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2008 Spanish general election

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Field	Value
election_name	2008 Spanish general election
country	Spain
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
previous_election	2004 Spanish general election
previous_year	2004
next_election	2011 Spanish general election
next_year	2011
elected_members	Members of the 9th Cortes Generales
seats_for_election	All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of 264) seats in the Senate
176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
opinion_polls	Opinion polling for the 2008 Spanish general election
registered	35,073,179 1.5%
turnout	25,900,439 (73.8%)
1.9 pp
election_date	9 March 2008
image1	[[File:José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 2009b (cropped).jpg	170x170px]]
leader1	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
party1	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
leader_since1	[22 July 2000](2000-psoe-federal-party-congress)
leaders_seat1	Madrid
last_election1	164 seats, 42.6%
seats1	169
seat_change1	5
popular_vote1	11,289,335
percentage1	43.9%
swing1	1.3 pp
image2	[[File:Mariano Rajoy in 2008 (cropped).jpg	170x170px]]
leader2	Mariano Rajoy
party2	People's Party (Spain)
leader_since2	2 September 2003
leaders_seat2	Madrid
last_election2	148 seats, 37.7%
seats2	154
seat_change2	6
popular_vote2	10,278,010
percentage2	39.9%
swing2	2.2 pp
image3	[[File:Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida 2006 (cropped).jpg	170x170px]]
leader3	Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida
party3	Convergence and Union
leader_since3	24 January 2004
leaders_seat3	Barcelona
last_election3	10 seats, 3.2%
seats3	10
seat_change3	0
popular_vote3	779,425
percentage3	3.0%
swing3	0.2 pp
image4	[[File:Josu Erkoreka 2009 (cropped).jpg	170x170px]]
leader4	Josu Erkoreka
party4	Basque Nationalist Party
leader_since4	2004
leaders_seat4	Biscay
last_election4	7 seats, 1.6%
seats4	6
seat_change4	1
popular_vote4	306,128
percentage4	1.2%
swing4	0.4 pp
image5	[[File:Joan Ridao (cropped).jpg	170x170px]]
leader5	Joan Ridao
party5	ERC
colour5	FFB232
leader_since5	2007
leaders_seat5	Barcelona
last_election5	8 seats, 2.5%
seats5	3
seat_change5	5
popular_vote5	298,139
percentage5	1.2%
swing5	1.3 pp
image6	[[File:Gaspar Llamazares 2011 (cropped).jpg	170x170px]]
leader6	Gaspar Llamazares
party6	United Left (Spain)
leader_since6	29 October 2000
leaders_seat6	Madrid
last_election6	5 seats, 5.0%
seats6	2
seat_change6	3
popular_vote6	969,946
percentage6	3.8%
swing6	1.2 pp
map	{{Switcher
title	Prime Minister
posttitle	Prime Minister after election
before_election	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
before_party	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
after_election	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
after_party	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party

176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies 1.9 pp

| [[File:2008 Spanish election - Results.svg|x315px|Map of Spain showcasing winning party's strength by constituency]] | Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress) | [[File:2008 Spanish election - AC results.svg|x315px|Map of Spain showcasing winning party's strength by autonomous community]] | Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress) | [[File:2008 Spanish general election map.svg|x315px|Map of Spain showcasing seat distribution by Congress of Deputies constituency]] | Election results by constituency (Congress)

A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 9 March 2008, to elect the members of the 9th 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 264 seats in the Senate. It was held concurrently with a regional election in Andalusia.

The surprise victory of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) at the 2004 election, amid the public shock caused by the 11M Madrid train bombings, had led to an increase of bipolarisation in Spanish politics, with the opposition People's Party (PP) under Mariano Rajoy and right-wing media embracing conspiracy theories about the blasts' authorship and motives while engaging in a strategy of rising tension and street protests against the new government. One of the first measures adopted by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq, which caused a downturn in relations with the U.S. administration of George W. Bush. This period saw the implementation of same-sex marriage in Spain, express divorce, measures fostering women's rights and the fight against gender-based violence, as well as the Historical Memory Law recognizing the victims of political repression during the Spanish Civil War and the Francoist dictatorship.

Zapatero's decision to engage in talks with the separatist group ETA—after three years of relative calm and a ceasefire in March 2006—was not without controversy, and the government was forced to halt all negotiations following the Madrid–Barajas Airport bombing in December that year. The PSOE government also attempted to enforce a policy of reform of the regional statutes of autonomy, with the issue of the 2006 Catalan statute being the most controversial: its curtailment in the Cortes Generales caused the downfall of regional president Pasqual Maragall's cabinet and an appeal to the Constitutional Court being filed by the PP. Although Zapatero's first term saw a continuation of the economic growth of previous years, the growing property bubble in housing prices and a multinational subprime mortgage crisis started showing symptoms of a potential real estate and financial crisis by late 2007.

The electoral outcome saw a record result for both PSOE and PP, which combined amounted for more than 83% of the vote share and 92% of Congress seats. The PSOE benefitted from tactical voting against the PP—at the cost of peripheral nationalist parties, such as Convergence and Union (CiU), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) or Aragonese Union (CHA), falling to historical lows of popular support—and emerged as the most-voted party just seven seats short of an overall majority, which allowed Zapatero to be sworn in for a second term in office in April 2008. On the other hand, Rajoy's PP saw an increase in its vote share and seat count, but remained unable to overtake the Socialists. United Left (IU) had its worst general election performance ever with less than 4% of the share and 2 seats, whereas the new Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) party—founded by former PSOE member and leadership contender Rosa Díez—became the first nationwide party aside from PSOE, PP and IU securing seats since the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) was left out of parliament in 1993.

Overview

Under the 1978 Constitution, the Spanish Cortes Generales were envisaged as an imperfect bicameral system. 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. 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.

Electoral system

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, nor being legally incapacitated.

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. The use of the electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.

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

Seats	Constituencies
35	Madrid
31	Barcelona
16	Valencia
12	Alicante, Seville
10	Málaga, Murcia
9	Cádiz
8	A Coruña, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Biscay, Las Palmas
7	Granada, Pontevedra, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Zaragoza
6	Almería, Badajoz, Córdoba, Girona, Guipúzcoa, Jaén, Tarragona, Toledo
5	Cantabria, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Huelva, León, Navarre, Valladolid
4	Álava, Albacete, Burgos, Cáceres, La Rioja, Lleida, Lugo, Ourense, Salamanca
3	Ávila, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Huesca, Palencia, Segovia, Teruel, Zamora
2	Soria

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.

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.

Eligibility

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:

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 director-general 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 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. Incompatibility provisions extended to the president of the National Commission on 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; as well as the impossibility of simultaneously holding the positions of deputy and senator or regional legislator.

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. Amendments to the electoral law in 2007 introduced requirements for a balanced composition of men and women in the electoral lists, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition.

Election date

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. 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. The previous election was held on 14 March 2004, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 14 March 2008. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 19 February 2008, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Sunday, 13 April 2008.

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. 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. Barring this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections to the Congress and the Senate. Still, as of , there has been no precedent of separate elections taking place under the 1978 Constitution.

In November 2007, it was announced by Andalusian president Manuel Chaves that he had agreed with Zapatero to hold the regional election in Andalusia simultaneously with the 2008 Spanish general election in March. The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 15 January 2008 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting election day for 9 March and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 1 April.

Outgoing parliament

The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in both chambers at the time of dissolution.

Congress of Deputies	Groups	Parties	Deputies	Seats	Total
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		Socialist Parliamentary Group of the Congress	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		PSOE	142	164
Socialists' Party of Catalonia}}"		PSC	20
Confederation of the Greens}}"		LV	1
	EV–OV	1
People's Party (Spain)}}"		People's Parliamentary Group in the Congress	People's Party (Spain)}}"		PP	145	147
Navarrese People's Union}}"		UPN	2
Convergence and Union}}"		Catalan Parliamentary Group
(Convergence and Union)	Democratic Convergence of Catalonia}}"		CDC	6	10
Democratic Union of Catalonia}}"		UDC	4
Republican Left of Catalonia}}"		Republican Left's Parliamentary Group	Republican Left of Catalonia}}"		ERC	8	8
Basque Nationalist Party}}"		Basque Parliamentary Group (EAJ/PNV)	Basque Nationalist Party}}"		EAJ/PNV	7	7
United Left (Spain)}}"		United Left–Initiative for Catalonia Greens'
Parliamentary Group	United Left (Spain)}}"		IU	2	5
Initiative for Catalonia Greens}}"		ICV	2
Valencian People's Initiative}}"		IdPV	1
	Mixed Parliamentary Group	Canarian Coalition}}"		CC	2	9
Galician Nationalist Bloc}}"		BNG	2
New Canaries}}"		NC	1
Chunta Aragonesista}}"		CHA	1
Eusko Alkartasuna}}"		EA	1
Nafarroa Bai}}"		NaBai	1
Independent politician}}"		INDEP	1

Senate	Groups	Parties	Senators	Seats	Total
People's Party (Spain)}}"		People's Parliamentary Group in the Senate	People's Party (Spain)}}"		PP	119	123
Navarrese People's Union}}"		UPN	3
Independents of Fuerteventura}}"		IF	1
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		Socialist Parliamentary Group	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		PSOE	98	98
Catalan Agreement of Progress}}"		Catalan Agreement of Progress
Parliamentary Group	Socialists' Party of Catalonia}}"		PSC	10	16
Republican Left of Catalonia}}"		ERC	4
Initiative for Catalonia Greens}}"		ICV	1
United and Alternative Left}}"		EUiA	1
Basque Nationalist Party}}"		Basque Nationalist Senators' Parliamentary Group	Basque Nationalist Party}}"		EAJ/PNV	8	8
Convergence and Union}}"		Convergence and Union's
Catalan Parliamentary Group in the Senate	Democratic Convergence of Catalonia}}"		CDC	5	6
Democratic Union of Catalonia}}"		UDC	1
Canarian Coalition}}"		Canarian Coalition Senators' Parliamentary Group	Canarian Coalition}}"		CC	3	4
Independent Herrenian Group}}"		AHI	1
	Mixed Parliamentary Group	Galician Nationalist Bloc}}"		BNG	1	4
Aragonese Party}}"		PAR	1
Socialist Party of Majorca}}"		PSM	1
Independent politician}}"		INDEP	1

Parties and candidates

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

Candidacy	Parties and
alliances	Leading candidate	Ideology	Previous result	Gov.	Ref.	Congress	Senate	Vote %	Seats	Vote %	Seats
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		PSOE	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC)	Extremaduran Coalition (PREx–CREx)
– Extremaduran Regionalist Party (PREx)
– Regionalist Convergence of Extremadura (CREx)	Coalition for Melilla (CpM)	Ibiza for Change (ExC)
– United Left of Ibiza (EU)
– The Greens (Verds)
– Nationalist and Ecologist Agreement (ENE)
– Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)	PSOE–EU–PSM–Verds (PSOE–EU–PSM–Verds)
– United Left of Menorca (EU)
– Socialist Party of Menorca (PSM)
– The Greens (Verds)	[[File:José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero 2009b (cropped).jpg	50px]]	José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
People's Party (Spain)}}"		PP	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	People's Party (PP)	Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	Independents of Fuerteventura (IF)	[[File:Mariano Rajoy in 2008 (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Mariano Rajoy	Conservatism
Christian democracy	37.7%	148
Convergence and Union}}"		CiU	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Convergence and Union (CiU)
– Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC)
– Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC)	[[File:Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida 2006 (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida	Catalan nationalism
Centrism	3.2%	10	3.8%	4
Republican Left of Catalonia}}"		esquerra	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)	[[File:Joan Ridao (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Joan Ridao	Catalan independence
Left-wing nationalism
Social democracy	2.5%	8	The PSC–PSOE (8 senators), ERC (3 senators), ICV (1 senator) and EUiA (0 senators) contested the 2004 Senate election within the Entesa alliance.}}
Basque Nationalist Party}}"		EAJ/PNV	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	[[File:Josu Erkoreka 2009 (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Josu Erkoreka	Basque nationalism
Christian democracy	1.6%	7	1.7%	6
United Left (Spain)}}"		IU	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	United Left (IU)
– Communist Party of Spain (PCE)
– Collective for the Unity of Workers–Andalusian Left Bloc (CUT–BAI)
– Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR)	Initiative for Catalonia Greens–United and Alternative Left (ICV–EUiA)
– Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV)
– United and Alternative Left (EUiA)	United Left–Greens (EB–B)	Bloc for Asturias (BA)	The Greens of Asturias (LVA)	The Greens of Majorca (LVM)	United and Republican Left (EUPV–IR)
– United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV)
– Republican Left (IR)	[[File:Gaspar Llamazares 2011 (cropped).jpg	50px]]
Agreement of Nationalist Unity}}"		CC–PNC	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Canarian Coalition (CC)	Canarian Nationalist Party (PNC)	Independent Herrenian Group (AHI)	[[File:Ana Oramas 2019 (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Ana Oramas	Regionalism
Canarian nationalism
Centrism	0.9%	3
Galician Nationalist Bloc}}"		BNG	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)
– Galician People's Union (UPG)
– Socialist Collective (CS)
– Galician Nationalist Party–Galicianist Party (PNG–PG)
– Nationalist Left (EN)
– Inzar (Inzar)
– Movement for the Grassroots (MpB)
– Irmandiño Meeting (EI)	[[File:Francisco Jorquera 2012 (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Francisco Jorquera	Galician nationalism
Left-wing nationalism
Socialism	0.8%	2	1.1%	0
Chunta Aragonesista}}"		CHA	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Aragonese Union (CHA)	[[File:Portrait placeholder.svg	50px]]	Bizén Fuster	Aragonese nationalism
Eco-socialism	0.4%	1	0.3%	0
Eusko Alkartasuna}}"		EA	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Basque Solidarity (EA)	[[File:Nekane Altzelai 2008.jpg	50px]]	Nekane Altzelai	Basque nationalism
Social democracy	0.3%	1	0.3%	0
Nafarroa Bai}}"		NaBai	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Basque Solidarity (EA)	Aralar (Aralar)	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	Assembly (Batzarre)	[[File:Uxue Barkos 2015b (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Uxue Barkos	Basque nationalism
Social democracy	0.2%
Catalan Agreement of Progress}}"		**PSC–ERC–
ICV–EUiA**	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC)	Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)	Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV)	United and Alternative Left (EUiA)	[[File:Portrait placeholder.svg	50px]]	Maite Arqué	Catalanism
Social democracy
Eco-socialism	colspan="2"
Union, Progress and Democracy}}"		UPyD	{{Collapsible list	title = List	bullets = on	Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	[[File:Rosa Díez 2008 (cropped).jpg	50px]]	Rosa Díez	Social liberalism
Radical centrism	Did not contest}}

In the Canary Islands, an alliance was formed between New Canaries (NC) and Nationalist Canarian Centre (CCN), two splinter groups from Canarian Coalition. In the Valencian Community, Valencian People's Initiative (IdPV)—splinter from United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV)—joined a coalition with the Valencian Nationalist Bloc (Bloc) and The Greens–Ecologist Left of the Valencian Country (EVEE). Unity for the Isles, an electoral alliance based in the Balearic Islands, was formed by PSM–Nationalist Agreement (PSM–EN), Majorcan Union (UM), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Agreement for Majorca (ExM) and The Greens of Menorca (EV–Me).

Timetable

The key dates are listed below (all times are CET. The Canary Islands used WET (UTC+0) instead):

14 January: The election decree is issued with the countersign of the prime minister, after deliberation in the Council of Ministers, ratified by the King.
15 January: Formal dissolution of parliament and start of prohibition period on the inauguration of public works, services or projects.
18 January: Initial constitution of provincial and zone electoral commissions with judicial members.
21 January: Division of constituencies into polling sections and stations.
25 January: Deadline for parties and federations to report on their electoral alliances.
28 January: Deadline for electoral register consultation for the purpose of possible corrections.
4 February: Deadline for parties, federations, alliances, and groupings of electors to present electoral lists.
6 February: Publication of submitted electoral lists in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
9 February: Deadline for non-resident citizens (electors residing abroad (CERA) and citizens temporarily absent from Spain) to apply for voting.
11 February: Official proclamation of validly submitted electoral lists.
12 February: Publication of proclaimed electoral lists in the BOE.
13 February: Deadline for the selection of polling station members by sortition.
21 February: Deadline for the appointment of non-judicial members to provincial and zone electoral commissions.
22 February: Official start of electoral campaigning.
28 February: Deadline to apply for postal voting.
4 March: Start of legal ban on electoral opinion polling publication; deadline for CERA citizens to vote by mail.
5 March: Deadline for postal and temporarily absent voting.
7 March: Last day of electoral campaigning; deadline for CERA voting.
8 March: Official election silence ("reflection day").
9 March: 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.
12 March: Start of general vote counting, including CERA votes.
15 March: Deadline for the general vote counting.
24 March: Deadline for the proclamation of elected members.
3 April: Deadline for the reconvening of parliament (date determined by the election decree, which for the 2008 election was set for 1 April).
3 May: Deadline for the publication of definitive election results in the BOE.

Campaign

Party slogans

Party or alliance	Original slogan	English translation	Ref.
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		PSOE	« Motivos para creer »{{efn	name="PSOESlogan"	Under this generic slogan, the party launched another thirteen interchangeable expressions:	"Reasons to believe"
People's Party (Spain)}}"		PP	« Con cabeza y corazón »	"With brain and heart"
Convergence and Union}}"		CiU	« El teu vot farà respectar Catalunya »	"Your vote will make Catalonia to be respected"
Republican Left of Catalonia}}"		esquerra	« Objectiu: un país de primera »	"Goal: A first class country"
Basque Nationalist Party}}"		EAJ/PNV	« Euskadin bizi naiz ni, zu, non bizi zara? »
« Yo vivo en Euskadi, tú ¿dónde vives? »	"I live in the Basque Country, where do you live?"
United Left (Spain)}}"		IU	« LlamazarES + izquierda »	"LlamazarES (is) more left"
Agreement of Nationalist Unity}}"		CC–PNC	« Habla canario, ponte en tu sitio »	"Speak, Canarian, claim your place"
Galician Nationalist Bloc}}"		BNG	« Contigo, Galiza decide »	"With you, Galicia decides"
Chunta Aragonesista}}"		CHA	« Aragón con más fuerza »	"Aragon, with more strength"
Eusko Alkartasuna}}"		EA	« Herriaren ahotsa »
« La voz del pueblo »	"The voice of the people"
Nafarroa Bai}}"		NaBai	« Moogi, moogi. Mugi gaitezen, mugi dezagun »
« Movámonos, movámoslo »	"Let's move us, let's move it"
Union, Progress and Democracy}}"		UPyD	« Lo que nos une »	"What unites us"

Although the official electoral campaign period in Spain only lasts for the 15 days before the election, (with the exception of the day just before the election), many parties, especially the PP and PSOE, start their "pre-campaigns" months in advance, often before having finalised their electoral lists.

The first phase campaign was done under the slogan "Con Z de Zapatero" (With Z of Zapatero), a joke based on the Prime Minister and socialist candidate's habit of tending to pronounce words ending with D as if they ended with Z. The campaign was linked to terms like equality (Igualdad-Igualdaz) or solidarity (Solidaridad-Solidaridaz), emphasizing the policies carried out by the current government. The second phase was done under the slogan "La Mirada Positiva" (The Positive outlook), emphasising the future government platform, and "Vota con todas tus fuerzas" (Vote with all of your strength), aiming to mobilize the indecisive or potentially abstaining voters. Another common slogan through all the campaign was "Motivos para creer" (Reasons to believe in).

For the pre-campaign the PP used the slogan "Con Rajoy es Posible" (With Rajoy it's Possible). Usually emphasizing PP's campaign proposals, such as "Llegar a fin de mes, Con Rajoy es Posible" (Making ends meet, With Rajoy it's Possible). IU accused PP of copying its slogan from the last municipal elections

IU chose the pre-campaign slogan "LlamazarES + Más Izquierda" (LlamazarES (is) More Left), calling attention to their position as the third national party.

Events and issues

The economy became a major campaign issue due to a number of factors:

A slowing down in the housing market, with prices even beginning to fall in some areas.
Sharp increases in prices of some basic commodities.
Global instability as a result of market uncertainty.
A rise in unemployment.

The sudden emergence of the economy as a political issue came after several years of steady economic growth, and led some observers to suggest that maybe the government would have benefitted from calling an earlier election. In addition to those factors both the PP and the PSOE made competing proposals on taxation.

Election debates

Date	Organisers	Moderator(s)	Present Surrogate Not invited Invited Absent invitee	PSOE	PP	IU	CiU	ERC	PNV	CC
21 February	Antena 3	Matías Prats			NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	24.4%
(4,784,000)	date=21 February 2008	url=https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/352474/0/solbes/pizarro/debate/	title=Pizarro habla de crisis económica profunda y Solbes le tacha de demagogo y catastrofista	language=es	newspaper=20 minutos	access-date=23 January 2019}}
25 February	TV Academy	Manuel Campo Vidal			NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	59.1%
(13,043,000)	date=14 December 2015	url=https://elpais.com/politica/2015/11/26/actualidad/1448533075_331524.html	title=Cinco debates cara a cara en once elecciones generales	language=es	newspaper=El País	access-date=23 January 2019}}
28 February	TVE	Ana Blanco	S
Jáuregui	S
G. Pons	S
Muñoz	S
Jané			S
Bañuelos	11.1%
(1,759,000)
3 March	TV Academy	Olga Viza			NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	56.3%
(11,952,000)	date=4 March 2008	url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/03/04/eleccionesgenerales/1204614496.html	title=Casi 12 millones de personas siguieron el segundo debate electoral Zapatero-Rajoy	language=es	newspaper=El Mundo	access-date=23 January 2019}}
5 March	TVE
(59 segundos)	Ana Pastor	S
Jáuregui	S
G. Pons	S
Nieto	S
Xuclà	S
Cerdà			10.4%
(1,774,000)

;Opinion polls

Debate	Polling firm/Commissioner	PSOE	PP	Tie	None	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}};"
21 February	TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3		47.4	37.0	–	15.6	–
25 February	Sigma Dos/El Mundo		45.5	42.0	–	–	12.5
Metroscopia/El País		46.0	42.0	12.0	–	–
Opina/Cuatro		45.4	33.4	8.2	–	13.0
Invymark/laSexta		45.7	30.1	24.1	–	–
TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3		45.4	39.3	–	15.3	–
3 March	Sigma Dos/El Mundo		49.0	40.2	–	–	10.8
Metroscopia/El País		53.0	38.0	9.0	–	–
Opina/Cuatro		50.8	29.0	13.4	–	6.8
Invymark/laSexta		49.2	29.8	21.0	–	–
CIS		53.3	21.5	6.9	15.8	2.5

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2008 Spanish general election

Voter turnout

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

Region	Time	14:00	18:00	20:00	2004	2008	+/–	2004	2008
Andalusia	40.99%	39.06%	−1.93	63.16%	59.51%	−3.65	75.96%	73.79%	−2.17
Aragon	42.56%	42.40%	−0.16	62.78%	61.39%	−1.39	78.01%	76.79%	−1.22
Asturias	38.50%	38.39%	−0.11	60.41%	59.55%	−0.86	74.40%	73.82%	−0.58
Balearic Islands	40.86%	39.18%	−1.68	58.28%	56.07%	−2.21	69.45%	68.19%	−1.26
Basque Country	42.17%	37.30%	−4.87	61.99%	53.42%	−8.57	75.94%	64.90%	−11.04
Canary Islands	30.29%	30.65%	+0.36	50.44%	49.86%	−0.58	67.69%	67.61%	−0.08
Cantabria	43.67%	42.66%	−1.01	66.27%	65.17%	−1.10	79.20%	78.35%	−0.85
Castile and León	42.06%	41.83%	−0.23	65.43%	63.94%	−1.49	80.00%	79.60%	−0.40
Castilla–La Mancha	42.99%	42.65%	−0.34	66.41%	65.30%	−1.11	80.65%	80.64%	−0.01
Catalonia	42.21%	39.31%	−2.90	62.32%	57.45%	−4.87	76.96%	71.22%	−5.74
Extremadura	45.45%	43.82%	−1.63	66.68%	63.76%	−2.92	80.87%	79.68%	−1.19
Galicia	34.68%	35.60%	+0.92	61.48%	60.73%	−0.75	76.09%	75.46%	−0.63
La Rioja	46.75%	45.81%	−0.94	66.24%	65.08%	−1.16	80.77%	80.77%	±0.00
Madrid	38.84%	41.67%	+2.83	63.78%	65.18%	+1.40	80.74%	80.88%	+0.14
Murcia	44.00%	45.74%	+1.74	66.36%	67.46%	+1.10	78.05%	80.47%	+2.42
Navarre	41.24%	42.72%	+1.48	62.83%	59.92%	−2.91	77.59%	73.25%	−4.34
Valencian Community	46.49%	47.57%	+1.08	66.46%	66.74%	+0.28	78.82%	79.66%	+0.84
Ceuta	34.39%	31.87%	−2.52	51.47%	49.81%	−1.66	65.13%	64.75%	−0.38
Melilla	29.56%	31.08%	+1.52	45.98%	47.93%	+1.95	58.56%	66.59%	+8.03
Total	41.02%	40.46%	−0.56	63.02%	60.95%	−2.07	77.26%	75.35%	−1.91
Sources

Results

Congress of Deputies

Parties and alliances	Popular vote	Seats	Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	11,289,335	43.87	+1.28	169	+5
People's Party (Spain)}}"		People's Party (PP)	10,278,010	39.94	+2.23	154	+6
United Left (Spain)}}"		United Left (IU)	969,946	3.77	−1.19	2	−3
Convergence and Union}}"		Convergence and Union (CiU)	779,425	3.03	−0.20	10	±0
Basque Nationalist Party}}"		Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	306,128	1.19	−0.44	6	−1
Union, Progress and Democracy}}"		Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	306,079	1.19	New	1	+1
Republican Left of Catalonia}}"		Republican Left of Catalonia (esquerra)	298,139	1.16	−1.36	3	−5
Galician Nationalist Bloc}}"		Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)	212,543	0.83	+0.02	2	±0
Agreement of Nationalist Unity}}"		Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party (CC–PNC)1	174,629	0.68	−0.25	2	−1
Andalusian Coalition}}"		Andalusian Coalition (CA)2	68,679	0.27	−0.52	0	±0
Nafarroa Bai}}"		Navarre Yes (NaBai)	62,398	0.24	±0.00	1	±0
Eusko Alkartasuna}}"		Basque Solidarity (EA)	50,371	0.20	−0.11	0	−1
Confederation of the Greens}}"		The Greens (Verdes)	49,355	0.19	−0.01	0	±0
The Greens (Verdes)	41,531	0.16	+0.10	0	±0
The Greens (EV–LV)3	7,824	0.03	−0.11	0	±0
Citizens (Spanish political party)}}"		Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's)	46,313	0.18	New	0	±0
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals}}"		Anti-Bullfighting Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)	44,795	0.17	New	0	±0
Aragonese Party}}"		Aragonese Party (PAR)	40,054	0.16	+0.02	0	±0
Chunta Aragonesista}}"		Aragonese Union (CHA)	38,202	0.15	−0.21	0	−1
New Canaries}}"		New Canaries–Canarian Centre (NC–CCN)	38,024	0.15	New	0	±0
The Greens–Green Group}}"		The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV)	30,840	0.12	+0.07	0	±0
Aralar (Basque political party)}}"		Aralar (Aralar)	29,989	0.12	−0.03	0	±0
Valencian Nationalist Bloc}}"		Bloc–Initiative–Greens (Bloc–IdPV–EVEE)	29,760	0.12	−0.04	0	±0
Unity for the Isles}}"		Unity for the Isles (UIB)4	25,454	0.10	−0.10	0	±0
For a Fairer World}}"		For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	23,318	0.09	New	0	±0
The Greens of Europe (Spain)}}"		The Greens of Europe (LVdE)5	20,419	0.08	±0.00	0	±0
Social Democratic Party (Spain)}}"		Social Democratic Party (PSD)	20,126	0.08	New	0	±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain}}"		Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	20,030	0.08	+0.03	0	±0
Citizens for Blank Votes}}"		Citizens for Blank Votes (CenB)	14,193	0.06	−0.10	0	±0
Falange Española de las JONS (1976)}}"		Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	14,023	0.05	±0.00	0	±0
National Democracy (Spain)}}"		National Democracy (DN)	12,836	0.05	−0.01	0	±0
The Greens–The Ecologist Alternative}}"		The Greens–The Ecologist Alternative (EV–AE)	12,561	0.05	−0.07	0	±0
Family and Life Party}}"		Family and Life Party (PFyV)	9,882	0.04	−0.02	0	±0
Humanist Party (Spain)}}"		Humanist Party (PH)	9,056	0.04	−0.04	0	±0
Party of Almería}}"		Party of Almería (PdeAL)	8,451	0.03	New	0	±0
Cannabis Party (Spain)}}"		Navarrese Cannabis Representation (RCN/NOK)	7,769	0.03	−0.04	0	±0
Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party}}"		Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI)	7,386	0.03	±0.00	0	±0
Spanish Alternative}}"		Spanish Alternative (AES)	7,300	0.03	New	0	±0
Spain 2000}}"		Spain 2000 (E–2000)	6,906	0.03	+0.01	0	±0
Catalan Republican Party}}"		Catalan Republican Party (RC)	6,746	0.03	New	0	±0
Valencian Coalition}}"		Valencian Coalition (CVa)	5,424	0.02	New	0	±0
Blank Seats}}"		Unsubmissive Seats–Alternative of Discontented Democrats (Ei–ADD)	5,035	0.02	+0.01	0	±0
Commoners' Land}}"		Commoners' Land (TC)	4,796	0.02	−0.01	0	±0
Falange Auténtica}}"		Authentic Phalanx (FA)	4,607	0.02	±0.00	0	±0
Leonese People's Union}}"		Leonese People's Union (UPL)	4,509	0.02	−0.03	0	±0
Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management}}"		Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn)	3,885	0.02	New	0	±0
Engine and Sports Alternative}}"		Engine and Sports Alternative (AMD)	3,829	0.01	New	0	±0
Pensioners in Action Party}}"		Pensioners in Action Party (PDLPEA)	3,050	0.01	New	0	±0
Republican Left (Spain, 1977)}}"		Republican Left (IR)	2,899	0.01	−0.06	0	±0
Riojan Party}}"		Riojan Party (PR)	2,837	0.01	New	0	±0
National Alliance (Spain)}}"		National Alliance (AN)	2,737	0.01	+0.01	0	±0
	Alternative in Blank (ABLA)	2,460	0.01	New	0	±0
United Extremadura}}"		United Extremadura (EU)	2,346	0.01	−0.01	0	±0
The Greens–Green Alternative}}"		The Greens–Green Alternative (EV–AV)	2,028	0.01	±0.00	0	±0
Carlist Party (1970)}}"		Carlist Party (PC)	1,956	0.01	±0.00	0	±0
	Party for Catalonia (PxCat)	1,919	0.01	New	0	±0
Non-Smokers' Party (Spain)}}"		Non-Smokers' Party (PNF)	1,616	0.01	New	0	±0
Union for Leganés}}"		Union for Leganés (ULEG)	1,566	0.01	New	0	±0
Spanish Front}}"		Spanish Front (Frente)	1,539	0.01	New	0	±0
Liberal Democratic Centre}}"		Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL)	1,503	0.01	New	0	±0
Valencian Nationalist Option}}"		Valencian Nationalist Option (ONV)	1,490	0.01	New	0	±0
Democratic and Social Centre (Spain)}}"		Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	1,362	0.01	−0.12	0	±0
Andecha Astur}}"		Andecha Astur (AA)	1,299	0.01	±0.00	0	±0
Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country}}"		Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL)	1,278	0.00	−0.01	0	±0
Spanish Democratic Centre}}"		Spanish Democratic Centre (CDEs)	1,047	0.00	New	0	±0
Canarian Nationalist Alternative}}"		Canarian Nationalist Alternative (ANC)	1,017	0.00	New	0	±0
Civil Liberties Party}}"		Civil Liberties Party (PLCI)	888	0.00	New	0	±0
Unidá}}"		Unity (Unidá)	848	0.00	New	0	±0
Liberal Party of State Employment and Housing}}"		Liberal Party of State Employment and Housing (PLEVE)	786	0.00	New	0	±0
Internationalist Struggle}}"		Internationalist Struggle (LI (LIT–CI))	722	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Unity of the People}}"		Unity of the People (UP)	699	0.00	New	0	±0
	For the Valencian Republic (plRV)	645	0.00	New	0	±0
Centrist Party (Spain)}}"		Centrist Party (PCTR)	509	0.00	New	0	±0
Movement for the Unity of the Canarian People}}"		Movement for the Unity of the Canarian People (MUPC)	497	0.00	New	0	±0
Aragon United Citizens Party}}"		Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA)	475	0.00	New	0	±0
Citizens' Union–Independent Progressives of Canaries}}"		Citizens' Union–Independent Progressives of Canaries (UC–PIC)	464	0.00	New	0	±0
Kingdom of Valencia Identity}}"		Kingdom of Valencia Identity (IRV)	449	0.00	−0.01	0	±0
Regionalist Unity of Castile and León}}"		Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL)	423	0.00	New	0	±0
State of Spain Unionist Party}}"		State of Spain Unionist Party (PUEDE)	414	0.00	New	0	±0
Party of El Bierzo}}"		People of El Bierzo (PB–UB)	385	0.00	New	0	±0
Islander Party of the Balearic Islands}}"		Islander Party of the Balearic Islands (PIIB)	360	0.00	New	0	±0
Christian Positivist Party (Spain)}}"		Christian Positivist Party (PPCr)	300	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Carlist Traditionalist Communion}}"		Carlist Traditionalist Communion (CTC)	218	0.00	New	0	±0
Asturian Democratic Convergence}}"		Asturian Democratic Convergence (CDAS)	216	0.00	New	0	±0
Merindades of Castile Initiative}}"		Merindades of Castile Initiative (IMC)	202	0.00	New	0	±0
Castilian Unity}}"		Castilian Unity (UdCa)	198	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
European Ibero-American Alliance Party}}"		European Ibero-American Alliance Party (PAIE)	174	0.00	New	0	±0
Workers for Democracy Coalition}}"		Workers for Democracy Coalition (TD)	159	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Regionalist Party of Guadalajara}}"		Regionalist Party of Guadalajara (PRGU)	152	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Balearic Alliance}}"		Balearic Alliance (ABA)	145	0.00	New	0	±0
Electronic Voting Assembly}}"		Electronic Voting Assembly (AVE)	144	0.00	New	0	±0
Liberal Centrist Union (Spain)}}"		Liberal Centrist Union (UCL)	124	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Alliance for Burgos}}"		Alliance for Burgos (AxB)	123	0.00	New	0	±0
Burgalese Citizen Initiative}}"		Burgalese Citizen Initiative (ICBur)	109	0.00	New	0	±0
	We Are (N Som)	105	0.00	New	0	±0
Independents for Cuenca}}"		Independents for Cuenca (ixC)	100	0.00	New	0	±0
	Citizens' Group (AGRUCI)	79	0.00	New	0	±0
Falangist Movement of Spain}}"		Falangist Movement of Spain (MFE)	68	0.00	New	0	±0
	Aitch Party (PHache)	0	0.00	New	0	±0
Blank ballots	286,182	1.11	−0.47
Total	25,734,863		350	±0
Valid votes	25,734,863	99.36	+0.37
Invalid votes	165,576	0.64	−0.37
Votes cast / turnout	25,900,439	73.85	−1.81
Abstentions	9,172,740	26.15	+1.81
Registered voters	35,073,179
Sources
{{hidden	ta1=left	title=Footnotes:	content={{ubl	1 Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party results are compared to the combined totals of Canarian Coalition and the Canarian Nationalist Party in the 2004 election.	2 Andalusian Coalition results are compared to the combined totals of Andalusian Party and Socialist Party of Andalusia in the 2004 election.	3 The Greens results are compared to The Eco-pacifist Greens totals in the 2004 election.	4 Unity for the Isles results are compared to the combined totals of Progressives for the Balearic Islands and Majorcan Union in the 2004 election.	5 The Greens of Europe results are compared to The Greens of the Community of Madrid totals in the 2004 election.}}}}

Senate

Parties and alliances	Popular vote	Seats	Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
People's Party (Spain)}}"		People's Party (PP)	28,039,592	40.20	+2.28	101	−1
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}"		Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)1	25,965,221	37.22	+0.74	86	+5
Catalan Agreement of Progress}}"		Catalan Agreement of Progress (PSC–ERC–ICV–EUiA)	5,280,590	7.57	−1.09	12	±0
Convergence and Union}}"		Convergence and Union (CiU)	2,437,338	3.49	−0.31	4	±0
United Left (Spain)}}"		United Left (IU)2	2,015,249	2.89	−1.17	0	±0
Basque Nationalist Party}}"		Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	903,072	1.29	−0.45	2	−4
Galician Nationalist Bloc}}"		Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)	726,317	1.04	−0.03	0	±0
Union, Progress and Democracy}}"		Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	691,695	0.99	New	0	±0
Agreement of Nationalist Unity}}"		Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party (CC–PNC)3	302,729	0.43	−0.16	1	−2
Andalusian Coalition}}"		Andalusian Coalition (CA)4	229,917	0.33	−0.47	0	±0
Citizens (Spanish political party)}}"		Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's)	200,242	0.29	New	0	±0
Nafarroa Bai}}"		Navarre Yes (NaBai)	183,873	0.26	+0.01	0	±0
Confederation of the Greens}}"		The Greens (Verdes)	181,253	0.26	+0.09	0	±0
The Greens (Verdes)	162,124	0.23	+0.15	0	±0
The Greens (EV–LV)5	19,129	0.03	−0.06	0	±0
Eusko Alkartasuna}}"		Basque Solidarity (EA)	143,294	0.21	−0.10	0	±0
For a Fairer World}}"		For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	133,678	0.19	New	0	±0
Aragonese Party}}"		Aragonese Party (PAR)	132,738	0.19	+0.01	0	±0
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals}}"		Anti-Bullfighting Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)	132,171	0.19	+0.10	0	±0
The Greens–Green Group}}"		The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV)	112,561	0.16	+0.13	0	±0
Chunta Aragonesista}}"		Aragonese Union (CHA)	107,282	0.15	−0.17	0	±0
Valencian Nationalist Bloc}}"		Bloc–Initiative–Greens (Bloc–IdPV–EVEE)	92,588	0.13	−0.06	0	±0
Aralar (Basque political party)}}"		Aralar (Aralar)	75,476	0.11	−0.02	0	±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain}}"		Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	66,163	0.10	+0.03	0	±0
New Canaries}}"		New Canaries–Canarian Centre (NC–CCN)	65,248	0.09	New	0	±0
The Greens–The Ecologist Alternative}}"		The Greens–The Ecologist Alternative (EV–AE)	58,725	0.08	−0.20	0	±0
The Greens of Europe (Spain)}}"		The Greens of Europe (LVdE)6	50,067	0.07	+0.03	0	±0
Unity for the Isles}}"		Unity for the Isles (UIB)7	45,972	0.07	−0.03	0	±0
Catalan Republican Party}}"		Catalan Republican Party (RC)	44,394	0.06	New	0	±0
Carlist Traditionalist Communion}}"		Carlist Traditionalist Communion (CTC)	44,050	0.06	+0.03	0	±0
Falange Española de las JONS (1976)}}"		Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	42,112	0.06	±0.00	0	±0
Family and Life Party}}"		Family and Life Party (PFyV)	41,599	0.06	+0.01	0	±0
Humanist Party (Spain)}}"		Humanist Party (PH)	38,437	0.06	−0.06	0	±0
The Greens–Green Alternative}}"		The Greens–Green Alternative (EV–AV)	33,776	0.05	+0.04	0	±0
Social Democratic Party (Spain)}}"		Social Democratic Party (PSD)	31,703	0.05	New	0	±0
Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party}}"		Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI)	28,197	0.04	−0.04	0	±0
Republican Left of the Valencian Country}}"		Republican Left of the Valencian Country (esquerra–PV)	28,089	0.04	+0.01	0	±0
Party of Almería}}"		Party of Almería (PdeAL)	27,651	0.04	New	0	±0
PSOE–Eivissa pel Canvi}}"		PSOE–Ibiza for Change (PSOE–ExC)8	26,513	0.04	+0.01	1	+1
National Democracy (Spain)}}"		National Democracy (DN)	25,140	0.04	+0.01	0	±0
Carlist Party (1970)}}"		Carlist Party (PC)	23,685	0.03	+0.02	0	±0
Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management}}"		Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn)	23,531	0.03	New	0	±0
Pensioners in Action Party}}"		Pensioners in Action Party (PDLPEA)	22,141	0.03	New	0	±0
Commoners' Land}}"		Commoners' Land (TC)	21,995	0.03	−0.03	0	±0
Spanish Alternative}}"		Spanish Alternative (AES)	21,570	0.03	New	0	±0
Leonese People's Union}}"		Leonese People's Union (UPL)	21,227	0.03	−0.05	0	±0
Pacte Progressista}}"		PSOE–Left of Menorca–PSM–Greens (PSOE–EU–PSM–Verds)9	21,023	0.03	±0.00	1	+1
Nation and Revolution}}"		Nation and Revolution (NyR)	19,044	0.03	New	0	±0
Republican Left (Spain, 1977)}}"		Republican Left (IR)	19,005	0.03	−0.01	0	±0
Spain 2000}}"		Spain 2000 (E–2000)	17,897	0.03	+0.01	0	±0
United Extremadura}}"		United Extremadura (EU)	15,110	0.02	−0.01	0	±0
National Alliance (Spain)}}"		National Alliance (AN)	13,113	0.02	+0.02	0	±0
Blank Seats}}"		Unsubmissive Seats–Alternative of Discontented Democrats (Ei–ADD)	12,149	0.02	+0.01	0	±0
	Alternative in Blank (ABLA)	11,974	0.02	New	0	±0
Riojan Party}}"		Riojan Party (PR)	10,482	0.02	New	0	±0
Spanish Front}}"		Spanish Front (Frente)	10,418	0.01	New	0	±0
Valencian Coalition}}"		Valencian Coalition (CVa)	10,330	0.01	New	0	±0
Liberal Democratic Centre}}"		Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL)	10,057	0.01	New	0	±0
Engine and Sports Alternative}}"		Engine and Sports Alternative (AMD)	9,438	0.01	New	0	±0
Cannabis Party (Spain)}}"		Navarrese Cannabis Representation (RCN/NOK)	8,234	0.01	−0.07	0	±0
Internationalist Struggle}}"		Internationalist Struggle (LI (LIT–CI))	8,224	0.01	−0.01	0	±0
Valencian Nationalist Option}}"		Valencian Nationalist Option (ONV)	7,159	0.01	New	0	±0
Non-Smokers' Party (Spain)}}"		Non-Smokers' Party (PNF)	7,000	0.01	New	0	±0
	Party for Catalonia (PxCat)	6,805	0.01	New	0	±0
Spanish Catholic Movement}}"		Spanish Catholic Movement (MCE)	6,234	0.01	New	0	±0
Falange Auténtica}}"		Authentic Phalanx (FA)	5,213	0.01	−0.02	0	±0
	Commoners (comuner@s)	5,149	0.01	New	0	±0
Canarian Nationalist Alternative}}"		Canarian Nationalist Alternative (ANC)	4,988	0.01	New	0	±0
Andecha Astur}}"		Andecha Astur (AA)	4,964	0.01	±0.00	0	±0
Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country}}"		Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL)	4,851	0.01	±0.00	0	±0
Spanish Democratic Centre}}"		Spanish Democratic Centre (CDEs)	4,522	0.01	New	0	±0
	Citizen Union for Democracy (UCiD)	3,999	0.01	New	0	±0
Natural Culture}}"		Natural Culture (CN)	3,687	0.01	+0.01	0	±0
Union for Leganés}}"		Union for Leganés (ULEG)	3,096	0.00	New	0	±0
	Yuntar Action (AY)	3,000	0.00	−0.10	0	±0
Unidá}}"		Unity (Unidá)	2,962	0.00	New	0	±0
	Citizens' Group (AGRUCI)	2,806	0.00	New	0	±0
Regionalist Unity of Castile and León}}"		Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL)	2,563	0.00	New	0	±0
	The Republic (La República)	2,517	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Citizens for Blank Votes}}"		Citizens for Blank Votes (CenB)	2,507	0.00	−0.05	0	±0
Unity of the People}}"		Unity of the People (UP)	2,350	0.00	New	0	±0
	Action for Justice (AXJ)	2,223	0.00	New	0	±0
Kingdom of Valencia Identity}}"		Kingdom of Valencia Identity (IRV)	2,087	0.00	−0.01	0	±0
Aragon United Citizens Party}}"		Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA)	1,615	0.00	New	0	±0
	For the Valencian Republic (plRV)	1,485	0.00	New	0	±0
Party of El Bierzo}}"		People of El Bierzo (PB–UB)	1,417	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Socialist Party of the People of Ceuta}}"		Socialist Party of the People of Ceuta (PSPC)	1,323	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Merindades of Castile Initiative}}"		Merindades of Castile Initiative (IMC)	1,311	0.00	New	0	±0
Electronic Voting Assembly}}"		Electronic Voting Assembly (AVE)	1,273	0.00	New	0	±0
	Cantabrian Party (Cántabro)	1,189	0.00	New	0	±0
Independent Alternative of Galicia}}"		Independent Alternative of Galicia (AIdG)	1,150	0.00	New	0	±0
Castilian Unity}}"		Castilian Unity (UdCa)	942	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Aragonese Land}}"		Aragonese Land (TA)	928	0.00	New	0	±0
Asturian Democratic Convergence}}"		Asturian Democratic Convergence (CDAS)	925	0.00	New	0	±0
25 May Citizens' Alternative}}"		25 May Citizens' Alternative (AC25M)	773	0.00	−0.01	0	±0
Civil Liberties Party}}"		Civil Liberties Party (PLCI)	712	0.00	New	0	±0
Islander Party of the Balearic Islands}}"		Islander Party of the Balearic Islands (PIIB)	683	0.00	New	0	±0
Regionalist Party of Guadalajara}}"		Regionalist Party of Guadalajara (PRGU)	656	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Movement for the Unity of the Canarian People}}"		Movement for the Unity of the Canarian People (MUPC)	639	0.00	New	0	±0
Christian Positivist Party (Spain)}}"		Christian Positivist Party (PPCr)	638	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Galician Identity}}"		Galician Identity (IG)	590	0.00	New	0	±0
Citizens' Union–Independent Progressives of Canaries}}"		Citizens' Union–Independent Progressives of Canaries (UC–PIC)	494	0.00	New	0	±0
Progress Party of Castile and León Cities}}"		Progress Party of Castile and León Cities (PPCCAL)	484	0.00	New	0	±0
	Spanish Democratic Front (FDE)	459	0.00	New	0	±0
Alternative Island}}"		Alternative Island (ISAL)	449	0.00	New	0	±0
Workers for Democracy Coalition}}"		Workers for Democracy Coalition (TD)	403	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
	Republican Castile (CARE)	400	0.00	New	0	±0
Burgalese Citizen Initiative}}"		Burgalese Citizen Initiative (ICBur)	379	0.00	New	0	±0
Democratic and Social Centre (Spain)}}"		Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	341	0.00	−0.13	0	±0
Independents for Cuenca}}"		Independents for Cuenca (ixC)	309	0.00	New	0	±0
Liberal Centrist Union (Spain)}}"		Liberal Centrist Union (UCL)	235	0.00	±0.00	0	±0
Falangist Movement of Spain}}"		Falangist Movement of Spain (MFE)	218	0.00	New	0	±0
	Justice and Development Party of Spain (PJDE)	105	0.00	New	0	±0
Blank ballots	524,750	2.06	−0.61
Total	69,753,316		208	±0
Valid votes	25,527,940	97.71	+0.62
Invalid votes	597,299	2.29	−0.62
Votes cast / turnout	26,125,239	74.49	−1.26
Abstentions	8,947,940	25.51	+1.26
Registered voters	35,073,179
Sources
{{hidden	ta1=left	title=Footnotes:	content={{ubl	1 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party results are compared to Spanish Socialist Workers' Party totals in the 2004 election, not including results in Fuerteventura and Menorca.	2 United Left results are compared to United Left totals in the 2004 election, not including results in Menorca.	3 Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party results are compared to the combined totals of Canarian Coalition and the Canarian Nationalist Party in the 2004 election.	4 Andalusian Coalition results are compared to the combined totals of Andalusian Party and Socialist Party of Andalusia in the 2004 election.	5 The Greens results are compared to The Eco-pacifist Greens totals in the 2004 election.	6 The Greens of Europe results are compared to The Greens of the Community of Madrid totals in the 2004 election.	7 Unity for the Isles results are compared to the combined totals of Progressives for the Balearic Islands and Majorcan Union in Majorca in the 2004 election.

Maps

File:2008 Spanish general election map.svg|Election results by constituency (Congress). File:2008 Spanish election - Results.svg|Vote winner strength by constituency (Congress). File:2008 Spanish election - AC results.svg|Vote winner strength by autonomous community (Congress).

Aftermath

Government formation

Ballot →	9 April 2008	11 April 2008	Required majority →
176 out of 350	Simple
{{Collapsible list	title = Yes	• PSOE (169) (168 on 9 Apr)
{{Collapsible list	title = No	• PP (154)	• ERC (3)	• UPyD (1)
{{Collapsible list	title = Abstentions	• CiU (10)	• PNV (6)	• IU–ICV (2)
{{Collapsible list	title = Abstentees	• PSOE (1) (on 9 Apr)
Sources

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
"Constitución española. Título III. De las Cortes Generales. Sinopsis artículo 66". [[Congress of Deputies]].
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
Gallagher, Michael. (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". [[Trinity College Dublin]].
(14 January 2008). "Real Decreto 33/2008, de 14 de enero, de disolución del Congreso de los Diputados y del Senado y de convocatoria de elecciones".
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. LOREG. 1985
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
{{harvp. Constitution. 1978
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(15 December 2007). "CHA aprueba la lista de los candidatos para las próximas elecciones generales". El Periódico de Aragón.
(27 January 2008). "Nekane Alzelai abrirá la lista guipuzcoana de EA tras negarse Galdos". El País.
(24 January 2008). "Nafarroa Bai elabora listas paritarias al Congreso y al Senado con candidatos independientes". Europa Press.
(9 January 2008). "Maite Arqué dejará la alcaldía de Badalona tras las elecciones de marzo". 20 minutos.
(26 October 2007). "El partido de Rosa Díez rechaza ir en coalición con Ciudadanos". El País.
(27 January 2008). "Díez se presenta como garante de la "regeneración democrática"". El País.
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(22 January 2008). "9-M.- Iniciativa del Poble Valencià concurrirá con El Bloc y Els Verds/EE e Isaura Navarro se dará de baja de EUPV". Europa Press.
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(22 February 2008). "Duran Lleida assegura que el vot a CiU servirà per "fer respectar Catalunya"". CCMA.
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(13 January 2008). ""Objectiu: un país de primera", eslògan d'ERC per a la campanya electoral". CCMA.
(14 January 2008). "'Objetivo: un país de primera', lema de la campaña de ERC". El País.
(1 February 2008). "El PNV ve confluencia de intereses entre "quien ilegaliza y quien es ilegalizado"". Diario Vasco.
(20 February 2008). "PNV y PP iniciarán su campaña en Vitoria, PSE y EB en Bilbao, EA en Zarautz y Aralar en San Sebastián". Europa Press.
(11 February 2008). "IU concurre el 9M con el lema 'LlamazarES + izquierda' y 'contrato social'". El Mundo.
(14 February 2008). "CC apuesta por el "puerta a puerta" y apela al voto del nacionalismo sentimental". eldia.es.
(12 February 2008). "9-M.- 'Contigo, Galiza decide' será el lema del BNG, que hará una campaña didáctica frente a la "demagogia" de PSOE y PP". Europa Press.
(18 February 2008). "La campaña de CHA apelará al voto aragonesista para no perder la "representación de Aragón" en el Congreso". Europa Press.
(20 February 2008). "Nafarroa Bai organiza una campaña bidireccional en la que invita al "movimiento"". soitu.es.
(12 February 2008). "'Lo que nos une', lema de UPyD para la campaña". El Mundo.
[http://www.publico.es/espana/020146/pp/copia/iu/lema/ultima/campana/electoral El PP copia el Lema de IU en su Ultima Campaña] {{webarchive. link. (November 25, 2007 , Público, 23/11/2007)
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(21 February 2008). "Pizarro habla de crisis económica profunda y Solbes le tacha de demagogo y catastrofista". 20 minutos.
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(31 July 2008). "Resolución de 23 de julio de 2008, de la Presidencia de la Junta Electoral Central, de corrección de errores en los resultados de las elecciones al Congreso de los Diputados incluidos en el Acuerdo de 7 de abril de 2008, de la Junta Electoral Central, por el que se ordena la publicación del resumen de los resultados de las elecciones al Congreso de los Diputados y al Senado convocadas por Real Decreto 33/2008, de 14 de enero, y celebradas el 9 de marzo de 2008". [[Official State Gazette]].
(23 May 2008). "Resolución de 19 de mayo de 2008, de la Presidencia de la Junta Electoral Central, de corrección de errores en los resultados de las elecciones al Senado incluidos en el Acuerdo de 7 de abril de 2008, de la Junta Electoral Central, por el que se ordena la publicación del resumen de los resultados de las elecciones al Congreso de los Diputados y al Senado convocadas por Real Decreto 33/2008, de 14 de enero, y celebradas el 9 de marzo de 2008, conforme a las actas de escrutinio general y de proclamación de electos remitidas por las distintas Juntas Electorales Provinciales y por las Juntas Electorales de Ceuta y Melilla". [[Official State Gazette]].
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Lozano, Carles. "Congreso de los Diputados: Votaciones más importantes".

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