Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the early dissolution of parliament and a general election for November 29, 2026. He made the decision nine months before the end of the parliamentary term.
This was reported by El Pais.
Speaking at La Moncloa Palace, Sánchez acknowledged that the government had “made mistakes” and had not achieved everything it had set out to do. According to the newspaper, before making the decision he held numerous consultations with cabinet members, leaders of his party and partners from other political forces.
In his speech, the prime minister also highlighted his government’s economic and social achievements, including progress in renewable energy, social rights and reducing inequality. He said the government had had to operate amid unprecedented crises, including wars and geopolitical upheaval, and that he had “fought against tyrants, techno-oligarchs and genocidal regimes.”
Sánchez said that further reforms would require the government to “renew and broaden people’s support” and build a wider progressive majority. After the election was announced, People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said: “At last, Spaniards will decide.”
The government also plans to bring the housing decrees back for consideration through the Congress Permanent Deputation. One would ban the eviction of vulnerable citizens, while the other would make rental contracts permanent.
According to El Pais sources at the royal household, Sánchez informed King Felipe VI of his decision on Sunday afternoon. This came ahead of the monarch’s state visit to Finland.
The immediate trigger for the snap election was the defeat in Congress last Friday of two government housing decrees. The measures were intended to provide additional protection for tenants and address the effects of the housing crisis.
They were rejected amid protests that began after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from her apartment in Madrid.
On October 3, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in around 50 Spanish cities, demanding stronger protections for tenants and measures to make housing more affordable. Around 70,000 people joined the protest in Madrid.
