Electoral system

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 few exclusive (yet limited in number) functions—such as its role in constitutional amendment—which were not subject to the Congress' override.^[1][2] Voting for 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.

For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to 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. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting.^[1][3] The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.^[4]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:^[5]

For the Senate, 208 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting system, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. 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—Majorca, 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.^[1][3]

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 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 legislature's term would expire 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 election date for the Cortes Generales on Sunday, 13 April 2008.^[3]

The prime minister had the prerogative 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.^[1] Barred this exception, there was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate. Still, as of 2024 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.^[6][7]

The Cortes Generales were officially dissolved on 15 January 2008 after the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOE, setting the election date for 9 March and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 1 April.^[5]

Party slogans

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.

PSOE

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).

PP

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^[50]

IU

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

Campaign 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.^[51] In addition to those factors both the PP and the PSOE made competing proposals on taxation.

Election debates

Opinion polls

More information Debate, Polling firm/Commissioner ...

Candidate viewed as "performing best" or "most convincing" in each debate

Debate	Polling firm/Commissioner	PSOE	PP	Tie	None	?
21 February	TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3[52]	47.4	37.0	–	15.6	–
25 February	Sigma Dos/El Mundo[59][60]	45.5	42.0	–	–	12.5
	Metroscopia/El País[61]	46.0	42.0	12.0	–	–
	Opina/Cuatro[62]	45.4	33.4	8.2	–	13.0
	Invymark/laSexta[62]	45.7	30.1	24.1	–	–
	TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3[63]	45.4	39.3	–	15.3	–
3 March	Sigma Dos/El Mundo[64]	49.0	40.2	–	–	10.8
	Metroscopia/El País[65]	53.0	38.0	9.0	–	–
	Opina/Cuatro[66]	50.8	29.0	13.4	–	6.8
	Invymark/laSexta[67]	49.2	29.8	21.0	–	–
	CIS[68]	53.3	21.5	6.9	15.8	2.5

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Congress of Deputies

Senate