by the citizens. In addition, the regional legislatures also designate their own representatives, one senator for each autonomous community and another for every million person, designating a total of 58 senators.

The Spanish Senate is constitutionally described as a territorial chamber. Its powers are similar to those of the Congress of Deputies. However, by virtue of its role as a territorial chamber, it is endowed with exceptional powers such as authorising the Government of the Nation to apply direct rule on a region or to dissolve city councils. The presiding officer of the Senate is the President of the Senate, who is elected by the members thereof.

History

The Senate was first established under the Royal Statute of 1834 approved by Queen Regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies under the denomination of House of Peers but it did not last long and in 1837, under the Constitution of that year, the upper house acquired the denomination of Senate.

It remained under the regimes of the constitutions of 1845, 1856, 1869 and 1876. It was composed, at that latter time, of three main categories: senators by their own right, senators for life and elected senators. This house, along with the Congress of Deputies, was suppressed after the coup of General Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1923.

Only after the Spanish transition to democracy in 1977 was it re-established.

Role

The Spanish parliamentary system is bicameral but asymmetric. The Congress of Deputies has more independent functions, and it can also override most Senate measures. Only the Congress can grant or revoke confidence to the Prime Minister. In the ordinary lawmaking process, either house may be the initiator, and the Senate can amend hostilely or veto, the proposal then being sent back to the lower house, which can override these objections by an absolute majority vote. Organic laws, which govern basic civil rights and regional devolutions, need an absolute majority of both congress and senate to pass.

The process for constitutional amendments is slightly more tangled: the rule is to require a three fifths (60%) of both houses, but if the Senate does not achieve such a supermajority and a joint congress-senate committee fails to resolve the issues, the Congress may force the amendment through with a two-thirds vote as long as an absolute majority of the Senate was in favour.

On the other hand, the Senate has certain exclusive functions in the appointment of constitutional posts, such as judges of the Constitutional Court or the members of the General Council of the Judicial Power. The Senate is solely responsible for disciplining regional presidents (Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution). Only the Senate can suspend local governments (Local Regime Framework Act, Section 61.[1]). It exercised this power in April 2006, dissolving the Marbella city council when most of its members were found to have engaged in corrupt practices. On Friday, October 26, 2017, the Senate voted 214 to 47 to invoke Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution over the region of Catalonia. This decision gave to prime minister Mariano Rajoy the power to remove the regional government and to dissolve the regional legislature, and rule directly from Madrid.

Senate reform has been a topic of discussion since the early days of Spanish democracy. One proposal would advance the federalization of Spain by remaking the Senate to represent the autonomous communities of Spain.

Organization

Senators form groups along party lines. Parties with fewer than ten senators form the Mixed Group. If the membership of an existing group falls below six during a session, it is merged into the Mixed Group at the next session. For example, Coalición Canaria lost its senate caucus in 2008 after electoral losses reduced its group from six to two. The Basque Nationalist Party, falling from seven to four, "borrowed" senators from the ruling Socialist Party to form their group; in exchange, they supported the election of socialist Javier Rojo as President of the Senate. The PNV group is again under threshold after returning the borrowed Socialists, and it faces dissolution after the current session.

Legally, 133 seats are required for an absolute majority, vacant seats notwithstanding.

Elections to the Senate

To date, senate elections have coincided with elections to the lower house, but the President of the Government (i.e., the Prime Minister) may legally advise the king to call elections for one house only, under Section 115 of the Spanish Constitution. While the Congress of Deputies is chosen by party list proportional representation, the members of the senate are chosen in two distinct ways: popular election by limited voting and appointment from regional legislatures.

Directly elected members

Most members of the senate (currently 208 of 266) are directly elected by the people. Each province elects four senators without regard to population. Insular provinces are treated specially. The larger islands of the Balearics (Baleares) and Canaries (Canarias)—Mallorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife—are assigned three seats each, and the smaller islands—Menorca, Ibiza–Formentera, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma—one each; Ceuta and Melilla are assigned two seats each. This allocation is heavily weighted in favor of small provinces; Madrid, with its 6.5 million people, and Soria, with 90,000 inhabitants, are each represented by four senators.

In non-insular constituencies, each party nominates three candidates. Candidates' names are organized in columns by party on a large (DIN A3 or larger) ochre-colored ballot called a sábana or bedsheet.

Each voter may mark up to three candidates' names, from any party. This is the only occasion when Spanish voters vote for individuals rather than a party list. Panachage is allowed, but typically voters cast all three votes for candidates of a single party. As a result, the four Senators are usually the three candidates from the most popular party and the first placed candidate from the next most popular.

Before 2011, a party could not choose the order of its candidates on the ballot paper; candidates were sorted alphabetically by surname. When a party did not get all three of its candidates elected, this arrangement favored candidates with surnames early in the alphabet. This was the case for 2nd placed parties in every province and for both parties in tight races when voters did not vote for three candidates of the same party (panachage).

Regional legislatures-appointed members

Section 69.5 of the Spanish Constitution empowers the legislative assembly of each autonomous community of Spain to appoint a senate delegation from its own ranks, with one Senator per one million citizens, rounded up. Demographic growth increased the combined size of the regional delegations from 51 to 56 in 2008 for the 9th term.

Conventionally, the proportions of the regional delegations mimic their legislative assemblies, as required in principle by Section 69.5 of the Constitution. However, Autonomous Communities have considerable leeway, and a motion to appoint the delegation often requires no more than a plurality. Two anomalous examples are:

• After the 2007 election, the single senator from the Balearic Islands was from neither the largest bloc (the People's Party, with 28 of 59 seats), nor the second-largest (the PSOE, with 16), but in fact from the fourth-largest bloc, the Socialist Party of Majorca, which held only four of 59 seats. This arrangement was part of a five-party coalition agreement. This anomaly was resolved in 2008, when the Balearic Islands gained a second senate seat which was filled by the PP.
• Since 2003, the PSOE has ruled Aragon with support from regionalist parties. In the 2007 election, it won 30 of 67 seats. Nevertheless, Aragon's two appointed senators came from the opposition People's Party (23 seats) and the regionalist Aragonese Party (9 seats).

Due to population growth, Andalusia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, Catalonia, and Madrid each gained a new senator in 2008. Andalusia was the last Autonomous Community to allocate its new seat; it rebuilt its entire delegation after its 2008 regional elections. The distribution after the 2015 election was:

Autonomous Community	Population (2018)	Senators	Senator/pop.-ratio	Distribution
Andalusia	8,384,408	9	931,601	1 3 2 2 1
Aragon	1,308,728	2	654,364	1 1
Asturias	1,028,244	2	514,122	2
Balearic Islands	1,128,908	2	564,454	1 1
Basque Country	2,199,088	3	733,029	1 1 1
Canary Islands	2,127,685	3	709,228	1 1 1
Cantabria	580,229	1	580,229	1
Castile and León	2,409,164	3	803,055	2 1
Castilla–La Mancha	2,026,807	3	675,602	2 1
Catalonia	7,600,065	8	950,008	1 2 2 2 *
Extremadura	1,072,863	2	536,432	1 1
Galicia	2,701,743	3	900,581	1 2
La Rioja	315,675	1	315,675	1
Madrid	6,578,079	7	939,726	1 2 2 2
Murcia	1,478,509	2	739,255	1 1
Navarre	647,554	1	647,554	*
Valencian Community	4,963,703	5	992,741	1 2 1 1
Total	46,551,452	57	816,692	Source:

Composition

Main article: Parliamentary group (Spain) § Senate

The last election was held on 28 April 2019. The composition of the 13th Senate is:

Parliamentary group	Elected	App.	Total

	Socialist Group		123	16	139
		Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	113	15	128
		Socialists' Party of Galicia	5	0	5
		Socialists' Party of Catalonia	3	0	3
		Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left	2	1	3

People's Party Group in the Senate

55

14

69

	Republican Left–EH Bildu Group		11	3	14
		Republican Left of Catalonia	10	2	12
		EH Bildu	1	1	2

	Citizens Group	5	8	13
	Basque Group in the Senate (EAJ/PNV)	8	1	9

	Nationalist Group in the Senate (JxCat–CCa–PNC)		3	3	6
		Together for Catalonia	2	2	4
		Canarian Coalition	0	1	1
		Basque Nationalist Party	1	0	1

	Confederal Left Group		0	6	6
		Catalonia in Common–We Can	0	1	1
		Forward Andalusia	0	1	1
		Common Group of the Left	0	1	1
		Commitment Coalition	0	1	1
		More Madrid	0	1	1
		More for Mallorca	0	1	1

	Mixed Group		3	3	6
		Vox	0	1	1
		Republican Left of Catalonia	1	0	1
		Navarrese People's Union	1	0	1
		Gomera Socialist Group	1	0	1
		Regionalist Party of Cantabria	0	1	1
		Aragonese Party	0	1	1

	Vacant	0	3	3
Total		208	57	265

Committees

Committee[2]	Chair(s)			Term
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	María Teresa Macías		PSOE	2019–present
Foreign Affairs	Antonio Gutiérrez Limones		PSOE	2019–present
Ibero-American Affairs	César Alejandro Mogo Zaro		PSOE	2019–present
Science, Innovation and Universities	Francisco Javier de Lucas Martín		PSOE	2019–present
Constitutional	Antonio Magdaleno Alegría		PSOE	2019–present
International Cooperation for Development	Elena Diego		PSOE	2019–present
Culture and Sport	Manuel Escarda Escarda		PSOE	2019–present
Defence	Pilar Llop Cuenca		PSOE	2019–present
Rights of Families, Childhood and Adolescence	María de los Ángeles Luna Morales		PSOE	2019–present
Economy and Business	Javier Garcinuño Rama		PSOE	2019–present
Education and Vocational Training	José Asensi Sabater		PSOE	2019–present
Local Administrations	Miguel Carmelo Dalmau Blanco		PSOE	2019–present
Public Works	José Fernández Blanco		PSOE	2019–present
Civil Service	Salvador Vidal Varela		PSOE	2019–present
General on Autonomous Communities	Joan Lerma Blasco		PSOE	2019–present
Finance	Cosme Bonet Bonet		PSOE	2019–present
Equality	Josefina Antonia Bueno Alonso		PSOE	2019–present
Incompatibilities	Julia María Liberal Liberal		PSOE	2019–present
Industry, Trade and Tourism	Marisa Bustinduy		PSOE	2019–present
Home Affairs	María Jesús Castro Mateos		PSOE	2019–present
Justice	Francisco Manuel Fajardo Palarea (PSOE)		PSOE	2019–present
Nominations	Manuel Cruz		PSOE	2019–present
Rules
Comprehensive Disability Policies	María Teresa Fernández Molina		PSOE	2019–present
Petitions	Micaela Navarro		PSOE	2019–present
Budget	José Antonio Monago		PP	2019–present
Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare	Modesto Pose Mesura		PSOE	2019–present
Petitions by a Court	Félix Ortega Fernández		PSOE	2019–present
Labour, Migrations and Social Security	Antonio Armando Ferrer		PSOE	2019–present
Ecological Transition	María Isabel Moreno Duque		PSOE	2019–present

Presidents of the Senate of Spain

Further information: President of the Senate of Spain and List of Presidents of the Senate of Spain

This is a list of the Presidents of the Senate since the recovery of the upper house in 1977. To see previous presidents, look the full list of presidents of the Senate.

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office	Tenure (Years and days)	Party	Legislature	Monarch (Reign)	^Ref.
		Antonio Fontán President of the Senate (1923–2010)	13 July 1977 — 2 January 1979	1 year, 173 days	Union of the Democratic Centre	Constituent (1977)	Juan Carlos I (1975–2014)
		Cecilio Valverde President of the Senate (1927–2001)	27 April 1979 — 31 August 1982	3 years, 126 days	Union of the Democratic Centre	I (1979)
		José Federico de Carvajal President of the Senate (1930–2015)	18 November 1982 — 2 September 1989	6 years, 349 days	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	II (1982)
						III (1986)
		Juan José Laborda President of the Senate (born 1947)	21 November 1989 — 9 January 1996	6 years, 49 days	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	IV (1989)
						V (1993)
		Juan Ignacio Barrero President of the Senate (born 1943)	27 March 1996 — 8 February 1999	2 years, 318 days	People's Party	VI (1996)
		Esperanza Aguirre Countess consort of Murillo President of the Senate (born 1952)	8 February 1999 — 21 October 2002	3 years, 255 days	People's Party
						VII (2000)
		Juan José Lucas President of the Senate (born 1944)	22 October 2002 — 20 January 2004	1 year, 90 days	People's Party
		Javier Rojo President of the Senate (born 1949)	2 April 2004 — 27 September 2011	7 years, 178 days	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	VIII (2004)
						IX (2008)
		Pío García-Escudero 4th Count of Badarán President of the Senate (born 1952)	13 December 2011 — 20 May 2019	7 years, 158 days	People's Party	X (2011)
							Felipe VI (2014–present)
						XI (2015)
						XII (2016)
		Manuel Cruz President of the Senate (born 1951)	21 May 2019 — 2 December 2019	1 year, 86 days	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	XIII (2019)
		Pilar Llop President of the Senate (born 1973)	3 December 2019 — Incumbent	256 days	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party	XIV (2019)

Notes

References

1. (in Spanish)Spanish Official Gazette: Local Regime Framework Act (Law 7/1985)
2. Senate of Spain. "Senate' Committees Chairs". www.senado.es. Retrieved 30 July 2019.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)