Spanish general election, 1977

Spanish general election, 1977

← 1936 15 June 1977 1979 →
All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 207 (of 248) seats in the Senate 176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Opinion polls
Registered	23,583,762
Turnout	18,590,130 (78.8%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Adolfo Suárez Felipe González Santiago Carrillo Party UCD PSOE PCE Leader since 3 May 1977 13 October 1974 3 July 1960 Leader's seat Madrid Madrid Madrid Seats won 165 118 20 Popular vote 6,310,391 5,371,866 1,709,890 Percentage 34.4% 29.3% 9.3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Manuel Fraga Enrique Tierno Galván Jordi Pujol Party AP PSP PDC Leader since 9 October 1976 1974 17 November 1974 Leader's seat Madrid Madrid Barcelona Seats won 16 6 11 Popular vote 1,526,671 816,582 514,647 Percentage 8.3% 4.5% 2.8%
Constituency results map for the Congress of Deputies
Prime Minister before election Adolfo Suárez UCD Elected Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez UCD

Adolfo Suárez
UCD

Adolfo Suárez
UCD

The 1977 Spanish general election was held on Wednesday, 15 June 1977, to elect the Constituent Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 207 seats in the Senate. It was the first election since the death of Francisco Franco. The previous general election was held in 1936, prior to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

The elections took place against the backdrop of a poor economic situation in Spain. They were marred by demonstrations against alleged irregularities and bombings in many areas. In Barcelona, 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside the building housing the local election board. They claimed they had not been included in the census, which would have given them the right to vote. Two policemen were also hurt when a Molotov cocktail was thrown at their vehicle. In Seville, three people, including two policemen, suffered minor injuries when a bomb exploded at the magistrates' court. Additionally four explosions occurred in Pamplona and two in Cordoba.

The election results were a disappointment for the Communist Party, which fell short of its goal of 30 to 40 deputies.

Post election the Union of the Democratic Centre governed in a minority, working with other opposition parties from both sides of the political spectrum including the rightist People’s Alliance and the parties of the left, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Communists (PCE).

The Spanish Cortes Generales were regarded as an imperfect bicameral system under the 1977 Political Reform Act, which envisaged a provisional legislature that was to approve a new constitution in a short time-span. Initiative for constitutional amendment belonged to the Congress of Deputies—as well as to the Government—and required of the approval by an absolute majority in both the Congress and Senate. Ultimately, in the event of a deadlock a joint sitting of both chambers would convene as a single legislative body in order to resolve on the issue by an absolute majority. No electoral law was in force at the time, with election rules for both chambers regulated under a provisional decree.