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What it is

Bill would let citizens directly elect provincial council members

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 7 February 2023. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Ciudadanos.

Official title: Private member's bill for an Organic Law amending Organic Law 5/1985, of 19 June, on the General Electoral System, for the democratization of Provincial Councils.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000297· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill, introduced by the Ciudadanos parliamentary group and admitted for processing, proposes amending the General Electoral Regime organic law A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes. so that provincial council members (diputados provinciales) are elected by universal, direct and secret suffrage, in a separate ballot box from the one for town councilors, instead of the current indirect system.
  2. The number of provincial council members would depend on the province's population: 25 up to 500,000 residents, 27 from 500,001 to 1,000,000, 31 from 1,000,001 to 3,500,000, and 51 from 3,500,001 onward. Each province would be a single electoral district and the term would last four years.
  3. The provincial council president would be chosen from among the members, needing an absolute majority Half of all the members of the chamber plus one: 176 of 350 in the Congreso. in the first vote and a simple majority in the second. The president could be removed through a no-confidence motion or by losing a vote of confidence tied to the budget, the organizational rules or the provincial cooperation plan.
  4. Candidate lists for provincial councils would have to be gender balanced, with at least 40 percent of each sex across the whole list. The law would take effect one year after its publication in the Official State Gazette.

Who it affects

  • Voting citizens: They could directly vote for provincial council members in a separate ballot box, as already happens with the island councils of the Canary Islands.
  • Provincial councils (Diputaciones Provinciales): How their members and their president are chosen would change, with the president depending on the confidence of the full council.
  • Political parties: Their candidate lists would have to meet the 40 percent minimum for each sex.
  • Provinces: Each would be a single electoral district with a number of council members based on its population.

Words worth knowing

Sufragio universal, directo y secreto
Universal, direct and secret suffrage: all eligible citizens vote, each voter directly chooses the representatives, and the vote is private.
Elección indirecta
The current system, where citizens do not elect provincial council members directly; town councilors choose them instead.
Moción de censura
No-confidence motion: a vote where the full council decides whether to remove an officeholder, such as the council president.
Cuestión de confianza
Vote of confidence: the president submits a specific matter to the full council; if the vote is lost, the president must step down.
Proposición de Ley Orgánica
A bill submitted to the Congress of Deputies to amend an organic law; it is not an approved law yet.
organic law
A law on fundamental rights, the electoral system or other matters the Constitution reserves. It needs an absolute majority in the Congreso: 176 votes.
absolute majority
Half of all the members of the chamber plus one: 176 of 350 in the Congreso.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced7 February 2023Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted14 February 2023The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Feb 2023Mar 2023Apr 202311. 7 February 2023: Presentación22. 14 February 2023: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 14/02/2023 hasta 17/02/202333. 14 February 2023: Calificación44. 17 February 2023: Gobierno Contestación desde 17/02/2023 hasta 27/03/202355. 27 March 2023: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 27/03/2023 hasta 30/05/202366. 30 May 2023: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 30/05/2023 hasta 16/06/2023

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It has not been presented again yet.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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