PP and Vox are still negotiating their Senate election strategy as Monday’s candidate-list deadline arrives. They want to counter the joint PSOE and Frente Amplio ticket in provincial races where smaller parties can miss out on seats.
In small provinces, the Ley D'Hont can leave parties finishing third or lower without a Senate seat. Spain’s Senate voting system adds another constraint: in ordinary peninsular constituencies, voters can select up to three individual candidates, and the four candidates with the most votes are elected. Unlike a closed-list proportional ballot, the system rewards concentrated support across candidate slates. That prospect is driving PP and Vox to seek an agreement before the candidate-list deadline on Monday.
The parties have discussed ways to counter PSOE and Frente Amplio, which are running together under the name 'Senado de Progreso' in 45 constituencies. Their talks remain unresolved. The coming election is scheduled for November 29. The formal deadline to register Senate coalitions has already passed, so the negotiations concern other forms of coordination, including candidate withdrawals or the inclusion of Vox figures on PP lists.
Vox has kept its options open. Jorge Buxadé, the party’s delegation leader in Brussels, said on Cadena COPE that negotiations could continue until late in the day. Abascal and other party leaders have not disclosed details of the discussions. Vox leader Santiago Abascal has left open the possibility of an understanding with the PP.
One option under consideration is for Vox to stand aside in about twenty provinces where it expects to win no representation. Another is for the PP to yield regional senators to Vox. Feijóo has also said the PP could exceptionally refrain from standing in a province where it has never elected a senator. Neither arrangement has been confirmed. Vox’s demands reportedly extend beyond candidate coordination: El País has reported that the party is seeking guarantees of its own Senate parliamentary group and greater visibility in Catalonia. Vox won no senator nationwide in the July 2023 election.
Vox leader Abascal has called for broad-mindedness and responsibility, saying Spain should not depend on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said last week that his party was negotiating with Vox because allowing what he called “sanchismo” to control the Senate would be a mistake. The PP’s stated ambition has included securing three-fifths of the upper chamber, a threshold El País linked to making certain institutional appointments, including appointments to Spain’s Constitutional Court, without PSOE support.
The talks concern Spain’s Senate lists, a separate process from the European Parliament mandate discussed in an earlier report. Buxadé said the parties would act responsibly, while the PP was expected to give an update at its regular Monday press conference. The definitive candidate lists must be filed on Monday, October 26.
