Council of Ministers approves dissolution of Parliament and calls elections

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, explained during his appearance to take stock of the term of office that the Royal Decree will come into force on Tuesday upon its publication in the Official State Gazette (Spanish acronym: BOE). The President of the Government announced on 1 October that general elections would be held on 20 December.

The electoral campaign will last 15 days, starting at midnight on the morning of Friday 4 December and ending at midnight on the night of Friday 18 December. Once the elections are over, the Houses of Parliament will meet in their constitutive sessions on 13 January 2016 at 10am.

Storm in Canary Islands

The extraordinary Council of Ministers also analysed the damage caused by the torrential storms in the Canary Islands with the aim of assessing the damage and in order to adopt suitable measures.

The President of the Government reported that over the last weekend he was in contact with the President of the Regional Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and with the Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, who was visiting the islands. Moreover, he gave instructions to the Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, and to the Ministers for the Treasury and Public Administration Services, Cristóbal Montoro; for Home Affairs, Jorge Fernández Díaz; for Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs, Isabel García Tejerina, and for Public Works, Ana Pastor, to take the corresponding decisions as soon as possible.