SUMMARY:
COMPOSITION:
It’s the chamber of TERRITORIAL REPRESENTATION
266 total senators, elected or appointed every 4
years or whenever parliament is dissolved
4 senators are elected from each province (except
the islands, which have fewer)
1 senator (+1 more for every million inhabitants) is
appointed from each autonomous community
Elections:
It
is made up of 266 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 58
appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year
terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any
time.
While
the Congress of Deputies is chosen by party list proportional
representation, the members of the senate are chosen in two distinct ways:
popular election by partial block voting and appointment from
regional legislatures.
1.
Directly elected members: Most
members of the senate (currently 208 of 264) are directly elected by the
people. Each province elects four senators without regard to
population.
Islands are treated specially. The larger islands of
the Balearics (Baleares) and Canaries (Canarias) - Majorca, Gran Canaria, and
Tenerife - are assigned three seats each, and the smaller islands - Minorca,
Ibiza-Formentera, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma - one
each; Ceuta and Melilla are assigned two seats each.
This allocation is heavily weighted in favor of
small provinces; Madrid, with roughly 6 million people, and Soria,
with 100,000 inhabitants, are each represented by four senators.
2.
Regional legislatures-appointed members: The legislative assembly of each autonomous community of Spain
appoints a senate delegation from its own ranks, with one Senator per one
million citizens, rounded up.
Demographic growth increased the combined size of
the regional delegations from 51 to 56 in 2008 for the 9th term.
Role:
(less than the Congress of Deputies)
The
Spanish parliamentary system is bicameral but asymmetric. The Congress
of Deputies has more independent functions, and it can also override most
senate measures:
Only
the Congress of Deputies (not the Senate) can grant or revoke confidence to a
prime minister.
In
the ordinary lawmaking process, either house may be the initiator, and the
senate can amend or veto, the proposal. However, it is then sent back to the Congress
of Deputies, which can override these objections with another vote.
Organic
laws, which govern basic civil rights and regional devolutions, need an
absolute majority of both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate to pass.
However,
the Senate has a few exclusive functions:
The senate has certain exclusive functions in the appointment of
constitutional posts, such as judges of the Constitutional Court or
the members of the General Council of the Judicial Power.
Additionally, although it has never exercised
this authority, the senate is solely responsible for disciplining regional
presidents. Only the senate can suspend local governments It exercised this
power in April 2006, dissolving the Marbella city council when most
of its members were found to have engaged in corrupt practices.
Comprehension
Questions:
1.
How is the Senate the chamber of “territorial representation”?
2.
Explain the two ways senators are chosen.
3.
Is this system more favorable to highly populated areas or more rural zones?
4.
Who has the exclusive right to discipline regional presidents?
5.
What city council was dissolved by the Senate in 2006 for corruption?
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