In Spain, the President is elected not by the people but for the Congress of the Deputies. In the General Elections, the different parties present a closed list of candidates to the Congress and people vote for each party and the full list. Normally, each party has his own candidate to presidency and this is normally, the leader of the closed list and the party. When the results come out, each party wins seats on the Congress in proportion to the number of votes. Following the general election of the Cortes Generales, and other circumstances provided for in the constitution, the king meets with and interviews the leaders of the parties represented in the Congress of Deputies, and then consults with the Speaker of the Congress of Deputies before nominating his candidate for the presidency, according to Section 99 of Title IV. Often minor parties form part of a larger major party, and through that membership it can be said that the king fulfills his constitutional mandate of consulting with party representatives with Congressional representation.
Title IV Government and Administration Section 99 &
After each renewal of the Congress and the other cases provided for under the Constitution, the King shall, after consultation with the representatives appointed by the political groups with parliamentary representation, and through the Speaker of the Congress, nominate for the Presidency of the Government.
The candidate nominated in accordance with the provisions of the foregoing subsection shall submit to the Congress the political program of the Government he or she intends to form and shall seek the confidence of the House.
After the Congress confirmation, the Speaker of the Congress formally reports to the king of the congressional confirmation. The king then appoints the candidate as the new President of the Government. The king's order of appointment is countersigned by the Speaker. During the inauguration ceremony performed by the king, customarily at the Salón de Audiencias in the Zarzuela Palace, the president elect of the Government takes an oath of office over an open constitution and next to the Bible.
Presidents
Acting president
The acting president is the president that remains in office until the next president is sworn in or the current acting president is re-elected. The acting president does not have to be an outgoing president, however, his powers are limited by the Constitution.
Outgoing president
The outgoing president not presenting for re-election, he remains in office as a caretaker until their successor is sworn in. However, his powers are limited because his official term finished the day that he convoked the elections. In this way, many decisions are reserved for a legit and elected president. An example of this was the 2011 General Elections of Spain, when Outgoing President Zapatero wasn't presenting to re-election and he took care of the office until the elected president was sworn in.
Elected president
The term elected president is not proper to the parliamentary system because the president is not elected directly by the people but for the Congress. The term can be used unofficial if the biggest party has an absolute majority on the Congress or has the support of other party, which indicates that the candidate, although he has not been directly elected, he will overcome the congressional confirmation.
Powers transition
After the President's confirmation in the Congress, he becomes the official President of the Government. The powers transition is just a solemnly act because the outgoing president is not the president or acting president anymore. The new president normally meets the outgoing president at the Moncloa and after a talk, they go to the main door in front of the media and the outgoing president gives the president the presidential briefcase as a symbol of a transition of power. The Ministers do the same with their respectives briefcases.
