Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced the dissolution of the Cortes Generales and the calling of early general elections for Sunday, November 29, 2026, bringing the current legislative period to an early end.
Sánchez made the announcement on October 5 during an institutional statement in which he reviewed his government’s record, addressed the political difficulties faced during the legislature and outlined his case for seeking a renewed mandate from voters.
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The prime minister said that, after informing the Head of State, he had decided to convene an extraordinary Council of Ministers to formally dissolve Parliament and call the election in accordance with Spain’s electoral timetable.
In his address, Sánchez highlighted his government’s policies on employment, social programmes, housing, energy transition, European funds and public services. He also acknowledged that challenges remain, particularly in areas including inequality, public services and access to housing.
The announcement comes after a period of political tension in Spain, with the government facing opposition from rival parliamentary parties over a range of policies and legislative initiatives. Sánchez used his speech to sharply criticise the opposition, accusing it of lacking what he described as “a sense of state” and referring to it as the worst opposition his government has faced. Those remarks form part of the prime minister’s political assessment and are not an independent characterization of the opposition.
Sánchez said the decision to call elections would allow Spanish voters to determine the country’s political direction at a time of significant economic, geopolitical and technological change.
The election will also take place against a wider European backdrop marked by economic pressures, international conflicts, energy challenges and the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Under Spain’s electoral framework, when the government uses the constitutionally established mechanism for an early dissolution, the decree dissolving the Cortes and calling new elections is published the following day.
The November 29 election will therefore determine the composition of Spain’s next Congress of Deputies and Senate and, subsequently, the political configuration from which the next government will emerge.
With the announcement, political parties now enter an electoral period in which they will present their programmes and compete for the support of Spanish voters. The formal election decree is expected to be published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) on October 6, completing the legal process for the dissolution and electo