Who chooses the prime minister?
Spain chooses its prime minister through a vote in the Congress of Deputies. After consulting representatives of the parties in parliament, the King proposes a candidate through the Speaker of Congress. The candidate presents a programme and asks MPs for their confidence. This is the investiture vote, or investidura in Spanish. Article 99 of the Spanish Constitution sets out the steps.
The party with the most seats still needs enough support in Congress. MPs from other parties can back a candidate or abstain. If Congress grants its confidence, the King appoints the candidate as prime minister.
Why do you keep hearing the number 176?
Congress has 350 seats, so an absolute majority is 176 votes in favour. That is what a candidate needs on the first ballot. If the first vote fails, the same candidate gets a second vote 48 hours later and needs a simple majority, meaning more votes in favour than against.
Take a fictional vote with 171 in favour, 165 against and 14 abstentions. It falls five votes short on the first ballot. The same tally would pass on the second because 171 is greater than 165. Abstentions do not count as votes against.
When could Spain have to vote again?
Further candidates can be proposed if the first attempts fail. The Constitution gives Congress two months from the first investiture vote to grant its confidence to a candidate. If nobody secures it in that time, the King dissolves both houses and calls another election, with the Speaker of Congress countersigning the decision.
Election day and the first investiture vote are different dates. The guide to Spain’s 2026 general election explains what the public votes for and when the new parliament first meets.