| Election Name: | 1992 Catalan regional election |
| Country: | Catalonia |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1988 Catalan regional election |
| Previous Year: | 1988 |
| Next Election: | 1995 Catalan regional election |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
| Seats For Election: | All 135 seats in the Parliament of Catalonia |
| Majority Seats: | 68 |
| Opinion Polls: |
|
| Registered: | 4,839,071 6.0% |
| Turnout: | 2,655,051 (54.9%) 4.5 pp |
| Election Date: | 15 March 1992 |
| Leader1: | Jordi Pujol |
| Party1: | Convergence and Union |
| Leader Since1: | 17 November 1974 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Barcelona |
| Last Election1: | 69 seats, 45.7% |
| Seats1: | 70 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,221,233 |
| Percentage1: | 46.2% |
| Swing1: | 0.5 pp |
| Leader2: | Raimon Obiols |
| Party2: | PSC–PSOE |
| Leader Since2: | 12 July 1983 |
| Leaders Seat2: | Barcelona |
| Last Election2: | 42 seats, 29.8% |
| Seats2: | 40 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 728,311 |
| Percentage2: | 27.5% |
| Swing2: | 2.3 pp |
| Leader3: | Àngel Colom |
| Party3: | Republican Left of Catalonia |
| Leader Since3: | 19 November 1989 |
| Leaders Seat3: | Barcelona |
| Last Election3: | 6 seats, 4.1% |
| Seats3: | 11 |
| Seat Change3: | 5 |
| Popular Vote3: | 210,366 |
| Percentage3: | 8.0% |
| Swing3: | 3.9 pp |
| Leader4: | Rafael Ribó |
| Party4: | IC |
| Leader Since4: | 23 February 1987 |
| Leaders Seat4: | Barcelona |
| Last Election4: | 9 seats, 7.8% |
| Seats4: | 7 |
| Seat Change4: | 2 |
| Popular Vote4: | 171,794 |
| Percentage4: | 6.5% |
| Swing4: | 1.3 pp |
| Leader5: | Alejo Vidal-Quadras |
| Party5: | People's Party of Catalonia |
| Leader Since5: | 9 January 1991 |
| Leaders Seat5: | Barcelona |
| Last Election5: | 6 seats, 5.3% |
| Seats5: | 7 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 157,772 |
| Percentage5: | 6.0% |
| Swing5: | 0.7 pp |
| Map Size: | 350px |
| President | |
| Before Election: | Jordi Pujol |
| Before Party: | CDC (CiU) |
| After Election: | Jordi Pujol |
| After Party: | CDC (CiU) |
The 1992 Catalan regional election was held on Sunday, 15 March 1992, to elect the 4th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election.
The Parliament of Catalonia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1] Transitory Provision Fourth of the Statute established a specific electoral procedure for elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, of application for as long as a regional electoral law was not approved, to be supplemented by the provisions within the national electoral law. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Catalonia and in full enjoyment of their political rights.
The 135 members of the Parliament of Catalonia 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 Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats:[1]
| Seats | Constituencies | |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | Barcelona | |
| 18 | Tarragona | |
| 17 | Girona | |
| 15 | Lleida |
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[2]
The term of the Parliament of Catalonia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The regional president was required to call an election fifteen days prior to the date of expiry of parliament, with election day taking place within sixty days after the call. The previous election was held on 29 May 1988, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 29 May 1992. The election was required to be called no later than 5 May 1992, with it taking place on the sixtieth day from the call, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Monday, 13 July 1992.[1]
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Catalonia and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous one under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.[3] [4]
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.[5]
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 | |||||||||
| CiU | Jordi Pujol | Catalan nationalism Centrism | 45.72% | |||||||
| PSC–PSOE | Raimon Obiols | Social democracy | 29.78% | |||||||
| IC | Rafael Ribó | Eco-socialism Green politics | 7.76% | |||||||
| PP | Alejo Vidal-Quadras | Conservatism Christian democracy | 5.31% | |||||||
| ERC | Àngel Colom | Catalan independence Left-wing nationalism Social democracy | 4.14% | [6] | ||||||
| CDS | Teresa Sandoval | Centrism Liberalism | 3.83% | |||||||
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; 68 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | IC | Lead | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 regional election | 15 Mar 1992 | 54.9 | 46.2 | 27.5 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 0.9 | 6.0 | 18.7 | |||
| Sigma Dos/Diari de Barcelona[7] | 8 Mar 1992 | 2,400 | ? | 46.1 | 29.0 | 8.0 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 6.4 | 17.1 | ||
| RGR/Avui | 8 Mar 1992 | 1,000 | ? | 47.5 | 27.6 | 8.3 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 5.1 | 19.9 | ||
| Gabise/El Observador | 8 Mar 1992 | 800 | ? | 46.6 | 30.8 | 6.7 | 5.6 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 15.8 | ||
| Marketing Comunicación/ERC[8] | 8 Mar 1992 | 4,780 | 55 | ? | ? | ? | ? | – | ? | ? | ||
| OTR–IS/El Periódico[9] | 3–5 Mar 1992 | 2,000 | 57 | 46.4 | 29.2 | 7.7 | 5.6 | – | 6.3 | 17.2 | ||
| Opina/La Vanguardia[10] | 2–4 Mar 1992 | 2,004 | ? | 47.9 | 28.2 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 1.5 | 5.6 | 19.7 | ||
| Demoscopia/El País[11] | 29 Feb–4 Mar 1992 | 1,600 | 58 | 46.5 | 27.6 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 1.1 | 6.3 | 18.9 | ||
| Opina/La Vanguardia[12] | 17–19 Feb 1992 | 2,000 | 60–65 | 47.5 | 28.5 | 8.5 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 19.0 | ||
| Demoscopia/El País[13] | 8–14 Feb 1992 | ? | 58 | 46.4 | 30.1 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 6.2 | 16.3 | ||
| OTR–IS/El Periódico[14] | 8–11 Feb 1992 | 2,000 | ? | 46.6 | 27.9 | 8.2 | 5.6 | 1.8 | 6.5 | 18.7 | ||
| Producciones 5/Avui | 19 Jan 1992 | 2,900 | ? | 46.8 | 28.8 | 7.5 | 5.1 | 2.6 | 6.0 | 18.0 | ||
| Central de Campo/PSC[15] | 3 Jan 1992 | ? | ? | 40.0 | 32.0 | – | – | – | – | 8.0 | ||
| 1991 local elections | 26 May 1991 | 57.7 | 33.4 | 37.5 | 9.6 | 3.4 | 1.0 | 6.7 | 4.1 | |||
| 1989 general election | 29 Oct 1989 | 67.6 | 32.7 | 35.6 | 7.3 | 2.7 | 4.3 | 10.6 | 2.9 | |||
| 1989 EP election | 15 Jun 1989 | 51.5 | 27.5 | 36.4 | 5.5 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 8.6 | 8.9 | |||
| 1988 regional election | 29 May 1988 | 59.4 | 45.7 | 29.8 | 7.8 | 5.3 | 4.1 | 3.8 | – | 15.9 | ||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | |||
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 1,221,233 | 46.19 | +0.47 | 70 | +1 | ||
| Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC–PSOE) | 728,311 | 27.55 | –2.23 | 40 | –2 | ||
| Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) | 210,366 | 7.96 | +3.82 | 11 | +5 | ||
| Initiative for Catalonia (IC) | 171,794 | 6.50 | –1.26 | 7 | –2 | ||
| People's Party (PP)1 | 157,772 | 5.97 | +0.66 | 7 | +1 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 24,033 | 0.91 | –2.92 | 0 | –3 | ||
| Party of the Communists of Catalonia (PCC) | 22,181 | 0.84 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| The Greens–Green Union (EV–UV) | 14,041 | 0.53 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Ruiz-Mateos Group (ARM) | 13,067 | 0.49 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Green Alternative–Ecologist Movement of Catalonia (AV–MEC) | 10,323 | 0.39 | –0.22 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Workers' Socialist Party (PST) | 10,270 | 0.39 | +0.18 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| The Ecologists (LVE) | 9,879 | 0.37 | +0.05 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Ecologist Party of Catalonia–VERDE (PEC–VERDE) | 7,786 | 0.29 | +0.07 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Free Catalonia (CLL) | 5,241 | 0.20 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE) | 2,258 | 0.09 | –0.01 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Independent Socialists (SI)2 | 2,080 | 0.08 | +0.04 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Humanist Party (PH) | 1,752 | 0.07 | –0.01 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Lleida Republican Youth (JRLL) | 431 | 0.02 | New | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank ballots | 31,092 | 1.18 | +0.55 | ||||
| Total | 2,643,910 | 135 | ±0 | ||||
| Valid votes | 2,643,910 | 99.58 | +0.09 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 11,141 | 0.42 | –0.09 | ||||
| Votes cast / turnout | 2,655,051 | 54.87 | –4.50 | ||||
| Abstentions | 2,184,020 | 45.13 | +4.50 | ||||
| Registered voters | 4,839,071 | ||||||
| Sources[16] [17] | |||||||
| Constituency | CiU | PSC | ERC | IC | PP | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | data-sort-type="number" | % | data-sort-type="number" | S |
| Barcelona | 44.6 | 41 | 28.9 | 27 | 7.2 | 6 | 7.4 | 6 | 5.9 | 5 | |||||||||
| Girona | 54.3 | 11 | 21.8 | 4 | 11.6 | 2 | 3.4 | − | 4.0 | − | |||||||||
| Lleida | 53.6 | 9 | 21.8 | 4 | 9.8 | 1 | 2.9 | − | 6.9 | 1 | |||||||||
| Tarragona | 45.8 | 9 | 26.5 | 5 | 9.2 | 2 | 4.7 | 1 | 7.7 | 1 | |||||||||
| Total | 46.2 | 70 | 27.5 | 40 | 8.0 | 11 | 6.5 | 7 | 6.0 | 7 | |||||||||
| Sources[18] [19] [20] [21] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Investiture Jordi Pujol (CDC) | |||
| Ballot → | 9 April 1992 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 68 out of 135 | ||
| Absentees | |||
| Sources | |||