Basque Parliament Explained

Basque Parliament
Native Name:	Eusko Legebiltzarra Parlamento Vasco
Coa Pic:	Basque Parliament logo.png
Coa Res:	250px
House Type:	Unicameral
Election1:	20 November 2012
Leader2 Type:	Vice President
Election2:	14 May 2024
Leader3 Type:	Second Vice President
Election3:	21 October 2016
Leader4 Type:	Secretary
Election4:	14 May 2024
Leader5 Type:	Vice Secretary
Election5:	14 May 2024
Members:	75
Structure1:	Parlamento Vasco 2024.svg
Structure1 Res:	250px
Political Groups1:	Government (39) EAJ/PNV (27) PSE–EE (12) Opposition (36) EH Bildu (27) Sortu (4) EA (4) Alternative (2) PP (7) Sumar (1) EzAn–IU (1) Vox (1)
Session Room:	Parlamento Vasco.jpg
Website:	Website

The Basque Parliament (Basque: Eusko Legebiltzarra, Spanish: Parlamento Vasco) is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible.

The Parliament meets in the Basque capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz, although the first session of the modern assembly, as constituted by the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, was held in Guernica - the symbolic centre of Basque freedoms - on 31 March 1980.^[1] Later in 1980 it started meeting at the premises of the Council of Álava. In 1982, it got its own site in a former high school. The symbol of the Parliament is an oaken sculpture by Nestor Basterretxea representing a stylized tree, an allusion to the tradition of Basque political assemblies meeting under a tree, as in Guernica.

It is composed of seventy-five deputies representing citizens from the three provinces of the Basque autonomous community. Each province (Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay) elects the same number of deputies, despite their having very different levels of population. This was chosen to earn support from Álava and Navarre, less populated territories. Still, Navarre did not join the autonomous community.

The elections are held using closed list proportional representation with seats allocated on a Provincial basis using the D'Hondt method of allocation. To qualify for seats in a particular province, electoral lists must receive at least 3% of the votes cast in that province, including votes "en blanco" for "none of the above." From 1984 to 2001, the election threshold was 5% in each province. Sessions of the Basque Parliament are conducted in both Basque and Spanish, with translation services.

The Parliament consists of 75 deputies elected by universal adult suffrage under a system of proportional representation.