Municipal elections in Barcelona

The mayor is elected indirectly by the councillors on the first plenary session of the term.

The size of the legislature is determined by the population count on 1 January before the election.

Local councillors are elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes, which include blank ballots.

After the plenary session, the Mayor chooses councillors to be in the government executive.

Until Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, only one half of the council was renewed at every election.