Spain. Cortes Generales. Senado

The Senate (Spanish: Senado) is the upper house of the Cortes Generales, which along with the Congress of Deputies – the lower chamber – comprises the Parliament of the Kingdom of Spain. The Senate meets in the Palace of the Senate in Madrid. The presiding officer of the Senate is the president of the Senate, who is elected by the members at the first sitting after each national election. The composition of the Senate is established in Part III of the Spanish Constitution. Each senator represents a province, an autonomous city or an autonomous community. Each mainland province, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by four senators; in the insular provinces, the larger islands are represented by three senators and the minor islands are represented by a single senator. Likewise, the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla elect two senators each. This direct election results in the election of 208 senators by the citizens. In addition, the regional legislatures also designate their own representatives, one senator for each autonomous community and another for every million residents, resulting in a total of 58 additional senators. The Spanish Senate is constitutionally described as a territorial chamber. Consequently, although in general its powers are similar to those of the Congress of Deputies, it is endowed with exceptional powers such as authorising the Government to apply direct rule to a region or to dissolve local government councils. Intensive debates about reforming the Senate's function and purpose have been going on for many years without any resolution.