Spain's Political Systems. Social Sciences. Unit 6.

SPAIN'S POLITICAL SYSTEMS

Social Sciences Unit 6

created and read by: ashley gardner

DEMOCRACY AND THE CONSTITUTION

Spain is a democracy. This means that citizens can vote for the political party, or group of politicians, they would like to govern the country.

The U.S. preisdent Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) defined democracy as "government of the people, by the people, for the people."

Many democracies are based on a constitution, a document containing basic laws or principles for a country. Spain's current constitution was adopted in 1978.

Now, let's talk about what citizens are promised in the constitution!

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

-fundamental rights- this is what the Spanish constitution guarantees for all Spanish citizens. Rights are something we should have or be able to do.

-responsibilities - things the constitution says citizens must do.

Our rights:
-an education
-housing & healthcare
-live and travel where we choose within Spain
-express our opinions and beliefs
-associate with others
-be tread equally by the law
-a pension after retirement from work

Our responsibilities:
-obey the law
-pay taxes to support public services
-not tolerate discrimination against ourselves or others because of gender, race, religion or beliefs.
-look after the environment
-look after people who are weaker than us
-be respectful of others in public
-be kind to animals

ELECTIONS IN SPAIN

Elections - a fundamental part of a democracy. They allow people to choose who will represent them in government. In Spain, every citizen over the age of 18 can vote.

Political parties choose their candidates and organise an election campaign. Each party produces a programme- a document which descibes what the party will do if their candidates win.

To vote in an election people must be registered to vote. On election day, voters choose the ballot paper of the party they want to vote for and put it in a ballot box.

In Spain, municipal, regional and national elections are held every four years. However, national or regional governments or parliaments can sometimes call an early election. Only Spanish citizens can vote in national and regional elections.
European elections are held every five years and any EU citizen living in Spain can vote.