# Congress of the Deputies vote for Prime Minister (Spain)

The Prime Minister of Spain is the head of the government of Spain. Under Article 99 of the Constitution of Spain, the Prime Minister is appointed by the King of Spain on the nomination of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales. The candidate for the position of Prime Minister is not required to be a member of Congress.
After a general election or the resignation of a Prime Minister, members of Congress are proposed by the King for the position of Prime Minister. There can be only one candidate per session. If the Congress of Deputies, by the vote of the absolute majority of its members, gives its confidence in said candidate, the King will appoint them as Prime Minister. If said majority is not reached, the same proposal will be submitted to a new vote forty-eight hours after the previous one, and trust will be deemed granted if a simple majority is obtained.
The Constitution of Spain came into operation on 6 December 1978, following the dictatorship of Francisco Franco and the Spanish transition to democracy.
A breakdown of votes is on the pages of governments formed, while support for unsuccessful candidates is noted below.
| Election | Candidate | Party | Yes | No | Abstain | Date | Government | Notes |
| 1979 elections | Adolfo Suárez | UCD | 183 / 350 | 149 / 350 | 8 / 350 | 30 March 1979 | Suárez III | |
| 1979 elections | Felipe González | PSOE | 152 / 350 | 166 / 350 | 21 / 350 | 30 May 1980 | | Motion of no confidence |
| 1979 elections | Adolfo Suárez | UCD | 180 / 350 | 164 / 350 | 2 / 350 | 18 September 1980 | | Motion of confidence |
| Resignation of Adolfo Suárez | Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo | UCD | 169 / 350 | 158 / 350 | 17 / 350 | 23 February 1981 | Failed | |
| Resignation of Adolfo Suárez | Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo | UCD | 186 / 350 | 158 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 25 February 1981 | Calvo-Sotelo I | |
| 1982 elections | Felipe González | PSOE | 207 / 350 | 116 / 350 | 21 / 350 | 1 December 1982 | González I | |
| 1986 elections | Felipe González | PSOE | 184 / 350 | 144 / 350 | 6 / 350 | 23 July 1986 | González II | |
| 1986 elections | Antonio Hernández Mancha | AP | 67 / 350 | 194 / 350 | 71 / 350 | 30 March 1987 | | Motion of no confidence |
| 1989 elections | Felipe González | PSOE | 167 / 332 | 155 / 332 | 6 / 332 | 5 December 1989 | González III | |
| 1989 elections | Felipe González | PSOE | 176 / 350 | 130 / 350 | 37 / 350 | 5 April 1990 | | Motion of confidence |
| 1993 elections | Felipe González | PSOE | 181 / 350 | 165 / 350 | 1 / 350 | 9 July 1993 | González IV | |
| 1996 elections | José María Aznar | PP | 181 / 350 | 166 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 4 May 1996 | Aznar I | |
| 2000 elections | José María Aznar | PP | 202 / 350 | 148 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 26 April 2000 | Aznar II | |
| 2004 elections | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | PSOE | 183 / 350 | 148 / 350 | 19 / 350 | 16 April 2004 | Zapatero I | |
| 2008 elections | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | PSOE | 168 / 350 | 158 / 350 | 23 / 350 | 9 April 2008 | Failed | |
| 2008 elections | José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | PSOE | 169 / 350 | 158 / 350 | 23 / 350 | 11 April 2008 | Zapatero II | |
| 2011 elections | Mariano Rajoy | PP | 187 / 350 | 149 / 350 | 14 / 350 | 20 December 2011 | Rajoy I | |
| 2015 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 130 / 350 | 219 / 350 | 1 / 350 | 2 March 2016 | Failed | |
| 2015 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 131 / 350 | 219 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 4 March 2016 | Failed | |
| 2016 elections | Mariano Rajoy | PP | 170 / 350 | 180 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 31 August 2016 | Failed | |
| 2016 elections | Mariano Rajoy | PP | 170 / 350 | 180 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 2 September 2016 | Failed | |
| 2016 elections | Mariano Rajoy | PP | 170 / 350 | 180 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 27 October 2016 | Failed | |
| 2016 elections | Mariano Rajoy | PP | 170 / 350 | 111 / 350 | 68 / 350 | 29 October 2016 | Rajoy II | |
| 2016 elections | Pablo Iglesias | Podemos | 82 / 350 | 170 / 350 | 97 / 350 | 14 June 2017 | | Motion of no confidence |
| 2016 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 180 / 350 | 169 / 350 | 1 / 350 | 1 June 2018 | Sánchez I | Motion of no confidence |
| April 2019 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 124 / 350 | 170 / 350 | 52 / 350 | 23 July 2019 | Failed | |
| April 2019 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 124 / 350 | 155 / 350 | 67 / 350 | 25 July 2019 | Failed | |
| November 2019 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 166 / 350 | 165 / 350 | 18 / 350 | 5 January 2020 | Failed | |
| November 2019 elections | Pedro Sánchez | PSOE | 166 / 350 | 165 / 350 | 18 / 350 | 7 January 2020 | Sánchez II | |
| November 2019 elections | Santiago Abascal | Vox | 52 / 350 | 298 / 350 | 0 / 350 | 22 October 2020 | | Motion of no confidence |