WorldPosted at: Oct 5 2026 5:47PM


Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez calls for general election on Nov 29 after parliament shoots down proposals to tackle housing crisis

Madrid, Oct 5 (UNI) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called an early general election on November 29 after the parliament rejected two government decrees geared towards tackling the country's housing crisis.
The measures were voted down in Congress on Friday despite last-minute negotiations to secure enough support. Sánchez spent the weekend consulting ministers and senior figures in his Socialist Party (PSOE) before announcing his decision in a televised address on Monday.
Sánchez said his government needed to "renew and broaden people's support" to push through its reforms. He called for "a broader progressive majority" capable of overcoming what he described as resistance from the elites.
His left-wing coalition, comprising the PSOE and its junior partner, the Sumar alliance, lacks a parliamentary majority and has struggled to secure support for its legislative agenda. Spain's next general election had not been due until the summer of 2027.
Sánchez has served as prime minister since June 2018. His party finished second in the 2023 election behind the conservative People's Party (PP), which won the most seats but fell short of a majority. Sánchez remained in office after reaching agreements with left-wing parties and securing the backing of Catalan and Basque nationalist and pro-independence groups.
The call for early election follows months of political difficulties for the coalition, including corruption cases involving figures close to the PSOE, repeated parliamentary defeats and a migration crisis in Ceuta, Spain's enclave in North Africa.
Tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco in late July, prompting the government to deploy additional resources. Weeks later, it declared a "situation of interest for national security" for the first time in Spain's democratic era.
The response triggered a political dispute, with the PP and the hard-right Vox party accusing the government of acting too slowly and questioning its approach towards Morocco. Sánchez has defended the actions of the security forces and his government's handling of the crisis.
Legal proceedings involving people in the prime minister's political circle have added to the pressure, while the coalition's dependence on smaller parties has forced it to negotiate much of its legislative agenda vote by vote.
Opinion polls have suggested that the PP could emerge as the largest party in the next election, although it may need the support of Vox to form a government.
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