On 28 May 2023 local elections will be held throughout the national territory, together with elections to the Assemblies of Ceuta and Melilla and elections to the Island Councils of the Canary Islands. These elections will coincide with other electoral processes called by the respective regional governments:
Article 42.3 of Organic Law on the General Electoral System establishes that local elections are held in Spain on the fourth Sunday of May every four years.
The Royal Decree calling the local elections is agreed on by the Council of Ministers at the joint proposal of the Ministries of the Interior and Territorial Policy. It will be issued on 3 April 2023 and published in the BOE on the following day, entering into force on the day of its publication, 4 April.
The procedure for determining the number of councillors corresponding to each municipality is established in the Electoral Law.
Each municipality constitutes a constituency in which the number of councillors are elected in accordance with the application of the following scale:
The number of residents (or the population) of each municipality is determined by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation and published in the BOE. The latest population figures were declared official by virtue of Royal Decree 1037/2022 of 20 December (BOE of 21 December 2022).
Based on these official population figures, the Government Delegations and Sub-Delegations published the list of municipalities, their populations and the number of councillors corresponding to them in the Official Provincial Gazettes during the first six days of March 2023.
Yes, it is.
If, by applying the scale for the allocation of councillors set out in article 179 of Organic Law 5/1985 of 19 June on the General Electoral System, the result is an even number, one more position will be added to those that will be elected in accordance with the population.
The Open Council is a peculiarity of certain small Spanish municipalities characterised by the non-existence of a municipal organisation as such, in such a way that all the residents, gathered together in a Neighbourhood Assembly, deliberate and make the decisions that correspond to the plenary session of the Town Council under the ordinary regime.
Small local bodies and municipalities are the ones that have traditionally operated under the Open Council system. Article 140 of the Spanish Constitution refers to the Open Council: “The law shall regulate the conditions under which the Open Council system applies”.
The Law on the Bases of Local Regimes, in the wording of Organic Law 2/2011 of 28 January, establishes that the following municipalities operate under the Open Council system:
The General Assemblies of the Historical Territories of the Basque Country are the representative bodies of the Historical Territories of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
Each General Assembly is made up of 51 persons elected by universal and direct suffrage at the Foral (provincial) elections that are held every four years at the same time as the local elections.
The members of the different General Assemblies are called Procuradores/Procuradoras in Araba, Apoderados/Apoderadas in Bizkaia and Procuradores-Junteros/Procuradoras-Junteras in Gipuzkoa.
The Historical Territories are divided into the following constituencies:
HISTORICAL TERRITORY OF ARABA.
HISTORICAL TERRITORY OF BIZKAIA.
HISTORICAL TERRITORY OF GIPUZKOA.
The number to be elected in each constituency is determined by taking into account the population variable.
The Decrees to call the elections to the General Assemblies specify the internal distribution of the 51 seats to be elected in each Historical Territory among the constituencies.
The elections to the General Assemblies are held at the same time as the local elections held nationally.
The Decree to call the elections to the General Assemblies is approved by the respective General Deputy.
The Aran Valley is located in the province of Lleida. It is configured as a local territorial entity with its own legal personality and full capacity and autonomy for the fulfilment of its purposes, determined by the grouping of the municipal territories of: Arres, Bause, Es Bordés, Bossòt, Canejan, Les, Naut Aran, Vielha e Mijaran and Vilamós.
he government and administration of Aran are the responsibility of the General Council (Conselh Generau), made up of the Head of Government (Sindic) and twelve General Councillors (Conselhers Generaus).
The six electoral constituencies into which the Aran Valley is divided correspond to the six historical terçons: Pujòlo, Arties e Garòs, Castièro, Marcatosa, Irissa and Quate Lòcs.
The thirteen seats on the General Council are distributed among the six terçons as follows:
The elections to the General Council of Aran are called by virtue of a regional decree. The electoral process by means of which the General Councillors are elected has to be held on the same day as the local elections.
The term of office of the General Councillors lasts four years, as is the case of the persons constituting the Local Corporations.
Aranese, a variety of the Occitan language and native to Aran, is official in the Aran Valley. So are Catalan and Spanish.
The Councils of Navarre are local entities located within the boundaries of a municipality, with a population and territorial scope smaller than that of the latter.
The government and administration of the Councils of Navarre is carried out by an Open Council when the population is between 16 and 50 inhabitants and by an Assembly when that population exceeds 50 inhabitants.
The term of office of the persons elected to the Councils of Navarre is four years, as is the case of those elected to the Town Councils.
The call for the election of the Presidents of the Councils governed under the Open Council regime and the Presidents and Members of the Assemblies is agreed on by the Government of Navarre by virtue of a Foral Decree published in the Official Gazette of Navarre indicating the date of the council elections, which will coincide with the date of the local elections.
At the same time as the call for the elections to the Councils of Navarre, the Administration of the Foral Community will publish a list, in alphabetical order, of the Councils grouped together by municipalities, indicating the population of each Council. It will also indicate whether the corresponding Council will elect the President and Members of the Assembly or only the President of the Open Council.
The Presidents of the Councils governed under the Open Council regime and the Presidents and Members of the Assemblies will be elected by means of a majority system.
The Spanish Constitution includes the distinction between province and island in article 141.1, stating that “In the archipelagos, the islands will also have their own administration in the form of Cabildos or Councils”.
In the Canary Islands archipelago, the Cabildos are the governing, administrative and representative bodies of each island.
The number of Councillors to be elected on each island of the Canary Islands archipelago is determined by the population of the island in question, taking into account the following table:
| Number of residents | Number of Councillors |
|---|---|
| Up to 10,000 | 11 |
| From 10,001 to 20,000 | 13 |
| From 20,001 to 50,000 | 17 |
| From 50,001 to 100,000 | 21 |
| 100,001 and above | One more councillor for every 100,000 residents or fraction thereof, plus one more when the result is an even number. |
The term of office of the Island Councillors is four years, starting from the date of their election.
The elections for the Councillors of the Island Cabildos are called by virtue of a Royal Decree, as is the case for the local elections.
The procedure for the election of the Island Councillors is the same as the one established for the election of Councillors, although each island constitutes an electoral constituency.
The Reform of the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands on 1 March 2007 provides for the direct election of the persons who make up the Island Councils of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza.
The Island Councils are the governing institutions of each of the islands and are responsible for the government, administration and representation of the islands of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza, as well as the islands adjacent to them. They enjoy autonomy in the management of their interests and they are institutions of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands.
Each of the Island Councils of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza is made up of Councillors who are elected in their respective constituencies by universal, equal, free, direct and secret suffrage by means of a proportional representation system that abides by the general electoral system.
The term of office is four years and the position is incompatible with the posts of President of the Balearic Islands, President of the Parliament, Member of the Government and Senator of the Autonomous Community.
he elections to the Island Councils of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza are called by virtue of a Decree of the President of the Autonomous Community, in accordance with the conditions and deadlines established in article 42.3 of the Organic Law on the General Electoral System, following a request made in advance by the respective Councils by means of a plenary agreement. The Decree to call the elections must be published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands.
The Island Council of Majorca has 33, while those of Menorca and Ibiza have 13.
Ceuta and Melilla have been Autonomous Cities since 1995.
Their Statutes of Autonomy as Autonomous Cities establish that the Assemblies of the Cities of Ceuta and Melilla, insofar as they are their representative bodies, will be made up of 25 persons elected in the City by universal, free, equal, direct and secret suffrage.
The elections will be governed by the provisions of the State legislation regulating the general electoral system for the holding of local elections and they are called by the State together with the latter.
The Spanish acronym EATIM stands for Local Bodies in a Territorial Area Smaller than a Municipality. In Spain there are approximately 3,500 EATIMs, including those in Navarre (known as Councils). In some regions they receive a specific name, such as in Andalusia (Autonomous Local Entities), Extremadura and the Valencian Community (in both cases Lesser Local Entities). In Catalonia (Decentralised Municipal Entities). Their elections are called by the corresponding Foral Community or Autonomous Community.
During the elections to the EATIM, residents directly elect the alcalde pedáneo/alcaldesa pedánea or mayor (by means of a majority system) who, together with the Neighbourhood Council, will have the powers conferred on the mayor and the Plenary of the Town Council in the general regime of the municipalities.