| Election Name: | 1991 Aragonese regional election |
| Country: | Aragon |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1987 Aragonese regional election |
| Previous Year: | 1987 |
| Next Election: | 1995 Aragonese regional election |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
| Seats For Election: | All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon |
| Majority Seats: | 34 |
| Opinion Polls: |
|
| Registered: | 959,596 |
| Turnout: | 617,848 (64.4%) 5.3 pp |
| Election Date: | 26 May 1991 |
| Leader1: | José Marco |
| Party1: | Socialists' Party of Aragon |
| Leader Since1: | 1991 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election1: | 27 seats, 35.7% |
| Seats1: | 30 |
| Seat Change1: | 3 |
| Popular Vote1: | 247,485 |
| Percentage1: | 40.3% |
| Swing1: | 4.6 pp |
| Leader2: | Hipólito Gómez de las Roces |
| Party2: | Aragonese Party |
| Leader Since2: | December 1977 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election2: | 19 seats, 28.1% |
| Seats2: | 17 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 151,420 |
| Percentage2: | 24.7% |
| Swing2: | 3.4 pp |
| Leader3: | José Ignacio Senao |
| Party3: | People's Party of Aragon |
| Leader Since3: | 1990 |
| Leaders Seat3: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election3: | 13 seats, 16.7% |
| Seats3: | 17 |
| Seat Change3: | 4 |
| Popular Vote3: | 126,892 |
| Percentage3: | 20.7% |
| Swing3: | 4.0 pp |
| Leader4: | Adolfo Burriel |
| Party4: | CAA–IU |
| Colour4: | 732021 |
| Leader Since4: | 1989 |
| Leaders Seat4: | Zaragoza |
| Last Election4: | 2 seats, 4.9% |
| Seats4: | 3 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Popular Vote4: | 41,367 |
| Percentage4: | 6.7% |
| Swing4: | 1.8 pp |
| Leader5: | José Luis Merino |
| Party5: | Democratic and Social Centre (Spain) |
| Leader Since5: | 1983 |
| Leaders Seat5: | Zaragoza (lost) |
| Last Election5: | 6 seats, 10.2% |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seat Change5: | 6 |
| Popular Vote5: | 18,929 |
| Percentage5: | 3.1% |
| Swing5: | 7.1 pp |
| Map Size: | 225px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Hipólito Gómez de las Roces |
| Before Party: | Aragonese Party |
| After Election: | Emilio Eiroa |
| After Party: | Aragonese Party |
The 1991 Aragonese regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Cortes of the autonomous community of Aragon. All 67 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in 12 other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The main loser in the election was the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which lost all of its 6 seats. The Aragonese Party (PAR) also lost two seats. The main gainers were the main two national parties, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the newly created People's Party (PP). United Left also gained 1 seat.
The new legislature elected Emilio Eiroa of the PAR as the new President of Aragon by 34 votes to 33, after Hipólito Gómez de las Roces' refusal to reach a new agreement with the PP.[1] All PAR and PP deputies supported Eiroa's election while the PSOE and IU deputies voted against. The tight arithmetic in the new legislature was further complicated in November 1992 when a PP deputy, Emilio Gomáriz, resigned from the PP, leaving him holding the balance of power between the PP-PAR bloc and the PSOE-IU bloc. In September 1993 the PSOE introduced a no-confidence motion against President Eiroa. In the subsequent vote Gomáriz appeared visibly nervous and claimed that he had received death threats against his children. He voted with the PSOE and IU deputies for Socialist José Marco as new President.[2]
The Cortes of Aragon were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Aragon, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Aragonese Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[3]
Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Aragon and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 67 members of the Cortes of Aragon were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 13 seats and the remaining 28 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in the most populated province did not exceed 2.75 times that of the least populated one).[3] [4]
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[5]
The term of the Cortes of Aragon expired four years after the date of their previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the Cortes were to be fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 10 June 1987, setting the election date for the Cortes on Sunday, 26 May 1991.[3] [4]
The Cortes of Aragon could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament except in the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot. In such a case, the Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[3]
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[4] [6]
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
| Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Leading candidate | Ideology | Previous result | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | |||||||||
| PSOE | José Marco | Social democracy | 35.68% | |||||||
| PAR | Hipólito Gómez de las Roces | Regionalism Centrism | 28.14% | |||||||
| PP | José Ignacio Senao | Conservatism Christian democracy | 16.72% | |||||||
| CDS | José Luis Merino | Centrism Liberalism | 10.23% | |||||||
| CAA–IU | Adolfo Burriel | Socialism Communism | 4.90% | |||||||
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | ARM | Lead | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 regional election | 26 May 1991 | 64.3 | 40.3 | 24.7 | 3.1 | 6.7 | 20.7 | – | 15.6 | ||||
| EM&C/Heraldo de Aragón[7] | 20 May 1991 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | |||
| El Periódico | 20 May 1991 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | |||
| Diario 16 | 20 May 1991 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | |||
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[8] [9] | 18 May 1991 | ? | ? | 34.8 | 26.3 | 4.8 | 9.6 | 21.1 | – | 8.5 | |||
| Metra Seis/El Independiente | 12 May 1991 | ? | ? | 34.6 | 28.1 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 18.2 | – | 6.5 | |||
| Demoscopia/El País[10] [11] | 4–7 May 1991 | 700 | ? | 34.6 | 34.1 | 3.9 | 8.3 | 16.4 | – | 0.5 | |||
| 1989 general election | 29 Oct 1989 | 70.2 | 38.7 | 10.9 | 7.6 | 9.7 | 27.8 | 1.0 | 10.9 | ||||
| 1989 EP election | 15 Jun 1989 | 54.3 | 41.6 | – | 7.8 | 6.3 | 26.6 | 5.5 | 15.0 | ||||
| 1987 regional election | 10 Jun 1987 | 69.7 | 35.7 | 28.1 | 15.5 | 10.2 | 4.9 | 1.2 | – | – | 7.6 | ||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | |||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 247,485 | 40.34 | +4.66 | 30 | +3 | ||
| Aragonese Party (PAR) | 151,420 | 24.68 | –3.46 | 17 | –2 | ||
| People's Party (PP)1 | 126,892 | 20.68 | +3.96 | 17 | +4 | ||
| Aragon Alternative Convergence–United Left (CAA–IU) | 41,367 | 6.74 | +1.84 | 3 | +1 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 18,929 | 3.09 | –7.14 | 0 | –6 | ||
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 14,116 | 2.30 | +1.34 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Workers' Socialist Party (PST) | 2,441 | 0.40 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Independent Aragonese Party (PAI) | 1,882 | 0.31 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Social Aragonese Movement (MAS) | 1,032 | 0.17 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank ballots | 7,981 | 1.30 | –0.14 | ||||
| Total | 613,545 | 67 | ±0 | ||||
| Valid votes | 613,545 | 99.30 | +0.50 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 4,303 | 0.70 | –0.50 | ||||
| Votes cast / turnout | 617,848 | 64.39 | –5.31 | ||||
| Abstentions | 341,748 | 35.61 | +5.31 | ||||
| Registered voters | 959,596 | ||||||
| Sources[12] [13] [14] | |||||||
| Constituency | PSOE | PAR | PP | CAA–IU | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S |
| Huesca | 39.4 | 8 | 25.3 | 5 | 20.3 | 4 | 6.6 | 1 | |||||||
| Teruel | 37.9 | 7 | 19.7 | 3 | 31.3 | 6 | 3.0 | − | |||||||
| Zaragoza | 41.1 | 15 | 25.5 | 9 | 18.7 | 7 | 7.5 | 2 | |||||||
| Total | 40.3 | 30 | 24.7 | 17 | 20.7 | 17 | 6.7 | 3 | |||||||
| Sources | |||||||||||||||
| Investiture Emilio Eiroa (PAR) | |||
| Ballot → | 10 July 1991 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 34 out of 67 | ||
| Abstentions | |||
| Absentees | |||
| Sources | |||
| Motion of no confidence José Marco (PSOE) | |||
| Ballot → | 15 September 1993 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 34 out of 67 | ||
| Abstentions | |||
| Absentees | |||
| Sources | |||
| Motion of no confidence Emilio Eiroa (PAR) | |||
| Ballot → | 21 December 1994 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 34 out of 67 | ||
| Sources | |||
| Investiture Ángela Abós (PSOE) | ||||
| Ballot → | 30 January 1995 | 31 January 1995 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 34 out of 67 | Simple | ||
| Absentees | ||||
| Sources | ||||