electionstracker

Spain 1979 general election

What was the result of the 1979 general election in Spain?

Union of the Democratic Centre won 168 of 350 seats with 35.0% of the vote. 68.0% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Spain
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Union of the Democratic Centre won 168 of 350 seats with 35.0% of the vote; 68.0% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 10.8 points on 1977.

  • Union of the Democratic Centre 168 +2 seats 35.0% +0.4 points
  • Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 121 +3 seats 30.5% +1.1 points
  • Communist Party / United Left 23 +4 seats 10.8% +1.5 points
  • People's Party 9 −7 seats 5.9% −2.3 points
  • Convergence and Union 8 −3 seats 2.7% −0.1 points
  • National Union 1 2.1%
  • Andalusian Party 5 1.8%
  • Basque Nationalist Party 7 −1 seat 1.6% 0.0 points
  • Batasuna 3 1.0%
  • Republican Left of Catalonia 1 0 seats 0.7% −0.1 points
  • Euskadiko Ezkerra 1 0 seats 0.5% +0.1 points
  • Aragonese Party 1 0 seats 0.2% 0.0 points
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Spain 1977 general election, party by party.

176 of 350 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 35.0%

    Share of the vote won by Union of the Democratic Centre and its allies

    Union of the Democratic Centre and its allies won 168 of 350 seats. A majority needs 176.

  2. +4 seats

    Seats gained by Communist Party / United Left

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1977. People's Party lost 7 seats.

  3. 68.0%

    Voter turnout

    Down 10.8 points on 1977.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Union of the Democratic Centrewith Liberal Party168+235.0+0.46,268,593
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party121+330.5+1.15,469,813
Communist Party / United Left23+410.8+1.51,938,487
People's Party9−75.9−2.31,060,330
Convergence and Union8−32.7−0.1483,353
National Union12.1378,964
Andalusian Party51.8325,842
Basque Nationalist Party7−11.60.0296,597
Party of Labour of Spain01.1192,798
Batasuna31.0172,110
Republican Left of Catalonia100.7−0.1123,452
Euskadiko Ezkerra100.5+0.185,677
Aragonese Party100.20.038,042
Unnamed party with one seat2

± is the change against the Spain 1977 general election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Union of the Democratic Centre 6,268,593
  • Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 5,469,813
  • Communist Party / United Left 1,938,487
  • People's Party 1,060,330
  • Convergence and Union 483,353
  • National Union 378,964
  • Andalusian Party 325,842
  • Basque Nationalist Party 296,597
  • Party of Labour of Spain 192,798
  • Batasuna 172,110
  • Republican Left of Catalonia 123,452
  • Euskadiko Ezkerra 85,677
  • Aragonese Party 38,042
  • Unnamed party with one seat

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

ParlGov counts an alliance's votes and seats under its first party: such a row names the allies it counts.

How many people voted?

68.0% of the 26,836,490 registered voters cast a ballot (18,259,192 ballots), down 10.8 points on 1977. 17,933,648 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Union of the Democratic Centre35.0% of votes48.0% of seats
  • Spanish Socialist Workers' Party30.5% of votes34.6% of seats
  • Communist Party / United Left10.8% of votes6.6% of seats
  • People's Party5.9% of votes2.6% of seats
  • Convergence and Union2.7% of votes2.3% of seats
  • Basque Nationalist Party1.6% of votes2.0% of seats
  • Andalusian Party1.8% of votes1.4% of seats
  • Batasuna1.0% of votes0.9% of seats
  • National Union2.1% of votes0.3% of seats
  • Republican Left of Catalonia0.7% of votes0.3% of seats
  • Euskadiko Ezkerra0.5% of votes0.3% of seats
  • Aragonese Party0.2% of votes0.3% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 10.5 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 4.3 by votes and 2.8 by seats; Union of the Democratic Centre led Spanish Socialist Workers' Party by 4.5 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of