The electoral calendar enters a decisive week for the parties that will run in the general elections on November 29. The next Friday, October 16, is the deadline to register electoral coalitions, a date that forces parties to close their agreements if they want to run jointly under the same candidacy.
The early election announced by Pedro Sánchez has accelerated negotiations between parties, especially in the space to the left of the PSOE, where issues related to territorial alliances, leadership, and the composition of the new political project still need to be resolved. Coalitions must be communicated to the competent electoral boards before midnight on Friday, in accordance with the electoral calendar.
The October 16 date should not be confused with the presentation of electoral lists. Parties will have a later period, between October 21 and 26, to officially register their candidates for Congress and the Senate. Therefore, the first objective of the negotiations is to define which forces will run together, before specifying the names that will occupy each position in the candidacies.
The left accelerates negotiations to close its alliances
One of the main focuses of attention is on the Broad Front, the project promoted by Movimiento Sumar, Izquierda Unida, Más Madrid, and the comunes to run in the general elections. The parties are working on the configuration of a common candidacy, but are still pending to resolve the incorporation of other parties and the election of their head of list.
The possible integration of Podemos continues to be one of the central issues of the conversations. The party led by Ione Belarra has proposed holding open primaries to elect the left's candidate, while other forces advocate for advancing negotiations to reach a shared agreement.
Conversations also remain open with territorial organizations such as Compromís, Chunta Aragonesista, and Més. The incorporation of these parties could broaden the scope of the alliance, although negotiations are not closed and each party must define its strategy for 29N.
In parallel, Más Madrid has proposed Ada Colau as a possible lead candidate for the Broad Front, an initiative that still needs the support of all the organizations involved. The choice of leadership and the distribution of positions in the candidacies are among the issues that the formations must resolve in the coming days.
October 16, first decisive deadline of the electoral calendar
The deadline for registering coalitions is determined by the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG), which establishes that parties must communicate their agreements within ten days following the electoral call.
In this case, the decree of convocation was published in the Official State Gazette on October 6, so the deadline concludes on Friday, October 16. The communication must be presented to the corresponding provincial electoral board when the coalition is limited to one province, or to the Central Electoral Board when it affects several constituencies. Once this period has expired, the formations that have not formalized a coalition will not be able to constitute it to run jointly in these elections through that procedure. Therefore, the coming days will be decisive for the parties that are still negotiating agreements and looking for formulas to coordinate their candidacies.
Candidacies will be registered between October 21 and 26
After the communication of the coalitions, the calendar contemplates a second phase dedicated to the official presentation of the candidacies. Parties must register their lists for Congress and the Senate between October 21 and 26.
Subsequently, on October 28, the presented candidacies will be published and, after the period provided for possible corrections, the definitive ones will be proclaimed on November 2 and 3. The election campaign will take place between November 13 and 27, before the voting day on Sunday, November 29.
In this way, the calendar forces the formations to separate two decisions: first, to determine with which parties they will run in coalition; then, to close and register the names of their candidates. In the case of the left, the proximity of the first deadline increases the pressure to resolve negotiations before the deadline expires.
