| Election Name: | 1979 Spanish local elections |
| Country: | Spain |
| Flag Year: | 1977 |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1976 Spanish local elections |
| Previous Year: | 1976 |
| Next Election: | 1983 Spanish local elections |
| Next Year: | 1983 |
| Seats For Election: | 67,505 councillors in 7,870 municipal councils 1,152 seats in 43 provincial deputations |
| Registered: | 26,591,013 |
| Turnout: | 16,621,868 (62.5%) |
| Election Date: | 3 April 1979 |
| Leader1: | Adolfo Suárez |
| Party1: | Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain) |
| Leader Since1: | 3 May 1977 |
| Seats1: | 29,288 |
| Popular Vote1: | 5,067,634 |
| Percentage1: | 30.9% |
| Leader2: | Felipe González |
| Party2: | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party |
| Leader Since2: | 13 October 1974 |
| Seats2: | 12,069 |
| Popular Vote2: | 4,621,672 |
| Percentage2: | 28.2% |
| Leader3: | Santiago Carrillo |
| Party3: | Communist Party of Spain |
| Leader Since3: | 3 July 1960 |
| Seats3: | 3,725 |
| Popular Vote3: | 2,142,049 |
| Percentage3: | 13.0% |
| Leader4: | Jordi Pujol |
| Party4: | Convergence and Union |
| Leader Since4: | 19 September 1978 |
| Seats4: | 1,782 |
| Popular Vote4: | 509,128 |
| Percentage4: | 3.1% |
| Leader5: | Manuel Fraga |
| Party5: | Democratic Coalition (Spain) |
| Leader Since5: | 9 October 1976 |
| Seats5: | 2,383 |
| Popular Vote5: | 504,780 |
| Percentage5: | 3.1% |
| Leader6: | Carlos Garaikoetxea |
| Party6: | Basque Nationalist Party |
| Leader Since6: | 1977 |
| Seats6: | 1,093 |
| Popular Vote6: | 361,160 |
| Percentage6: | 2.2% |
| Map Size: | 435px |
The 1979 Spanish local elections were held on Tuesday, 3 April 1979, to elect all 67,505 councillors in the 7,870 municipalities of Spain and all 1,152 seats in 43 provincial deputations.[1] [2] [3] The elections were held simultaneously with local elections in the four foral deputations of the Basque Country and Navarre and the ten island councils in the Balearic and Canary Islands.
While the national ruling Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) emerged as the largest party overall, an alliance between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) saw municipal control over the main urban areas switching to left-wing parties.[4] [5]
Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each local council. Councillors were allocated to municipal councils based on the following scale:
| Population | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| <250 | 5 | |
| 251–1,000 | 7 | |
| 1,001–2,000 | 9 | |
| 2,001–5,000 | 11 | |
| 5,001–10,000 | 13 | |
| 10,001–20,000 | 17 | |
| 20,001–50,000 | 21 | |
| 50,001–100,000 | 25 | |
| >100,001 | +1 per each 100,000 inhabitants or fraction +1 if total is an even number |
Additionally, municipalities below 25 inhabitants, as well as those having traditionally adopted it, were to be organized through the open council system (Spanish; Castilian: régimen de concejo abierto), in which electors would directly vote for the local major.[6]
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election—needing to secure, in any case, the signature of 500 electors—. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates.[7] Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.[6]
Most deputations were indirectly elected by local councillors from municipalities in each judicial district. Seats were allocated to provincial deputations based on the following scale:
| Population | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| <500,000 | 24 | |
| 500,001–1,000,000 | 27 | |
| >1,000,001 | 30 | |
| Madrid and Barcelona | 51 |
Island councils and the foral deputations of Biscay, Gipuzkoa and Navarre were elected directly by electors under their own, specific electoral regulations.[6]
| Parties and coalitions | Popular vote | Councillors | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | |||
| Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) | 5,067,634 | 30.87 | n/a | 29,288 | n/a | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 4,621,672 | 28.15 | n/a | 12,069 | n/a | ||
| Communist Party of Spain (PCE) | 2,142,049 | 13.05 | n/a | 3,725 | n/a | ||
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 509,128 | 3.10 | n/a | 1,782 | n/a | ||
| Democratic Coalition (CD) | 504,780 | 3.07 | n/a | 2,383 | n/a | ||
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 361,160 | 2.20 | n/a | 1,093 | n/a | ||
| Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) | 245,507 | 1.50 | n/a | 259 | n/a | ||
| Popular Unity (HB) | 164,516 | 1.00 | n/a | 267 | n/a | ||
| Party of Labour of Spain (PTE) | 148,083 | 0.90 | n/a | 229 | n/a | ||
| Workers' Revolutionary Organization (ORT) | 114,539 | 0.70 | n/a | 107 | n/a | ||
| Republican Left of Catalonia–National Front of Catalonia (ERC–FNC) | 103,547 | 0.63 | n/a | 210 | n/a | ||
| Communist Movement–Organization of Communist Left (MC–OIC) | 86,792 | 0.53 | n/a | 59 | n/a | ||
| Galician National-Popular Bloc (BNPG) | 78,216 | 0.48 | n/a | 258 | n/a | ||
| Galician Unity (PG–POG–PSG) | 69,060 | 0.42 | n/a | 141 | n/a | ||
| National Union (UN) | 61,889 | 0.38 | n/a | 122 | n/a | ||
| Basque Country Left (EE) | 59,332 | 0.36 | n/a | 84 | n/a | ||
| Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) | 58,661 | 0.36 | n/a | 276 | n/a | ||
| Canarian People's Union (UPC) | 55,779 | 0.34 | n/a | 30 | n/a | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (historical) (PSOEh) | 26,585 | 0.16 | n/a | 45 | n/a | ||
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 23,870 | 0.15 | n/a | 81 | n/a | ||
| Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) | 18,390 | 0.11 | n/a | 7 | n/a | ||
| Valencian Regional Union (URV) | 18,015 | 0.11 | n/a | 2 | n/a | ||
| Cantonal Party (PCAN) | 14,753 | 0.09 | n/a | 7 | n/a | ||
| Communists of Catalonia (ComC) | 14,529 | 0.09 | n/a | 0 | n/a | ||
| Independent Councillors for La Rioja (CIR) | 13,580 | 0.08 | n/a | 147 | n/a | ||
| Navarrese People's Union (UPN) | 12,305 | 0.07 | n/a | 10 | n/a | ||
| Socialist Party of National Liberation (PSAN) | 10,907 | 0.07 | n/a | 5 | n/a | ||
| Nationalist Party of the Valencian Country (PNPV) | 10,773 | 0.07 | n/a | 12 | n/a | ||
| Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) | 9,908 | 0.06 | n/a | 4 | n/a | ||
| Candidates for Democracy (CPLD) | 9,778 | 0.06 | n/a | 77 | n/a | ||
| Carlist Party (PC) | 9,548 | 0.06 | n/a | 9 | n/a | ||
| Electoral Group of Ceuta–Democratic Local Council (AECAD) | 8,855 | 0.05 | n/a | 12 | n/a | ||
| Free Electoral Group of Tenerife (ALET) | 8,815 | 0.05 | n/a | 4 | n/a | ||
| Socialist Party of Majorca (PSM) | 8,123 | 0.05 | n/a | 11 | n/a | ||
| Republican Left (IR) | 7,661 | 0.05 | n/a | 5 | n/a | ||
| Leonese Peasants Electoral Group (AECL) | 7,496 | 0.05 | n/a | 112 | n/a | ||
| Spanish Communist Workers' Party (PCOE) | 7,400 | 0.05 | n/a | 1 | n/a | ||
| Others | 1,702,022 | 10.37 | n/a | 14,572 | n/a | ||
| Blank ballots | 20,038 | 0.12 | n/a | ||||
| Total | 16,415,695 | 100.00 | 67,505 | n/a | |||
| Valid votes | 16,415,695 | 98.76 | n/a | ||||
| Invalid votes | 206,173 | 1.24 | n/a | ||||
| Votes cast / turnout | 16,621,868 | 62.51 | n/a | ||||
| Abstentions | 9,969,145 | 37.49 | n/a | ||||
| Registered voters | 26,591,013 | ||||||
| Sources[8] [9] | |||||||
The following table lists party control in provincial capitals, as well as in municipalities above or around 75,000.[10]
| Parties and coalitions | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | +/− | |||
| Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) | 717 | n/a | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 279 | n/a | ||
| Communist Party of Spain (PCE) | 62 | n/a | ||
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 45 | n/a | ||
| Democratic Coalition (CD) | 29 | n/a | ||
| Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) | 4 | n/a | ||
| Galician National-Popular Bloc (BNPG) | 3 | n/a | ||
| Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) | 2 | n/a | ||
| Galician Unity (PG–POG–PSG) | 2 | n/a | ||
| Party of Labour of Spain (PTE) | 1 | n/a | ||
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 1 | n/a | ||
| Spanish Ruralist Party (PRE) | 1 | n/a | ||
| Others | 6 | n/a | ||
| Total | 1,152 | n/a | ||
| Sources | ||||
The following table lists party control in provincial deputations.[3]