2023 Spanish general election

A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 23 July 2023, to elect the members of the 15th Cortes Generales under the Spanish Constitution of 1978. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 266 seats in the Senate.^[1] It was the first time since 1839 that a general election in Spain was held in the month of July.^[2]

The second government of Pedro Sánchez formed after the November 2019 Spanish general election consisted of a left-wing coalition between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos, the country's first such nationwide government since the Second Spanish Republic. The government's tenure was quickly overshadowed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, along with its political and economic consequences (including the economic recession resulting from the extensive lockdowns implemented to curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus), as well as the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (which exacerbated an ongoing inflation surge) and the 2021 volcanic eruption in La Palma. The opposition People's Party (PP) saw party leader Pablo Casado being replaced by Galician president Alberto Núñez Feijóo after an internal push in February 2022 by Madrilenian president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a rising star within the party following her 2021 regional election victory.^[3] Far-right Vox had been supporting PP-led cabinets at the regional and local level in exchange for programmatic concessions and—eventually—government participation;^[4] whereas the liberal Citizens party, which had lost most of its support since 2019, chose not to run.

Despite speculation about a snap election,^[5][6] Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez consistently expressed his intention to complete his term as scheduled in 2023, after the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union. Poor results of the left-wing bloc in the May 2023 regional and local elections, with losses to the PP and Vox in all but three regions, led to a surprise early dissolution of parliament in what was described as a gamble by Sánchez to wrong-foot the opposition and prevent a six-month lame duck period. In the closest election since 1996, the PP saw the biggest increase in support and secured 137 seats in the Congress, but fell short of expectations which had placed it at around 140 to 160 seats. The PSOE placed second and overperformed polls by improving upon previous results, gaining over one million votes and scoring its best result since 2008 in terms of votes and vote share. Vox saw a decrease in its popular vote and seats, while the Sumar platform under the second deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz—the successor of the Unidas Podemos alliance after the resignation of Pablo Iglesias in 2021—won 31 seats in the Congress, a decrease in the popular vote and seats of its constituent parties but also above expectations going into the election.

As neither bloc achieved a majority, the balance of power was held by the Together for Catalonia (Junts) party of former Catalan president and fugitive Carles Puigdemont, despite losses among Catalan independence parties.^[7] Following a failed attempt by Feijóo to secure investiture in the ensuing government formation process, Sánchez struck a deal with Junts and most of the parliamentary regionalist and peripheral nationalist parties, going on to win re-election on 16 November with an absolute majority: the first time since 2011 that a repeat election was not needed, as well as the first time since that date that a candidate was elected in the first ballot of investiture.^[8]

The outcome of the November 2019 general election brought an end to a nine-month government formation process, with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Unidas Podemos alliance setting their differences aside and reaching a preliminary deal within days.^[9] After securing the consent of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)—with which relations had become strained over the Supreme Court's jail sentences to Catalan independence leaders and the Spanish government's handling of the subsequent protests in October 2019^[10]—Pedro Sánchez was able to be re-elected as prime minister of Spain in January 2020, forming the first nationwide coalition cabinet in Spain since the Second Spanish Republic, with Podemos's Pablo Iglesias as second deputy prime minister.^[11][12]

From March 2020, Sánchez's government had to deal with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, declaring a state of alarm to enforce a nationwide lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus ("flattening the curve"),^[13][14][15] which had overwhelmed the Spanish National Health System and had seen a large number of infections and deaths,^[16][17] particularly in nursing homes.^[18][19][20] The sudden cessation of all non-essential economic activities caused an economic recession,^[21] prompting the government to approve a series of relief packages (dubbed as "social shield" measures).^[22][23][24] May 2020 saw several anti-lockdown protests take place in the wealthiest areas of the Madrid region, the hardest-hit by the pandemic in Spain.^[25][26][27] Nationwide lockdowns were lifted by the summer, but subsequent infection waves led to the reimposition of some restrictions and curfews.^[28][29] A partial lockdown of the Madrid region was ordered in September 2020,^[30][31] followed by a six-month state of alarm that granted regions powers on restriction decision and enforcement.^[32][33] The authorities' initial response to the crisis was criticized as slow and ineffective,^[21][34] and in 2021 a divided Constitutional Court ruled the two states of alarm unlawful by concluding that a state of exception, requiring prior—rather than later—parliamentary approval to enforce lockdowns, should have been used instead.^[35][36]

Spain became the second biggest recipient of the Next Generation EU package for post-pandemic economic recovery after successful negotiations,^[37][38] with Sánchez's government presenting a national recovery plan that prioritised investments in the energy and digital transitions.^[39][40] This period also saw reconstruction efforts in La Palma island following the 2021 Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption;^[41][42][43] the country's participation in the military aid effort to Ukraine following the 2022 Russian invasion;^[44] an inflation surge triggering an energy crisis which saw the European Commission granting Spain a temporary mechanism to cap gas prices (the "Iberian exception");^[45] and the 2022 Melilla incident which that the death of 37 migrants in a crowd crush at the Melilla border fence.^[46][47] The country also hosted the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid and assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2023.^[48][49]

In an effort to ease tensions resulting from the 2017–2018 crisis in Catalonia, Sánchez issued partial pardons to jailed pro-Catalan independence leaders in June 2021.^[50][51] His government passed a landmark labour market reform (limiting temporary employment and granting trade unions more power in collective bargaining) in a narrow 175–174 vote, seeing a decisive voting mistake by an opposition member.^[52] Social rights reforms saw the legalisation of euthanasia,^[53] "Trans" Law (permitting gender self-identification) and a reform of the abortion law that extended rights and recognized paid menstrual leave.^[54] Animal welfare was expanded, though the exclusion of hunting dogs and bullfighting received criticism from animal rights groups.^[55][56] Amongst the government's most controversial bills were an overhaul of the sedition and embezzlement offences (criticized by the opposition as a concession to Catalan parties)^[57][58] and a proposal aimed at reinforcing sexual consent (dubbed the "Only Yes Means Yes" Law) which inadvertently included a loophole that resulted in reduced prison terms for hundreds of convicted felons.^[59] Concurrently, the council of the judiciary's ongoing blockade—which stalled judicial appointments for years—saw the government attempt judiciary reform;^[60][61] this led to an institutional crisis in December 2022 after the Constitutional Court temporarily froze the passage of the proposed legislation.^[62][63][64]

Seeking to counter the electoral competition posed by the surging far-right Vox party under Santiago Abascal,^[65] as well as to absorb the weakened remnants of the liberal Citizens (Cs) under Inés Arrimadas (who had replaced the party's former leader, Albert Rivera),^[66] the opposition People's Party (PP) adopted a confrontational stance towards the ruling PSOE–Podemos cabinet.^[67][68] The regional Madrilenian government under PP's premier Isabel Díaz Ayuso—criticized over its triage protocols during the pandemic,^[69][70] as well as its lockdown measures focused in poorest areas^[71]—frequently opposed restrictions enforced by national authorities.^[72][73] This approach, combined to Ayuso's polarizing profile, turned her into a rising star within the PP and Sánchez's main political rival,^[70][74] materializing in a snap Madrid election in May 2021 where her party secured a resounding win at the expense of Cs.^[75][76][77] Ayuso's higher profile ultimately led to a dispute with party leader Pablo Casado, as the former was often touted by some media and PP sectors as a better candidate.^[78][79] Both vyed for control over the regional PP throughout the autumn of 2021,^[80][81] with the conflict peaking in February 2022 following disappointing results in a snap election in Castile and León^[82] and Ayuso accusing Casado of trying to "destroy" her through a "cruel" smear campaign.^[83][84][85] The ensuing party crisis resulted in Casado's ouster,^{[86][87][88][89]} with Galician president Alberto Núñez Feijóo being elected to succeed him as a figure of unity.^[90][91]

Having influence over the regional PP–Cs governments formed as a result of the 2019 regional elections, Vox attempted to enforce some of its programme's most controversial measures, such as a "parental pin" in the Region of Murcia (a proposed veto against school talks, workshops or classes regarded as "contrary to moral principles", labeled as "authoritarian" by Sánchez's government),^[92][93] and an anti-abortion plan in Castile and León requiring health professionals to offer pregnant women the opportunity to listen to the fetal heartbeat and 4D ultrasound scans (ultimately dropped by the PP to prevent a constitutional conflict).^[94][95][96] Amid growing political polarization, and seeking to capitalize on anti-lockdown protests and public anger over criminal code reforms (particularly, the botched sexual consent law and the sedition overhaul), Vox tabled two no confidence motions in Sánchez in October 2020 and March 2023.^[97][98] While both were defeated by wide margins,^[99][100] they saw the PP move from Casado's frontal opposition in the first to Feijóo's conciliatory abstention in the second.^[101][102]

Iglesias left the Spanish government in March 2021 to face Ayuso in that year's Madrid election, but his disappointing result led him to quit from active politics.^[103] He had hinted at the Labour minister, Yolanda Díaz, as his presumptive successor as candidate in the next general election.^[104][105] Díaz took advantage of her popularity to reorganize the Unidas Podemos alliance, unifying various parties in the Spanish political left (including En Comú Podem, Compromís and Más Madrid/Más País) under the Sumar umbrella (English: Unite).^{[106][107][108]} In this context, and following territorial losses for the left in the May 2023 local and regional elections, Sánchez announced a snap election for 23 July,^[109][110] in a move described as a gamble to wrong-foot the opposition and prevent a six-month lame duck period.^{[111][112][113]}

Under the 1978 Constitution, the Spanish Cortes Generales were envisaged as an imperfect bicameral system.^[114][115] The Congress of Deputies had greater legislative power than the Senate, having the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a prime minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority of votes.^[116] Nonetheless, the Senate possessed a limited number of functions—such as ratification of international treaties, authorization of collaboration agreements between autonomous communities, enforcement of direct rule, regulation of interterritorial compensation funds, and its role in constitutional amendment and in the appointment of members to the Constitutional Court and the General Council of the Judiciary—which were not subject to the Congress's override.^[117]

Voting for each chamber of the Cortes Generales was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote.^[118][119] Amendments to the electoral law in 2022 abolished the "begged" voting system (Spanish: voto rogado), under which non-resident citizens were required to apply for voter registration before being permitted to vote.^[120][121] The begged vote system was attributed responsibility for a major decrease in the turnout of Spaniards abroad during the years it had been in force.^[122]

The Congress of Deputies was entitled to a minimum of 300 and a maximum of 400 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 350. 348 members were elected in 50 multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Spain, with each being allocated an initial minimum of two seats and the remaining 248 being distributed in proportion to their populations—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency. The two remaining seats were allocated to Ceuta and Melilla as single-member districts and elected using plurality voting.^[123][124] The use of the electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.^[125]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:^[126]

208 seats in the Senate were elected using an open list partial block voting system: in constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, districts were the islands themselves, with the larger (Mallorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) being allocated three seats each, and the smaller (Menorca, Ibiza–Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma) one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally, autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants.^{[127][128][129]}

The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes.^[130]

Spanish citizens of age and with the legal capacity to vote could run for election, provided that they were not sentenced to imprisonment by a final court ruling nor convicted, even if by a non-final ruling, to forfeiture of eligibility or to specific disqualification or suspension from public office under particular offences: rebellion, terrorism or other crimes against the state. Other causes of ineligibility were imposed on the following officials:^[131][132]

• Members of the Spanish royal family and their spouses;
• The holders of a number of positions: the president and members of the Constitutional Court, the General Council of the Judiciary, the Supreme Court, the Council of State, the Court of Auditors and the Economic and Social Council; the Ombudsman; the State's Attorney General; high-ranking members—undersecretaries, secretaries-general, directors-general and chiefs of staff—of Spanish government departments, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Social Security and other government agencies; government delegates and sub-delegates in the autonomous communities; the chair of RTVE; the director of the Electoral Register Office; the governor and deputy governor of the Bank of Spain; the chairs of the Official Credit Institute and other official credit institutions; and members of electoral commissions and of the Nuclear Safety Council;
• Heads of diplomatic missions in foreign states or international organizations (ambassadors and plenipotentiaries);
• Judges and public prosecutors in active service;
• Personnel of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air and Space Force) and law enforcement corps in active service.

Other causes of ineligibility for both chambers were imposed on a number of territorial-level officers in the aforementioned categories—during their tenure of office—in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction, as well as employees of foreign states and members of regional governments.^[131][132] Incompatibility provisions extended to the president of the National Commission on Markets and Competition; members of RTVE's board and of the offices of the prime minister, the ministers and the secretaries of state; government delegates in port authorities, hydrographic confederations and toll highway concessionary companies; presidents and other high-ranking members of public entities, state monopolies, companies with majority public participation and public saving banks; deputies and senators elected on candidacies subsequently declared illegal by a final court ruling; as well as the impossibility of simultaneously holding the positions of deputy and senator or regional legislator.^[133]

The term of each chamber of the Cortes Generales—the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier.^[134] The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication.^[135] The previous election was held on 10 November 2019, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 10 November 2023. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 17 October 2023, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Sunday, 10 December 2023.^[136]

The prime minister had the prerogative to propose the monarch to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no state of emergency was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one.^[137] Additionally, both chambers were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a prime minister within a two-month period from the first ballot.^[138] Barring this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections to the Congress and the Senate.^[139] Still, as of 2026, there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.

Following his party's defeat in the 2021 Madrid election, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez commented that there were still "32 months to go" for the next general election, implying he was working on a January 2024 date.^[140] This prompted comments on the maximum legal duration of the Cortes Generales,^[141][142] as a January or even February 2024 election date could only be considered if their four-year term was counted from the chambers' first assembly or from the prime minister's investiture, instead of from the previous general election.^[143][144] In August 2022, Sánchez himself dispelled any doubts by announcing that the election would be held in December 2023,^[145] a position that he reiterated the next March when he commented that there were still "nine months left" in the legislative term.^[146]

On 29 May 2023, following Sánchez announcement of a general election for 23 July^[109]—the first time such an election was called for a July month since 1839^[2]—political parties from across the spectrum were caught by surprise.^[147] PP leaders in particular were reportedly upset as the election call prevented them from capitalising on their local and regional election gains.^[148] The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 30 May 2023 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting election day for 23 July and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 17 August.^[126]

The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.^[149][150]

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties, federations or alliances that had not obtained a mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies.^[156] Additionally, a balanced composition of men and women was required in the electoral lists, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition.^[157]

A special, simplified process was provided for election re-runs, including a shortening of deadlines, electoral campaigning, the lifting of signature requirements if these had been already met for the immediately previous election and the possibility of maintaining lists and alliances without needing to go through pre-election procedures again.^[158]

Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:

In September 2021, citizen collectives of the Empty Spain (Spanish: España Vacía or España Vaciada), a coined term to refer to Spain's rural and largely unpopulated interior provinces,^[191] agreed to look forward to formulas to contest the next elections in Spain, inspired by the success of the Teruel Existe candidacy (Spanish for "Teruel Exists") in the November 2019 general election.^[175] By November 2021, it was confirmed that over 160 collectives and associations from about 30 Spanish provinces had committed themselves to finalise the electoral platform before January 2022.^[176] It then contested the 2022 Castilian-Leonese regional election, with mixed results; the Soria Now! platform succeeded in the province of Soria, but it was a disappointment elsewhere.^[192]

On 30 May 2023, Citizens's leadership announced that the party would not contest the general election, following its poor results in the regional and local elections.^[189] This decision was criticised by a number of its elected representatives, including incumbent MP and former leadership contender Edmundo Bal.^[193] The Regionalist Party of Cantabria also decided not to run following the party's negative results in that year's Cantabrian election.^[190]

The key dates are listed below. All times are CET, while the Canary Islands use WET (UTC+0) instead.^[194]

• 29 May: The election decree is issued with the countersign of the prime minister, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, ratified by the King.^[126]
• 30 May: Formal dissolution of parliament and start of prohibition period on the inauguration of public works, services or projects.
• 2 June: Initial constitution of provincial and zone electoral commissions with judicial members.
• 5 June: Division of constituencies into polling sections and stations.
• 9 June: Deadline for parties and federations to report on their electoral alliances.
• 12 June: Deadline for electoral register consultation for the purpose of possible corrections.
• 19 June: Deadline for parties, federations, alliances, and groupings of electors to present electoral lists.
• 21 June: Publication of submitted electoral lists in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
• 26 June: Official proclamation of validly submitted electoral lists.
• 27 June: Publication of proclaimed electoral lists in the BOE.
• 28 June: Deadline for the selection of polling station members by sortition.
• 6 July: Deadline for the appointment of non-judicial members to provincial and zone electoral commissions.
• 7 July: Official start of electoral campaigning.^[126]
• 13 July: Deadline to apply for postal voting.
• 18 July: Start of legal ban on electoral opinion polling publication; deadline for non-resident citizens (electors residing abroad (CERA) and citizens temporarily absent from Spain) to vote by mail.
• 19 July: Deadline for postal and temporarily absent voting.
• 20 July: Deadline for CERA voting.
• 21 July: Last day of electoral campaigning.^[126]
• 22 July: Official election silence ("reflection day").
• 23 July: Election day (polling stations open at 9 am and close at 8 pm or once voters present in a queue at/outside the polling station at 8 pm have cast their vote); provisional vote counting.
• 28 July: Start of general vote counting, including CERA votes.
• 31 July: Deadline for the general vote counting.
• 9 August: Deadline for the proclamation of elected members.
• 17 August: Deadline for the reconvening of parliament (date determined by the election decree, which for the 2023 election was set for 17 August).^[123][126]
• 18 September: Deadline for the publication of definitive election results in the BOE.

An Ipsos poll published in July 2023 showed that most of the respondents saw economic issues as most important, followed by unemployment and healthcare.^[209] BBC News reported that LGBTQ rights were also distinguished during the campaign period.^[210]

Vox campaigned on lowering the income tax, reducing public spending, and introducing tougher anti-migration laws.^{[211][212][213]} Vox was also in favour of reducing powers of Spain's autonomous communities, rolling back abortion, LGBTQ, and women's rights, and pulling Spain out of the Paris Agreement.^{[211][214][215]} Sonia Gallego of Al Jazeera said that Vox's rhetoric "will put it on a collision course with those separatist movements, not just in the Basque Country but Catalonia as well".^[216] Vox received support from Brothers of Italy, led by Giorgia Meloni, during the campaign period.^[210]

PP campaigned on lowering taxes and introducing policies that would boost foreign investments, with Feijóo trying to portray himself as a moderate.^[214][217] Feijóo was also faced with criticism from Sumar due to his past ties with drug trafficker Marcial Dorado when he served in the Galician government in the 1990s.^[216][218] Feijóo responded by saying that Dorado "had been a smuggler [but] never a drug trafficker" when he knew him.^[212] PP and Vox also campaigned on ending Sanchismo, a derogatory term to refer to the policies introduced by Sánchez and his coalition government, with Feijóo stating that it was his main priority.^[216][219] Both parties also accused Sanchez of overly relying on separatist parties to pass key legislation and pardoning jailed leaders. The catchphrase "Let Txapote vote for you" (Spanish: ¡Que te vote Txapote!) was popularized within this context.^[220]

PSOE's Sánchez portrayed the election as a "showdown between the forces of progress and the forces of reactionary conservatism".^[212] He also criticised the relationship between PP and Vox.^[212] PP criticised PSOE's relationship with minority and pro-independence parties,^[210][212] as well as the government's anti-sexual assault law (popularly known as the "Only yes means yes law"), introduced in August 2022 and attributed responsibility for unwittingly leading to the release of at least 104 convicted sexual offenders owing to retroactivity of favourable provisions;^[221] Pedro Sánchez apologised for the loopholes in the law.^[222]

Sumar campaigned on criticising Vox and focusing on issues regarding climate change and introducing a shorter workweek.^[223] In order to challenge social inequality, Díaz proposed a €20,000 "universal inheritance" policy for those over 18 years old which could be spent on studies or creating a business.^[210][224] As part of its campaign policy, Sumar also campaigned on increasing taxes on the rich.^[224]

Opinion polls

Polling aggregations

The table below shows registered voter turnout on election day, without including non-resident citizens.

• Election results by constituency (Congress).
• Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress).
• Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress).

The election results showed that PP won 33.1 percent of popular vote and 137 seats in the Congress of Deputies, while PSOE won 31.7 percent of popular vote and 121 seats in the Congress of Deputies.^[253][254] Despite the PP gaining 48 seats and increasing its vote share by over 12 points, its result was well below expectations to reach above 150 or 160 seats and insufficient to secure a right-wing majority to govern.^{[255][256][257]} Conversely, the PSOE overperformed polls by improving upon previous results, gaining almost 1 million votes—the most votes gained by the prime minister's party in Spain after a full first term in office—scoring its best result since the 2008 Spanish general election in terms of votes and vote share.^[258][259]

Vox won 33 seats, losing 19 seats that it won in the previous election, while Sumar won 31 seats.^[260][261] In part due to a campaign led by the Assemblea Nacional Catalana encouraging pro-Catalan independence voters to boycott the election,^{[262][263][264]} pro-independence parties lost 46% of the votes they won in November 2019, materializing in the loss of 9 seats and in the anti-capitalists of the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) being expelled from Congress.^[265]

During the campaign period, news agencies mentioned that in case of a PP victory, it would have to rely on Vox for a parliamentary majority,^{[212][214][266]} despite Feijóo saying that he would prefer a minority government instead.^[217][267] The election results later showed that even PP and Vox together would not have enough seats to form a majority, considering that they won 170 seats in total.^{[253][260][268]} Both PP and PSOE, short of a majority, claimed victory.^[253] The results raised the prospect of no government forming and a snap election being called, which would constitute a record third straight time in which regular general elections were inconclusive and required a following snap election.^[258] The Catalan party Junts—led by former Catalan president and fugitive Carles Puigdemont—was widely seen as being the kingmaker, with both blocs having to rely on their favourable vote to form a government, likely coupled with further concessions on Catalan independence.^{[269][270][271]} Due to the underperformance of the right-wing bloc, Feijóo's leadership was questioned by the Spanish right-wing; Feijóo went from offering a pact to the PSOE to warning of a rupture if Sánchez was confirmed prime minister with the support of separatists.^[272] The election of the president of the Congress of Deputies—or speaker—on 17 August saw the PSOE candidate Francina Armengol winning in a vote which was seen to boost Sanchez's hopes of re-election.^[273][274]

King Felipe VI summoned the political parties for a round of talks on 21 and 22 August to decide whether to nominate a candidate for investiture.^[275] The king faced a difficult choice as, for the first time in the democratic era, two candidates—Sánchez and Feijóo—were equally intent on being nominated.^[276] Feijóo's intentions were unchanged by his recent parliamentary setback, despite calls from some factions within his party asking him to "leave the fiction" of insisting that he had the required support for his investiture.^[277][278]

Despite Feijóo's investiture being widely expected to fail, the King nominated him as candidate on 22 August.^[279] He justified his decision by stating that the PP had won the most seats and that, since no other clear majority for investiture had been evidenced during the round of talks, the tradition of nominating the leader of the largest party should continue, while allowing for the fact that other candidates could be nominated if their investiture attempt was unsuccessful.^[280][281]

Following Feijóo's defeat, King Felipe VI summoned all parties to a new round of talks on 2 and 3 October, after which he nominated Pedro Sánchez as the next candidate to attempt the investiture.^[283][284] Upon his nomination, Sánchez commented that he was "not going to a false investiture", adding that everything agreed to secure the investiture would be "within the Constitution" and that agreements would be "transparent and known", considered to be a reference to criticisms of the amnesty proposed by pro-Catalan independence parties.^[285]