13th Cortes Generales

The 13th Cortes Generales was a meeting of the Cortes Generales, the national legislature of Spain, with the membership determined primarily by the results of the general election held on 28 April 2019. The cortes met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and was dissolved prematurely on 24 September 2019.

13th Cortes Generales
← 12th 14th →
Overview
Legislative body	Cortes Generales
Term	21 May 2019 (2019-05-21) – 24 September 2019 (2019-09-24)
Election	28 April 2019
Government	Sánchez I
Website	cortesgenerales.es
Senate
Members	266
President	Manuel Cruz (PSOE)
1st Vice President	Cristina Narbona (PSOE)
2nd Vice President	Pío García-Escudero (PP)
Congress of Deputies
Members	350
President	Meritxell Batet (PSOE)
1st Vice President	Gloria Elizo (UP)
2nd Vice President	Alfonso Rodríguez (PSOE)
3rd Vice President	Ana Pastor (PP)
4th Vice President	Ignacio Prendes (Cs)

Election

The 13th Spanish general election under the 1978 Constitution was held on 28 April 2019. It saw the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) become the largest party in the Senate, the upper house of the Cortes Generales, for the first time since 1993, as well as the largest party in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales, for the first time since 2008, but falling short of a majority.^[1][2]

Alliance		Senate		Congress of Deputies
		Seats	+/−	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PSOE	123	+81	7,513,142	28.67	123	+38
	PP	54	–73	4,373,653	16.69	66	–69
	Cs	4	+4	4,155,665	15.86	57	+25
	UP–ECP–EC	0	–16	3,751,145	14.32	42	–29
	Vox	0	±0	2,688,092	10.26	24	+24
	ERC–Sob–ERPV	11	+1	1,024,628	3.91	15	+6
	JxCat–Junts	2	±0	500,787	1.91	7	–1
	EAJ/PNV	9	+4	395,884	1.51	6	+1
	Others/blanks	5	–1	1,798,375	6.86	10	+5
Total		208	±0	26,201,371	100.00	350	±0

History

The new Senate met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and elected Manuel Cruz (PSOE) as President of the Senate of Spain.^[3][4]

The new Congress of Deputies also met for the first time on 21 May 2019 and after two rounds of voting Meritxell Batet (PSOE) was elected as President of the Congress of Deputies with the support of the Unidos Podemos-En Comú Podem (UP-ECP) and various nationalist and regionalist parties.^[5][6]

In July 2019 caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (POSE) failed to secure the necessary votes in congress to form a government after the failure of coalition talks with UP–ECP.^[7][8] Sánchez announced on 17 September 2019 that an election would be held on 10 November 2019, the fourth in as many years.^[9][10] The 13th Cortes Generales was formally dissolved on 24 September 2019.^[11]

Members

Senate

Further information: 13th Senate of Spain

Congress of Deputies

Further information: 13th Congress of Deputies

References

1. "Spain election: Socialists consider next move after elections". BBC News. London, U.K. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
2. Jones, Sam (29 April 2019). "Spanish election: socialists win amid far-right gains for Vox party". The Guardian. London, U.K. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
3. "Catalan Socialists Batet and Cruz confirmed as Spanish parliament speakers". Catalan News Agency. Barcelona, Spain. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
4. "Manuel Cruz, elegido nuevo presidente del Senado por 140 votos a favor". 20 minutos (in Spanish). EFE. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
5. "La catalana Meritxell Batet, elegida nueva presidenta del Congreso". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
6. Díez, Ana; Casqueiro, Javier (21 May 2019). "La socialista Meritxell Batet, elegida nueva presidenta del Congreso". El País (in Spanish). Madrid, Spain. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
7. "Spain's Pedro Sánchez loses vote to form government". BBC News. London, U.K. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
8. Burgen, Stephen (25 July 2019). "Spanish caretaker PM fails in second attempt to form government". The Guardian. London, U.K. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
9. "Spain to hold fourth election in four years". BBC News. London, U.K. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
10. Jones, Sam (17 September 2019). "Spain likely to return to the polls in November after party talks fail". The Guardian. London, U.K. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
11. "Otras Disposiciones: Jefatura del Estado - Cortes Generales. Disolución y convocatoria de elecciones" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). No. 230. Madrid, Spain: Government of Spain. 24 September 2019. pp. 105300–105301. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 24 September 2019.