Political Divisions of Spain - Municipalities

Municipalities

The municipalities of Spain (municipios or consejos in Spanish, concellos in Galician, municipis in Catalan, udalerri in Basque), constitute the lowest level of territorial organization in the country, and are guaranteed a measure of autonomy by the constitution. The administration of the municipalities corresponds to councils (ayuntamientos in Spanish, concellos in Galician, ajuntament in Catalan, udal in Basque) consisting of mayors and councillors, who are elected by universal suffrage. The municipalities are the basic entities of the territorial organization of the State, the immediate channels of the citizens' participation in public affairs. The official names of the municipalities of Spain can be in Spanish—the official language of the country, in any of the co-official languages of the autonomous communities they belong to, if applicable, or in both.

All citizens of Spain are required to register in the municipality they live in, and after doing so, they are juridically considered "neighbors" (residents) of the municipality, a designation that grants them various rights and privileges, and which entail certain obligations as well, including the right to vote or be elected for public office in said municipality. The right to vote in municipal elections is extended to Spanish citizens living abroad; the Spaniard abroad, upon registering in a consulate, has the right to vote in the local elections of the last municipality they resided in. A Spanish citizen born abroad must choose between the last municipality his or her mother or father last lived in.