Across Spain, municipal elections, to vote for your representatives in your local town hall, will be held on May 28, 2023. All EU nationals, legally resident, have the right to stand for election in their local council, and to elect the councillors whose job it will be to serve you and local interests, defend citizen rights and administrate local town hall funds to where they are most needed and useful for the the community.
The Electoral Census Office will send out communications to 455,024 foreigners to help facilitate this process, nearly half of those (211,277) will be to UK nationals resident in Spain.
On May 28, 2023, municipal elections will be held in Spain.
Residents of Spain, of legal age on the day of the vote, who are either EU citizens or nationals of Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Korea, Ecuador, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, the United Kingdom and Trinidad and Tobago can all take part, cast their vote and can stand for election to represent their local community interests.
Those who wish to participate in these elections must request their registration in the electoral roll and comply with the other conditions in the agreements. The conditions established for all of these, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Norway, are that you must:
– Be in possession of a residence permit in Spain.
– Have resided in Spain, legally and without interruption, for at least five years
For their part, the conditions set out in the agreement with Norway are:
– Be domiciled in the municipality in which they correspond to vote and appear registered in their
The conditions set out in the agreement with the United Kingdom are:
– Be in possession of the corresponding residence permit in Spain.
– Have resided in Spain, legally and without interruption, for at least three years prior to your application to register on the electoral roll.
– Be registered in the register of the municipality of your habitual residence, which is where you can exercise your right to vote.
The conditions set out in the agreement with Norway are:
– Be in possession of the corresponding residence permit in Spain
– Having resided in Spain, legally and without interruption, for more than three years.
– Be domiciled in the municipality in which they correspond to vote and appear registered in their Municipal Register.
Registering as a foreigner on the electoral roll
Nationals of the 13 countries listed above, residing in Spain, who meet the conditions of their country’s respective agreement may request registration on the electoral roll between December 1, 2022 and January 15, 2023.
To facilitate this process, the Electoral Census Office (Oficina del Censo Electoral, or OCE) will also send communications by post to 455,024 residents of Spain who are nationals of these 13 countries to request their registration in the electoral census.
However you should not wait to receive one of these, instead pay a visit to your town hall to ensure you are eligible to vote.
Those who meet all the conditions of the agreement should receive a password so that they can register on the electoral roll online. You can also carry out this procedure if you identify yourselves using the Spanish Government Cl@ve system, which identifies you for a whole range of Government services.
Those who meet all the conditions in the Agreement except having their residence permit, must register in the electoral roll by postal mail, providing a valid document that justifies residence authorisation in Spain or proof that document renewal has been requested.
Nationals of the 13 countries that do not receive a letter, though they meet the conditions of the Agreement, can request their registration onto the electoral roll by going to the municipal town hall where they are registered, within the period indicated above.
Information can be requested at the town halls, the OCE provincial delegations and by calling 900 343 232.
Source: Municipal elections of May 28, 2023 Voting reciprocity agreements
