Political parties in Balearic and Canary Islands must update electoral procedures

The publication of Organic Law 2/2026 introduces significant changes to the electoral regulations applicable to the autonomous communities of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands. This legal provision requires political formations active in these territories to carry out technical and regulatory adjustments in their internal processes for future democratic exercises. ## What changes The new regulation specifically modifies Articles 161.2 and 165.2 of Organic Law 5/1985. The main change is the necessity for political parties to adjust their regulations and electoral management mechanisms to comply with the new legal framework. This involves updating protocols for candidate presentation and the management of voter lists, ensuring internal procedures are consistent with regional administration requirements. ## Context This modification is not an isolated event but responds to the need to align the electoral regime of these regions with the recent reform of paragraph 3 of Article 69 of the Spanish Constitution. The objective is to ensure regulatory cohesion between the state system and the specificities of the Balearic and Canary Islands territories, providing legal certainty in the election organization process. ## Who is affected and how ### Political parties in the Balearic and Canary Islands The impact is direct on political organizations operating in these communities. They must review their statutes and electoral regulations to ensure that list registration and candidate presentation strictly adhere to the provisions of Articles 161.2 and 165.2 of Organic Law 5/1985, as amended by Organic Law 2/2026. ### Regional administrations The electoral authorities of the Balearic and Canary Islands will have the competence to demand that these adjustments are correctly implemented. Any discrepancy in the list registration procedures could lead to difficulties regarding the validity of the presented candidacies. ## What to do and when Compliance with this regulation requires immediate action due to the short timeframe established. The necessary actions are: 1. **Internal regulatory review:** Analyze current selection and candidate presentation procedures against the new provision (BOE-A-2026-14329). 2. **Regulation update:** Modify internal electoral regulations to integrate the changes required by Articles 161.2 and 165.2. 3. **Registration process adjustment:** Adapt list registration mechanisms to be compatible with regional administration requirements. **Deadline:** The law establishes a period of three months to complete these adaptations (art. 161.2 and 165.2). For any questions regarding the impact of this regulation on your organization, we recommend assessing your specific case with the corresponding area of BMC.