The Central Electoral Board distributes free campaign spaces on RTVE

The Central Electoral Board has agreed upon the distribution of free electoral propaganda spaces in national public media for the elections to the Congress of Deputies and the Senate on November 29, 2026. This is done through the resolution of November 4, 2026, signed by the president of the body, Eduardo Calvo Rojas, and published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) no. 276, of November 5, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-23258). The distribution is carried out upon the proposal of the Radio and Television Commission provided for in Article 65 of the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime.

The framework for the decision is the process convened by Royal Decree 806/2026, of October 5, for the dissolution of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. The LOREG reserves for the Central Electoral Board the distribution of free spaces in the national programming of state public media, taking into account the results of the previous elections to the Congress of Deputies, and carries it out upon the proposal of a commission composed of the parties with representation in the lower House. The development of the procedure was established in Instruction 2/2026, of October 26 (BOE-A-2026-22695), which also delegated to the Provincial Electoral Boards and those of Ceuta and Melilla the distribution corresponding to regional and local programming.

A commission of thirteen parties

The Radio and Television Commission was designated by resolution of October 30, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-23112) and was constituted on Wednesday, November 4, at 12:00 p.m., in the Sert Room of the Congress of Deputies. Its composition is as follows:

• President: Jon Miraballes Barrenetxea (Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea-Basque Nationalist Party).
• Jorge Rábago Juan-Aracil (People’s Party), who also represents the Union of the Navarrese People coalition.
• Alberto Cachinero Capitán (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party).
• Álvaro Zancajo Fenoll (VOX).
• Jordi Martí Grau (Broad Front).
• Rubén Guijarro Palma (Socialists’ Party of Catalonia, PSC-PSOE).
• Meritxell Barrionuevo i Alvarez (Republican Left of Catalonia).
• Silvia Giner Joaquin (Together for Catalonia).
• Ohian Vitoria Gartzia (Euskal Herria Bildu).
• Evarist Mahiques Canet (Compromís: Valencian Front).
• Eva Lima Trillo (Galician Nationalist Bloc).
• Octavio Caraballo de León (Canarian Coalition-Municipalists First Canary Islands).
• María Begoña Amezua Amuchastegui (Canarian People’s Unity UPC).

Podemos did not designate a representative for this commission, as stated in the designation resolution itself.

Appeals calendar in four days

The resolution published in the BOE does not reproduce the detail of times and slots assigned to each party: that distribution table is published on the website of the Central Electoral Board, as indicated by the agreement itself. Political entities may challenge it before the Secretariat of the body according to this schedule:

• Appeals in defense of their rights: until 2 p.m. on Friday, November 6.
• Allegations from interested parties regarding the appeals filed: until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10.
• Response from the RTVE Corporation to the claims: same deadline, until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10.

The publication in the Official State Gazette is supported by Article 18.6 of the LOREG, which requires official publicity for this type of agreement from the electoral administration.

RTVE’s news coverage plan

Along with the distribution, the BOE publishes the resolution of the Presidency of the Central Electoral Board acknowledging the News Coverage Plan prepared by the RTVE Corporation for the elections on November 29 (BOE-A-2026-23259, p. 149164). The procedure complies with Article 66 of the LOREG and Instruction 4/2011, of March 24, regarding the interpretation of that provision.

The plan is also available on the body’s website, and the general representatives of the parties accredited before the Central Electoral Board have identical deadlines to file claims: until 2 p.m. on Friday, November 6, with allegations until 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10, and the same timeframe for the public corporation’s response.

With both agreements, the electoral referee closes the phase prior to the start of the campaign in public media: the distribution of free spaces and RTVE’s news coverage rules are formalized before the challenge deadlines expire, so that any correction must occur in the coming days and not during the campaign. The schedule is especially relevant for small parties, whose minutes on radio and television depend on a distribution that is only made public at the body’s headquarters and not in the text of the BOE.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 276, of November 5, 2026, Sec. III. Other provisions, p. 149163 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-23258).