Electoral system
The Parliament of the Balearic Islands is the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. [1] Voting for the Parliament is on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprises all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Balearic Islands and in full enjoyment of their political rights.
The 59 members of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands are elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which includes blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats are allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats: [1] [2]
Election date
The term of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands expires four years after the date of its previous election, unless it is dissolved earlier. The election decree shall be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 28 May 2023, which means that the legislature's term will expire on 28 May 2027. The election decree shall be published in the BOIB no later than 4 May 2027, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 27 June 2027. [1] [2] [3]
The president has the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of the Balearic Islands and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence is in process and that dissolution does not occur before one year has elapsed since the previous one. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a sixty-day period from the first ballot, the Parliament is to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. [1]
In late 2024, it emerged that regional president Marga Prohens was considering to call a snap election in the event of being unable to get her 2025 budget passed through parliament, following Vox's decision to exit the cabinet earlier that year. [4] [5] [6] Amid doubts on whether her party would be able to secure an absolute majority on its own, Prohens ended up ruling out an early election call. [7] It later transpired that Vox national leader, Santiago Abascal, had attempted to force a regional snap election in April 2024, without success. [8] New speculation emerged in September 2025 that the national leadership of the People's Party (PP) was planning to advance the elections in Aragon and Extremadura (and possibly the Balearic Islands) to make them take place near or concurrently with the Castilian-Leonese election scheduled for early 2026. [9] [10] [11] While the alleged reason for the early election call would be the regional governments' failure in getting their 2026 budgets passed through parliament, the true motive was attributed to PP plans—not without risk—to turn the simultaneous election call into a referendum on the national government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. [12] [13] Prohens's government replied to such speculation by ruling out any plans for a snap election in the region, dubbing it as an "opportunistic" move. [14] [15]
