Spanish Senate
Encyclopedia
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 was held on 20 November 2011. The composition of the 10th Senate, which cannot serve beyond 2015, is:
. It remained under the regime of the Constituions 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 Senators elected. This chamber was supressed after the Coup of General Miguel Primo de Rivera
in 1923.
Only after the Transicion in 1978 was again re-instituted.
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 absolute majority, vacant seats notwithstanding.
the President of the Government (i.e., Prime Minister) may legally advise the King to call elections for one chamber only under article 115 of 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 partial block voting
and appointment from regional legislatures.
elects four senators without regard to population. Insular provinces are treated specially. The larger islands of the Balearics (Baleares) and Canaries (Canarias) - Majorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife - are assigned three seats each, and the smaller islands - Minorca, 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 roughly 6 million people, and Soria
, with 100,000 inhabitants, are each represented by four senators.
In non-insular constituencies, each party nominates three candidates. Candidates' names are organized in columns by party and sorted alphabetically by surname within 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. Typically voters cast all three votes for candidates of a single party. As a result, the four Senators are usually three candidates from the most popular party and one from the next most popular. When voters divide votes among parties, the alphabetical layout of the ballot paper favors surnames early in the alphabet.
Conventionally, the proportions of the regional delegations mimic their legislative assemblies, as required in principle by Article 69.5 of the Constitution. However, Autonomous Communities have considerable leeway, and motion to appoint the delegation often requires no more than a plurality. Two anomalous examples are:
Due to population growth, Andalusia, the Balearic and Canary Islands, Catalonia, and Madrid each gain 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 current distribution is:
has more independent functions, and it can also override most Senate measures. Only the Congress can grant or revoke confidence to a Prime Minister. In the ordinary lawmaking process, either house may be the initiator, and the Senate can pass hostile amendments or even vetos which mean the proposal is sent back to the Congress, though the lower house can override those objections by an absolute majority vote. The process for constitutional amendments is slightly more tangled: the rule is to require three fifths
(60%) of both houses, but if the Senate does not achieve such supermajority and a mixed Congress-Senate committee fails to resolve the issues, Congress may force the amendment through with a two-thirds vote as long as the absolute majority of the Senate was in favour.
On the other hand, the Senate has reserved functions in and of itself in the appointment of constitutional posts, such as judges of the Constitutional Court
or the members of the General Council of the Judicial Power
. Although it has never exercised its authority, the Senate is solely responsible for disciplining regional presidents (article 155 of the Spanish Constitution). Only the Senate can suspend local governments. (Local Regime Framework Act article 61.) It exercised this power in April 2006, dissolving the Marbella city council
after most members were found to have engaged in corrupt practices
.
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
.
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
of 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 parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, 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 was held on 20 November 2011. The composition of the 10th Senate, which cannot serve beyond 2015, is:
| Political party/group | Elected | Appointed | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
136 | 29 | 165 | |
| 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... |
48 | 17 | 65 | |
| Entesa Catalana de Progrés (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... , EUiA) |
7 | 3 | 10 | |
| Convergence and Union | 9 | 4 | 13 | |
| 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... |
4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Others - Mixed Group | 4 | 4 | 8 | |
| Total | 208 | 58 | 266 | |
History
Spanish Senate was instituted by the Constitution of 1837 under the Regency of Maria Christina of the Two SiciliesMaria Christina of the Two Sicilies
Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies was Queen consort of Spain and Regent of Spain .-Early years and first marriage:...
. It remained under the regime of the Constituions 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 Senators elected. This chamber was supressed after the Coup of General Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
in 1923.
Only after the Transicion in 1978 was again re-instituted.
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 lossesSpanish general election, 2008
Legislative elections for the Spanish Cortes Generales were held on March 9, 2008. The elections were for 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies, and the 208 directly elected seats in the upper house, the Senate, determining the Prime Minister of Spain...
reduced its group from six to two. The 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...
, falling from seven to four, "borrowed" Senators from the ruling 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...
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 absolute majority, vacant seats notwithstanding.
Elections to the Senate
To date, Senate elections have coincided with elections to the lower house, butthe President of the Government (i.e., Prime Minister) may legally advise the King to call elections for one chamber only under article 115 of Spanish Constitution. While the Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies 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 provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...
is chosen by party list proportional representation, the members of the Senate are chosen in two distinct ways: popular election by partial block voting
Limited Voting
Limited voting is a voting system in which electors have fewer votes than there are positions available. The positions are awarded to the candidates who receive the most votes absolutely...
and appointment from regional legislatures.
Directly elected members
Most members of the Senate (currently 208 of 264) are directly elected by the people. Each provinceProvinces 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...
elects four senators without regard to population. Insular provinces are treated specially. The larger islands of the Balearics (Baleares) and Canaries (Canarias) - Majorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife - are assigned three seats each, and the smaller islands - Minorca, 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 roughly 6 million people, and Soria
Soria (province)
Soria is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. Most of the province is in the mountainous Sistema Ibérico areaIt is bordered by the provinces of La Rioja, Zaragoza, Guadalajara, Segovia, and Burgos....
, with 100,000 inhabitants, are each represented by four senators.
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
-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. Typically voters cast all three votes for candidates of a single party. As a result, the four Senators are usually three candidates from the most popular party and one from the next most popular. When voters divide votes among parties, the alphabetical layout of the ballot paper favors surnames early in the alphabet.
Regional legislatures-appointed members
Article 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 Article 69.5 of the Constitution. However, Autonomous Communities have considerable leeway, and 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 and it 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 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 gain 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 current distribution is:
| Autonomous Community | Population (2007) | Senators | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andalusia | 8,059,461 | 9 | |
| Aragón | 1,296,655 | 2 | |
| Asturias | 1,074,862 | 2 | |
| Balearic Islands | 1,030,650 | 2 | |
| Canary Islands | 2,025,951 | 3 | |
| Cantabria | 572,824 | 1 | |
| Castilla - La Mancha | 1,977,304 | 2 | |
| Castilla y León | 2,528,417 | 3 | |
| Catalonia | 7,210,508 | 8 | |
| Valencian Community | 4,885,029 | 5 | |
| Extremadura | 1,089,990 | 2 | |
| Galicia | 2,772,533 | 3 | |
| Madrid | 6,081,689 | 7 | |
| Murcia | 1,392,117 | 2 | |
| Navarre | 605,876 | 1 | |
| Basque Country | 2,141,860 | 3 | |
| La Rioja | 308,968 | 1 | |
| Total | 45.200.737 | 56 | Source: http://www.senado.es/legis8/ccaa/sena_ccaa_IX_legis.html |
Role
The Spanish parliamentary system is bicameral but asymmetric. The Congress of DeputiesSpanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies 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 provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...
has more independent functions, and it can also override most Senate measures. Only the Congress can grant or revoke confidence to a Prime Minister. In the ordinary lawmaking process, either house may be the initiator, and the Senate can pass hostile amendments or even vetos which mean the proposal is sent back to the Congress, though the lower house can override those objections by an absolute majority vote. The process for constitutional amendments is slightly more tangled: the rule is to require three fifths
Supermajority
A supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
(60%) of both houses, but if the Senate does not achieve such supermajority and a mixed Congress-Senate committee fails to resolve the issues, Congress may force the amendment through with a two-thirds vote as long as the absolute majority of the Senate was in favour.
On the other hand, the Senate has reserved functions in and of itself in the appointment of constitutional posts, such as judges of the Constitutional Court
Constitutional Court of Spain
thumb|300px|The [[Domenico Scarlatti]] Building located in [[Madrid]], seat of the Constitutional Court of Justice of Spain.The Constitutional Court of Spain is the highest judicial body with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes of the Spanish Government. It is...
or the members of the General Council of the Judicial Power
General Council of the Judicial Power of Spain
The General Council of the Judiciary is the constitutional body that governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as courts, and judges, as it is established by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, article 122 and developed by the Organic Law 6/1985 of the Judiciary Power...
. Although it has never exercised its authority, the Senate is solely responsible for disciplining regional presidents (article 155 of the Spanish Constitution). Only the Senate can suspend local governments. (Local Regime Framework Act article 61.) It exercised this power in April 2006, dissolving the Marbella city council
Marbella City Council dissolution
The dissolution of the Marbella City Council on April 7, 2006, was an unprecedented movement of the Spanish Government to put an end to the long-standing corruption in the city, which had taken the council near to its bankruptcy while many mayors and their collaborators had "earned" large amounts...
after most members were found to have engaged in corrupt practices
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
.
Senate reform has been a topic of discussion since the early days of Spanish democracy.
One proposal would advance the federalization
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
of Spain by remaking the Senate to represent the autonomous communities of Spain
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...
.
Presidents of the Spanish Senate
| Term | President | From | To | Constituency | Political party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituent 1977-1979 |
Antonio Fontan Pérez | July 13, 1977 | January 2, 1979 | Seville | UCD |
| I 1979-1982 |
Cecilio Valverde Mazuelas | April 27, 1979 | August 31, 1982 | Córdoba | |
| II 1982-1986 |
José Federico de Carvajal Pérez | November 18, 1982 | April 23, 1986 | Madrid | 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... |
| III 1986-1989 |
July 15, 1986 | September 2, 1989 | |||
| IV 1989-1993 |
Juan José Laborda Martín | November 21, 1989 | April 12, 1993 | Burgos | |
| V 1993-1996 |
June 29, 1993 | January 9, 1996 | |||
| VI 1996-2000 |
Juan Ignacio Barrero Valverde | March 27, 1996 | February 8, 1999 | Badajoz | 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... |
| Esperanza Aguirre Gil de Biedma | February 8, 1999 | January 18, 2000 | Madrid | ||
| VII 2000-2004 |
April 5, 2000 | October 21, 2002 | |||
| Juan José Lucas Giménez | October 22, 2002 | January 20, 2004 | |||
| VIII 2004-2008 |
Francisco Javier Rojo García | April 2, 2004 | January 15, 2008 | Álava | PSE-EE |
| IX 2008-2012 |
April 1, 2008 | Term expires in 2012 |