1993 Galician regional election explained

Election Name:1993 Galician regional election
Country:Galicia
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1989 Galician regional election
Previous Year:1989
Next Election:1997 Galician regional election
Next Year:1997
Seats For Election:All 75 seats in the Parliament of Galicia
Majority Seats:38
Opinion Polls:
  1. Opinion polls
Registered:2,293,169 2.1%
Turnout:1,472,017 (64.2%)
4.7 pp
Election Date:17 October 1993
Leader1:Manuel Fraga
Party1:People's Party of Galicia
Leader Since1:1989
Leaders Seat1:Lugo
Last Election1:38 seats, 44.0%
Seats1:43
Seat Change1:5
Popular Vote1:763,839
Percentage1:52.1%
Swing1:8.1 pp
Leader2:Antolín Sánchez
Party2:PSdeG–PSOE
Leader Since2:10 February 1991
Leaders Seat2:La Coruña
Last Election2:28 seats, 32.7%
Seats2:19
Seat Change2:9
Popular Vote2:346,831
Percentage2:23.7%
Swing2:9.0 pp
Leader3:Xosé Manuel Beiras
Party3:Galician Nationalist Bloc
Leader Since3:1982
Leaders Seat3:La Coruña
Last Election3:5 seats, 9.3%
Seats3:13
Seat Change3:8
Popular Vote3:269,233
Percentage3:18.4%
Swing3:9.1 pp
Map Size:350px
President
Before Election:Manuel Fraga
Before Party:People's Party of Galicia
After Election:Manuel Fraga
After Party:People's Party of Galicia

The 1993 Galician regional election was held on Sunday, 17 October 1993, to elect the 4th Parliament of the autonomous community of Galicia. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

The People's Party (PP) won with an increased absolute majority over 1989, resulting in Manuel Fraga being re-elected for a second term in office as President of Galicia. The Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG–PSOE) suffered from a crisis of leadership and from a desire of punishment to the national government of Felipe González, losing many votes in the way. Meanwhile, the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) began to appear as the main alternative to power thanks to its spokesman, Xosé Manuel Beiras', charisma.

The Galician Unity coalition of United Left (EU) and the Galician Socialist Party–Galician Left (PSG–EG) did not enter Parliament due to a change of the electoral law in 1991, which raised the electoral threshold from 3% to 5%. Galician Coalition (CG) also failed to enter Parliament, and only got 0.4% of the share.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Galicia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Galician Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1] Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Galicia and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 75 members of the Parliament of Galicia 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 constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of La Coruña, Lugo, Orense and Pontevedra, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 10 seats and the remaining 35 being distributed in proportion to their populations.[1] [2]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Parliament constituency was entitled the following seats:

SeatsConstituencies
24La Coruña
21Pontevedra
15Lugo, Orense

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[3]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Galicia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Journal of Galicia (DOG), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 17 December 1989, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 17 December 1993. The election decree was required to be published in the DOG no later than 23 November 1993, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Saturday, 22 January 1994.[1] [2]

The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Galicia and call a snap election, provided that it did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution 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.[4]

Parties and candidates

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.[2] [5]

Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:

CandidacyParties and
alliances
Leading candidateIdeologyPrevious result
Votes (%)Seats
PPManuel FragaConservatism
Christian democracy
44.02%
PSdeG–
PSOE
Antolín SánchezSocial democracy32.68%
BNGXosé Manuel BeirasGalician nationalism
Left-wing nationalism
Socialism
9.33%
EUUGCamilo NogueiraSocialism
Communism
5.27%
CGCésar Quintián NoasGalician nationalism
Liberalism
Christian democracy
3.64%

Opinion polls

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; 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Galicia.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 17 October 1993 Parliament of Galicia election results →
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%±ppTotal+/−
People's Party (PP)763,839 52.14 +8.1243 +5
Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG–PSOE)346,831 23.68 –9.0019 –9
Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)1269,233 18.38 +9.0513 +8
United LeftGalician Unity (EU–UG)244,902 3.07 –2.200 –2
Galician Coalition (CG)6,098 0.42 –3.220 –2
Ruiz-Mateos GroupEuropean Democratic Alliance (ARM–ADE)5,293 0.36 –0.170 ±0
The Greens of Galicia (Os Verdes)4,682 0.32 +0.080 ±0
Galician Alternative (AG)3,187 0.22 New0 ±0
The Ecologists (LE)2,987 0.20 –0.010 ±0
Humanist Citizen Platform (PCH)2,508 0.17 +0.110 ±0
United People's Assembly (APU)1,492 0.10 New0 ±0
Coalition for a New Socialist Party (NPS)3503 0.03 ±0.000 ±0
Blank ballots13,355 0.91 +0.51
Total1,464,910 75 ±0
Valid votes1,464,910 99.52 +0.34
Invalid votes7,107 0.48 –0.34
Votes cast / turnout1,472,017 64.19 +4.69
Abstentions821,152 35.81 –4.69
Registered voters2,293,169
Sources[14] [15]

Distribution by constituency

ConstituencyPPPSdeGBNG
data-sort-type="number"%data-sort-type="number"Sdata-sort-type="number"%data-sort-type="number"Sdata-sort-type="number"%data-sort-type="number"S
La Coruña49.01324.6619.65
Lugo56.5923.1416.52
Orense54.5925.4417.02
Pontevedra53.01222.0518.44
Total52.14323.71918.413
Sources

Aftermath

Investiture
Manuel Fraga (PP)
Ballot →1 December 1993
Required majority →38 out of 75
Abstentions
Absentees
Sources

References

Opinion poll sources
Other

Notes and References

  1. Ley Orgánica 1/1981, de 6 de abril, de Estatuto de Autonomía para Galicia] ]. Organic Law . 1 . es . 6 April 1981 . 8 August 2017.
  2. Ley 8/1985, de 13 de agosto, de elecciones al Parlamento de Galicia . Law . 2 . es . 13 August 1985 . 8 August 2017.
  3. Web site: Gallagher . Michael . 30 July 2012 . Effective threshold in electoral systems . https://web.archive.org/web/20170730092518/http://www.tcd.ie/Political_Science/staff/michael_gallagher/ElSystems/Docts/effthresh.php . dead . 30 July 2017 . Trinity College, Dublin . 22 July 2017.
  4. Ley 1/1983, de 22 de febrero, de normas reguladoras de la Xunta y su Presidencia . Law . 1 . es . 22 February 1983 . 8 August 2017.
  5. Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General . Organic Law . 5 . es . 19 June 1985 . 28 December 2016.
  6. Web site: Los socialistas ceden entre 7 y 9 escaños . es . El País . 10 October 1993.
  7. Web site: Fraga refuerza su mayoría absoluta . es . El País . 10 October 1993.
  8. Web site: Elecciones de 17 de octubre de 1993 al Parlamento Gallego . es . Revista de Derecho Político . 1995.
  9. Web site: Fraga: "La verdadera encuesta es la que sale de las urnas. No hay que confiarse" . es . ABC . 12 October 1993.
  10. Web site: Todos los sondeos amplían la mayoría absoluta para Fraga y dan un descenso del PSOE . es . La Vanguardia . 11 October 1993.
  11. Web site: Los sondeos pronostican una nueva mayoría absoluta del PP y el descalabro del PSOE . es . ABC . 3 October 1993.
  12. Web site: Claves de siete días . es . ABC . 18 September 1993.
  13. Web site: El "caso Naseiro" y las "listas negras" no deterioraron la imagen de Fraga en la Xunta . es . ABC Sevilla . 17 June 1990.
  14. Web site: Elecciones al Parlamento de Galicia (1981 - 2020) . es . Historia Electoral.com . 25 September 2017.
  15. Web site: Parliament of Galicia election results, 17 October 1993 . 11 November 1993 . es . www.juntaelectoralcentral.es . Electoral Commission of Galicia . 25 September 2017.