Confidence and supply (24)
34-851: Opposition (149) The Senate ( Spanish : Senado ) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales , which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain . The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid . The presiding officer of the Senate is the president of the Senate , who is elected by the members at the first sitting after each national election. The composition of
68-415: A plurality , or the most votes among the candidates, but in some she does not receive a majority. In Scenario 1, Alice received a majority of the vote. There were 20 votes cast and Alice received more than half of them. In Scenario 2, assume all three candidates are eligible. In this case, no one received a majority of the vote. In Scenario 3, assume that Alice and Bob are eligible candidates, but Carol
102-461: A difference in the total that is used to calculate a majority vote due to spoiled votes . In Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (abbreviated RONR), spoiled votes are counted as votes cast, but are not credited to any candidate. In The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (abbreviated TSC ), spoiled votes are not included in the total and a majority vote is defined as being more than half of all eligible votes cast. As it relates to
136-417: A large ( DIN A3 or larger) ochre -colored ballot called a sábana or bedsheet . Each voter may mark up to three candidates' names, from any party. This is the only occasion when Spanish voters vote for individuals rather than a party list . Panachage is allowed, but typically voters cast all three votes for candidates of a single party. As a result, the four senators are usually the three candidates from
170-402: A majority vote. However, in this and many other cases, previous notice is not required if a majority of the entire membership votes in favor, because that indicates that it is clearly not a temporary majority. Another protection against a decision being made by a temporary majority is the motion to reconsider and enter on the minutes , by which two members can suspend action on a measure until it
204-526: A motion to appoint the regional senators often requires no more than a plurality : The last election was held on 23 July 2023. The composition of the 15th Senate is: This is a list of the presidents of the Senate since the recovery of the upper house in 1977. To see previous presidents, look the full list of presidents of the Senate . 40°25′14″N 3°42′46″W / 40.42056°N 3.71278°W / 40.42056; -3.71278 Opposition (parliamentary) Parliamentary opposition
238-543: A territorial chamber. Consequently, although in general its powers are similar to those of the Congress of Deputies, it is endowed with exceptional powers such as authorising the Government to apply direct rule to a region or to dissolve local government councils. Intensive debates about reforming the Senate's function and purpose have been going on for many years without any resolution. The first Spanish Constitution,
272-464: A vote, a majority vote most often means a simple majority vote, which means more "yes" votes than "no" votes. Abstentions or blanks are excluded in calculating a simple majority vote. Also, the totals do not include votes cast by someone not entitled to vote or improper multiple votes by a single member. Other related terms containing the word "majority" have their own meanings, which may sometimes be inconsistent in usage. In British English ,
306-475: Is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster -based parliamentary system . This article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state . In some countries, the title of " Official Opposition " is conferred upon the largest political party sitting in opposition in
340-451: Is called up at a meeting on another day. The expression "at least 50% +1" is often misused when "majority" is actually intended. However, this is incorrect when the total number referred to is odd. For example, say a board has 7 members. "Majority" means "at least 4" in this case (more than half of 7, which is 3.5). But 50% + 1 is 4.5, and since a number of people can only be integer, "at least 50% + 1" would mean "at least 5". An example of
374-412: Is chosen by party list proportional representation , the members of the senate are chosen in two distinct ways: popular election by limited voting and appointment from regional legislatures. Most members of the senate (currently 208 of 266) are directly elected by the people. Each province elects four senators without regard to population. Insular provinces are treated specially. The larger islands of
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#1732765971242408-563: Is increased to 72%. A " supermajority " is a specified threshold greater than one half. A common use of a supermajority is a " two-thirds vote ", which is sometimes referred to as a "two-thirds majority". The voting basis refers to the set of members considered when calculating whether a proposal has a majority, i.e. the denominator used in calculating the percent support for a vote. Common voting bases include: For example, assume that votes are cast for three people for an office: Alice, Bob, and Carol. In all three scenarios, Alice receives
442-469: Is more complicated: the rule is to require a three fifths (60%) of both houses, but if the Senate does not achieve such a supermajority and a joint congress-senate committee fails to resolve the issues, the Congress may force the amendment through with a two-thirds vote as long as an absolute majority of the Senate was in favour. But for some specific types of amendments including those related to most clauses related to human rights, both houses must approve of
476-431: Is more than half of a total. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a group consists of 31 individuals, a majority would be 16 or more individuals, while having 15 or fewer individuals would not constitute a majority. A majority is different from, but often confused with, a plurality , which is a subset larger than any other subset but not necessarily more than half
510-576: Is not. Using Robert's Rules of Order , no one received a majority vote, which is the same as Scenario 2. In this case, the 4 votes for Carol are counted in the total, but are not credited to Carol (which precludes the possibility of an ineligible candidate being credited with receiving a majority vote). However, using The Standard Code , Alice received a majority vote since only votes for eligible candidates are counted. In this case, there are 16 votes for eligible candidates and Alice received more than half of those 16 votes. A temporary majority exists when
544-670: The Balearics (Baleares) and Canaries (Canarias)— Mallorca , Gran Canaria , and Tenerife —are assigned three seats each, and the smaller islands— Menorca , Ibiza–Formentera , Fuerteventura , Gomera , Hierro , Lanzarote and La Palma —one each; Ceuta and Melilla are assigned two seats each. This allocation is heavily weighted in favor of small provinces; Madrid , with its 6.5 million people, and Soria , with 90,000 inhabitants, are each represented by four senators. In non-insular constituencies, each party nominates three candidates. Candidates' names are organized in columns by party on
578-546: The Prime Minister . Either house may propose an ordinary law (or bill, Spanish : proyecto de ley ). A bill passed by Congress can be amended or vetoed by the Senate in which case the bill is then sent back to the lower house, which can override these objections by an absolute majority vote. Organic laws , which govern basic civil rights and regional devolution, need an absolute majority of both congress and senate to pass. The process for constitutional amendments
612-696: The Spanish Constitution of 1812 , established a unicameral legislative, therefore, an upper Chamber did not exist. The Senate was first established under the Royal Statute of 1834 approved by Queen Regent Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies under the denomination of House of Peers but it did not last long and in 1837, under the Constitution of that year, the upper house acquired the denomination of Senate. It remained under
646-532: The Senate is established in Part III of the Spanish Constitution . Each senator represents a province , an autonomous city or an autonomous community . Each mainland province, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by four senators; in the insular provinces, the larger islands are represented by three senators and the minor islands are represented by a single senator. Likewise,
680-562: The Senate to represent the autonomous communities of Spain . Senators form groups along party lines. Parties with fewer than ten senators form the Mixed Group. If the membership of an existing group falls below six during a session, it is merged into the Mixed Group at the next session. For example, Coalición Canaria lost its senate caucus in 2008 after electoral losses reduced its group from six to two. The Basque Nationalist Party , falling from seven to four, "borrowed" senators from
714-440: The amendment by a two thirds vote, and an election must be held and the amendment must pass by a two thirds vote a second time, and if that is approved, the people must vote for the amendment in a referendum by majority vote. The Senate has certain exclusive functions including Senate reform has been a topic of discussion since the early days of Spanish democracy. One proposal would advance the federalization of Spain by remaking
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#1732765971242748-417: The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla elect two senators each. This direct election results in the election of 208 senators by the citizens. In addition, the regional legislatures also designate their own representatives, one senator for each autonomous community and another for every million residents, resulting in a total of 58 additional senators. The Spanish Senate is constitutionally described as
782-520: The first-place finisher from the second-place finisher. A " double majority " is a voting system which requires a majority of votes according to two separate criteria. e.g. in the European Union, the Council uses a double majority rule, requiring 55% of member states, representing at least 65% of the total EU population in favor. In some cases, the required percentage of member states in favor
816-621: The governing groups in order to create an impression of democratic debate. Some legislatures offer opposition parties particular powers. In Canada , the United Kingdom , and New Zealand , 20 days each year are set aside as " Opposition Days " or "Supply Days", during which the opposition gets to set the agenda. Canada also has a Question Period , during which the opposition (and the Parliament generally) can ask questions of government ministers. Absolute majority A majority
850-506: The legislature, with said party's leader being accorded the title " Leader of the Opposition ". In first-past-the-post assemblies, where the tendency to gravitate into two major parties or party groupings operates strongly, government and opposition roles can go to the two main groupings serially in alternation. The more proportionally representative a system, the greater the likelihood of multiple political parties appearing in
884-501: The most popular party and the first placed candidate from the next most popular. Before 2011, a party could not choose the order of its candidates on the ballot paper; candidates were sorted alphabetically by surname . When a party did not get all three of its candidates elected, this arrangement favored candidates with surnames early in the alphabet. This was the case for 2nd placed parties in every province and for both parties in tight races when voters did not vote for three candidates of
918-515: The new regime opted for a unicameral system, which was continued under the Francoist dictatorship . Only after the Spanish transition to democracy in 1977 was it re-established. The Spanish parliamentary system is bicameral but asymmetric. The Congress of Deputies has more independent functions, and it can also override most Senate measures. Only the Congress can grant or revoke confidence in
952-422: The parliamentary debating chamber . Such systems can foster multiple "opposition" parties which may have little in common and minimal desire to form a united bloc opposed to the government of the day. Some well-organised democracies, dominated long-term by a single faction, reduce their parliamentary opposition to tokenism . In some cases, in more authoritarian countries, tame "opposition" parties are created by
986-402: The positions of the members present and voting in a meeting of a deliberative assembly on a subject are not representative of the membership as a whole. Parliamentary procedure contains some provisions designed to protect against a temporary majority violating the rights of absentees. For instance, previous notice is typically required to rescind, repeal or annul something previously adopted by
1020-492: The regimes of the constitutions of 1845 , 1856 , 1869 and 1876 . It was composed, at that latter time, of three main categories: senators by their own right, senators for life and elected senators. This house, along with the Congress of Deputies, was suppressed after the coup of General Miguel Primo de Rivera in 1923. After the restoration of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939)
1054-424: The ruling Socialist Party to form their group; in exchange, they supported the election of socialist Javier Rojo as President of the Senate. Legally, 133 seats are required for an absolute majority, vacant seats notwithstanding. To date, senate elections have coincided with elections to the lower house, but the prime minister may advise the king to call elections for one house only. While the Congress of Deputies
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1088-466: The same party ( panachage ). The legislative assembly of each autonomous community of Spain appoints a senators to represent the community, with one senator per one million citizens, rounded up. Demographic growth increased the combined size of the regional appointed senators from 51 to 57 since 1983. Conventionally , the proportions of the regional senators mimic their legislative assemblies. However, autonomous communities have considerable leeway, and
1122-446: The set. For example, if there is a group with 20 members which is divided into subgroups with 9, 6, and 5 members, then the 9-member group would be the plurality, but would not be a majority (as they have less than ten members). In parliamentary procedure , a majority always means precisely "more than half". Other common definitions (e.g. the frequent 50%+1) are incorrect. Depending on the parliamentary authority used, there may be
1156-410: The term "size of a majority", "overall majority", or "working majority" is sometimes used to mean the difference between the number of legislators in the government and a simple majority of seats (half the seats, rounded up). This has led to some confusion and misuse of the terms "majority" or "relative majority" to mean what is correctly called the margin of victory , i.e. the number of votes separating
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