After the defeat of the housing decrees in Congress, the Prime Minister called an early general election. The timetable, what is left pending and what it means for companies.
On Monday 5 October 2026, the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced the dissolution of the Congress and the Senate and called a general election for Sunday 29 November. An extraordinary Council of Ministers approved Royal Decree 806/2026, of 5 October, which was published in the Official State Gazette the following day.
The trigger was the vote on Friday 2 October, in which Congress refused to validate two housing decree-laws approved days earlier. After a weekend of reflection, Sánchez chose to bring the election forward.
The timetable
Elections are held 54 days after the call is published. The campaign will run from 13 to 27 November, voting takes place on Sunday 29 and the new Parliament will be constituted on 23 December. In the meantime, the Standing Committee of each chamber takes on the essential functions, such as validating any decree-laws the Government approves.
What is left pending
With the dissolution, the bills that were going through Parliament lapse: the new Parliament will have to start them again. Nor will there be a 2027 budget before the end of the year; when one is not approved in time, the Constitution provides for the previous year’s budget to be rolled over automatically until a new one is passed.
The Government keeps its powers until the election and, afterwards, will remain in a caretaker role until the next one takes office. It can still approve decree-laws, which the Standing Committee of Congress will have to validate.
What it means for companies
An election period usually brings a regulatory pause: pending reforms wait for the new Government, and a rolled-over budget keeps the previous year’s allocations. It is worth bearing this in mind when planning next year, especially anything that depends on grants or announced tax changes.
The vote also has employment effects: employees who serve at a polling station are entitled to paid leave on polling day, if it is a working day, and to a five-hour reduction in their working day the day after; and anyone working on Sunday 29 during hours that coincide with voting hours has up to four paid hours to vote. This information is of a general nature.
Eight weeks of campaigning and waiting lie ahead; planning does not have to wait.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
