Sánchez Announces November 29 Snap Election After Housing Defeats
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on October 5 that Spain would hold an early general election on Sunday, November 29, 2026, following parliament’s rejection of two emergency housing decrees. He is asking voters for broader parliamentary support to advance his programme.
In his official statement, Sánchez said he had informed the head of state and would convene an extraordinary cabinet meeting to initiate the dissolution of parliament and the election call. The announcement sets out his political decision; publication of the formal decree is a separate step.
Two defeats over housing
Congress rejected both measures on October 2. According to EFE’s report, the first decree received 172 votes in favour and 178 against. It included rental protections, restrictions on certain housing purchases and tax incentives for landlords and tenants.
The second measure, focused on automatic renewal of rental contracts, fell by 166 votes to 184. PP, Vox and Junts opposed both decrees. The defeats exposed the difficulty of passing the government’s housing agenda in a fragmented parliament.
The dispute also revealed competing explanations for the housing crisis. The government defended the measures as protection for tenants. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused Sánchez of using housing for electoral manoeuvring and urged him to call an election. Those are political positions, not established findings about the measures’ likely effects.
A broader majority is the objective
Sánchez’s PSOE-Sumar minority government has relied on support beyond its coalition. In his address, he acknowledged unfulfilled goals and argued that further reforms required a larger progressive majority.
That makes parliamentary arithmetic central to the election: renewed voter support would not, by itself, settle which parties could agree on a governing majority. The announcement does not establish the composition of a future coalition.
What happens next
EFE’s published timetable anticipates the election decree appearing in the official gazette on October 6, with campaigning from November 13 to 27 before polling on November 29. These are the announced timetable and expected procedural steps, rather than a claim that the decree has already been published.
Housing is the immediate issue behind the parliamentary confrontation. The election result could also reshape Spain’s wider political direction, but the announcement alone establishes no change in foreign policy.
