Editing Autonomous communities of Spain (section)

===Institutional organization===
All autonomous communities have a parliamentary system based on a division of powers comprising:
* A Legislative Assembly, whose members are elected by universal suffrage according to a system of [[proportional representation]], in which all areas that integrate the territory are fairly represented
* A Council of Government, with executive and administrative powers, headed by a prime minister, whose official title is "president",{{efn|name=lehendakari|In the Basque Country, the head of government is officially known as ''[[lehendakari]]'' in Basque, or by the Spanish rendering of the title, ''lendakari''.}}{{efn-lr|"Autonomic president", "regional president", or simply "president" (in Spanish: ''presidente autonómico'', ''presidente regional'', or simply ''presidente''; in Catalan/Valencian: ''president autonòmic'', ''president regional'', or simply ''president''; in Galician: ''presidente autonómico'', ''presidente rexional'', or simply ''presidente''). In the Basque language ''lehendakari'' is not translated.}} elected by the Legislative Assembly—usually the leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Assembly—and nominated by the [[King of Spain]]
* A High Court of Justice, hierarchically under the [[Supreme Court of Spain]]

[[File:Oviedo03.jpg|thumb|Regional Palace, seat of the [[General Junta]], the Parliament of the [[Asturias|Principality of Asturias]]]]
The majority of the communities have approved regional electoral laws within the limits set up by the laws for the entire country. Despite minor differences, all communities use [[proportional representation]] following the [[D'Hondt method]]; all members of regional parliaments are elected for four-year terms, but the president of the community has the faculty to dissolve the legislature and call for early elections. Nonetheless, in all communities except for the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, and Andalusia, elections are held the last Sunday of May every four years, concurrent with municipal elections in all of Spain.<ref name=carreras>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zkclm60b_yoC|first=Francesc|last=de Carreras Serra|chapter=El Estado de las Autonomías en España|title=Descentralización en Perspectiva Comparada: España, Colombia y Brasil|publisher=Plural Editores|year=2005|access-date=12 October 2012|isbn=978-9990563573}}</ref>

The names of the Council of Government and the Legislative Assembly vary between communities. In some autonomous communities, these institutions are restored historical bodies of government or representation of the previous kingdoms or regional entities within the Spanish Crown—like the Generalitat of Catalonia—while others are entirely new creations.

In some, both the executive and the legislature, though constituting two separate institutions, are collectively identified with a single specific name. A specific denomination may not refer to the same branch of government in all communities; for example, ''junta'' may refer to the executive office in some communities, to the legislature in others, or to the collective name of all branches of government in others.

Given the ambiguity in the constitution that did not specify which territories were nationalities and which were regions, other territories, besides the implicit three "historical nationalities", have also chosen to identify themselves as nationalities, in accordance with their historical regional identity, such as Andalusia, Aragon, the [[Balearic Islands]], the [[Canary Islands]], and the [[Valencian Community]].

{{Anchor|Autonomous cities}}The two autonomous cities have more limited powers than autonomous communities, but less limited than other municipalities. The executive is exercised by a president, who is also the mayor of the city. In the same way, limited legislative power is vested in a local assembly in which the deputies are also the city councillors.