2001 Galician regional election explained

Election Name:	2001 Galician regional election
Country:	Galicia
Type:	parliamentary
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1997 Galician regional election
Previous Year:	1997
Next Election:	2005 Galician regional election
Next Year:	2005
Seats For Election:	All 75 seats in the Parliament of Galicia
Majority Seats:	38
Opinion Polls:	Opinion polls
Registered:	2,567,670 0.1%
Turnout:	1,544,687 (60.2%) 2.3 pp
Election Date:	21 October 2001
Leader1:	Manuel Fraga
Party1:	People's Party of Galicia
Leader Since1:	1989
Leaders Seat1:	Lugo
Last Election1:	42 seats, 52.2%
Seats1:	41
Seat Change1:	1
Popular Vote1:	791,885
Percentage1:	51.6%
Swing1:	0.6 pp
Leader2:	Xosé Manuel Beiras
Party2:	Galician Nationalist Bloc
Leader Since2:	1982
Leaders Seat2:	A Coruña
Last Election2:	18 seats, 24.8%
Seats2:	17
Seat Change2:	1
Popular Vote2:	346,430
Percentage2:	22.6%
Swing2:	2.2 pp
Leader3:	Emilio Pérez Touriño
Party3:	PSdeG–PSOE
Leader Since3:	10 October 1998
Leaders Seat3:	Pontevedra
Last Election3:	15 seats, 19.5%
Seats3:	17
Seat Change3:	2
Popular Vote3:	334,819
Percentage3:	21.8%
Swing3:	2.3 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 2001 Galician regional election was held on Sunday, 21 October 2001, to elect the 6th Parliament of the autonomous community of Galicia. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

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 A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense 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:

Seats	Constituencies
24	A Coruña
22	Pontevedra
15	Lugo
14	Ourense

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 19 October 1997, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 19 October 2001. The election decree was required to be published in the DOG no later than 25 September 2001, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Saturday, 24 November 2001.^{[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:

Candidacy		Parties and alliances	Leading candidate		Ideology	Previous result
						Votes (%)	Seats
	PP			Manuel Fraga	Conservatism Christian democracy	52.19%
	BNG			Xosé Manuel Beiras	Galician nationalism Left-wing nationalism Socialism	24.78%
	PSdeG– PSOE			Emilio Pérez Touriño	Social democracy	19.46%

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.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout		BNG			Lead
2001 regional election	21 Oct 2001		60.2		51.6	22.6	21.8	0.7	29.0
Ipsos–Eco/TVG^[6] ^[7] ^[8]	21 Oct 2001	25,000	?		52.2	23.4	19.1	0.9	28.8
Sigma Dos/Antena 3	21 Oct 2001	18,000	?		52.0	25.1	19.8	–	26.9
Sondaxe/Tele 5	12–20 Oct 2001	4,375	?		51.4	27.1	19.0	–	24.3
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[9]	9–13 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.3	25.9	20.5	–	25.4
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	8–12 Oct 2001	2,500	?		50.8	26.3	20.7	–	24.5
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	7–11 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.7	25.7	20.5	–	26.0
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	6–10 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.6	25.6	20.5	–	26.0
USC^[10]	5–10 Oct 2001	?	?		48.3	26.8	23.1	–	21.5
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	5–9 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.6	25.9	20.4	–	25.7
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	4–8 Oct 2001	2,500	?		50.6	26.6	20.8	–	24.0
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	3–7 Oct 2001	2,500	?		50.0	26.8	21.2	–	23.2
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	2–6 Oct 2001	2,500	?		49.5	26.7	21.6	–	22.8
Celeste-Tel/Terra^[11]	5 Oct 2001	?	?		49.7	24.4	22.7	–	25.3
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	1–5 Oct 2001	2,500	?		49.3	26.4	22.0	–	22.9
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	30 Sep–4 Oct 2001	2,500	?		50.6	25.6	21.7	–	25.0
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	29 Sep–3 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.7	24.9	21.2	–	26.8
Opina/Cadena SER^[12] ^[13]	2 Oct 2001	?	?		50.0	26.0	20.5	1.0	24.0
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	28 Sep–2 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.8	25.0	21.0	–	26.8
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	27 Sep–1 Oct 2001	2,500	?		51.7	25.1	20.9	–	26.6
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	26–30 Sep 2001	2,500	?		51.7	25.4	20.7	–	26.3
CIS^[14] ^[15]	15–30 Sep 2001	2,991	64.0		49.7	25.2	21.4	1.0	24.5
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	25–29 Sep 2001	2,500	?		51.2	25.6	20.8	–	25.6
Infortécnica/La Región^[16]	10–17 Sep 2001	?	?		49.6	24.8	23.6	–	24.8
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[17]	3–7 Sep 2001	2,400	?		50.4	26.0	21.2	–	24.4
Infortécnica/La Región	Aug 2001	?	?		49.1	26.2	22.7	–	22.9
PP^[18]	29 Jul 2001	2,000	?		?	?	?	–	?
USC^[19] ^[20]	18 Jul 2001	?	?		49.9	25.7	23.3	–	24.2
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[21] ^[22]	14 Jul 2001	?	?		47.1	27.2	22.8	–	19.9
PSOE	Jul 2001	?	?		?	?	?	–	?
PP^[23] ^[24]	2 Jun 2001	?	?		?	?	?	–	?
Infortécnica/La Región	Jun 2001	?	?		50.7	27.0	21.4	–	23.7
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[25]	14 Apr 2001	?	61.5		50.7	24.4	19.5	–	26.3
Sondaxe/BNG^[26]	24 Mar 2001	?	?		46.2	28.0	23.0	–	18.2
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[27]	1 Jan 2001	?	71.0		48.0	28.5	18.7	–	19.5
USC^[28]	11–23 Dec 2000	?	?		50.1	25.5	23.9	–	24.6
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[29]	23 Sep 2000	?	71.5		48.7	28.5	17.1	–	20.2
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia^[30]	2 Jul 2000	?	73.8		50.3	28.3	15.7	–	22.0
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	2 Apr 2000	?	73.1		48.4	31.6	15.0	–	16.8
2000 general election	12 Mar 2000		65.0		54.0	18.6	23.7	1.3	30.3
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	23 Jan 2000	?	71.2		50.3	30.2	18.8	–	20.1
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia	19 Sep 1999	?	73.9		49.4	30.9	18.0	–	18.5
1999 EP election	13 Jun 1999		60.8		49.9	22.0	23.6	1.1	26.3
1999 local elections	13 Jun 1999		63.9		45.4	18.5	25.3	0.9	20.1
1997 regional election	19 Oct 1997		62.5		52.2	24.8	19.5	0.9	27.4

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 21 October 2001 Parliament of Galicia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	791,885	51.62	–0.57	41	–1
	Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)	346,430	22.58	–2.20	17	–1
	Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG–PSOE)	334,819	21.83	+2.37	17	+2
	United Left (EU–IU)	10,431	0.68	–0.20	0	±0
	Galician Progressive Democracy (DPG)	6,938	0.45	–0.27	0	±0
	Left of Galicia (EdeG)	5,001	0.33	New	0	±0
	Party of Self-employed and Professionals (AUTONOMO)	4,481	0.29	+0.16	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	4,137	0.27	+0.11	0	±0
	Galician People's Front (FPG)	3,176	0.21	±0.00	0	±0
	Social Democratic Party of Law (SDD)	646	0.04	–0.03	0	±0
Blank ballots		25,988	1.69	+0.38
Total		1,533,932			75	±0
Valid votes		1,533,932	99.30	–0.20
Invalid votes		10,755	0.70	+0.20
Votes cast / turnout		1,544,687	60.16	–2.35
Abstentions		1,022,983	39.84	+2.35
Registered voters		2,567,670
Sources^[31] ^[32] ^[33]

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PP		BNG		PSdeG
	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
A Coruña	48.7	12	24.1	6	22.9	6
Lugo	56.0	9	19.5	3	21.6	3
Ourense	57.4	8	20.3	3	19.3	3
Pontevedra	50.8	12	23.1	5	21.7	5
Total	51.6	41	22.6	17	21.8	17
Sources

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture Manuel Fraga (PP)
Ballot →		5 December 2001
Required majority →		38 out of 75
	Abstentions
	Absentees
Sources

2002 motions of no confidence

Motion of no confidence Xosé Manuel Beiras (BNG) Ballot → 12 December 2002 Required majority → 38 out of 75 Abstentions Absentees Sources

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Motion of no confidence Emilio Pérez Touriño (PSdeG) Ballot → 12 December 2002 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: Fraga obtiene su cuarta mayoría absoluta en Galicia . es . ABC . 21 October 2001.
7. Web site: Fraga revalida su cuarta mayoría absoluta en Galicia . es . ABC . 21 October 2001.
8. Web site: Manuel Fraga revalida su mayoría absoluta, según los sondeos a pie de urna . es . El Mundo . 21 October 2001.
9. Web site: Tracking electoral . https://web.archive.org/web/20020605185622/http://www.sondaxe.es/archivo.htm . dead . 5 June 2002 . es . Sondaxe . 14 October 2001 . 23 February 2021 .
10. Web site: Encuestas . https://web.archive.org/web/20020626120023/http://www.sondaxe.es/htm_encuestas.htm . dead . 26 June 2002 . es . Sondaxe . 21 October 2001 . 23 February 2021 .
11. Web site: Archivo de encuestas . https://web.archive.org/web/20031206200707/http://www.sondaxe.es/pdf/archivo_de_encuestas2.pdf . dead . 6 December 2003 . es . Sondaxe . 21 October 2001 . 23 February 2021 .
12. Web site: Intención de voto Galicia 02/10/2001 . https://web.archive.org/web/20011121055234/http://www.cadenaser.com/especiales/pulsometro/011005/encuesta_011005.htm . dead . 21 November 2001 . es . Cadena SER . 5 October 2001 . 23 February 2021 .
13. Web site: Fraga puede perder hasta 3 diputados pero mantendrá la mayoría absoluta . https://web.archive.org/web/20011125193342/http://www.cadenaser.com/PaginasASP/especiales_ser.asp?pagina=pulsometro%2F011005%2Findex.htm . dead . 25 November 2001 . es . Cadena SER . 5 October 2001 . 23 February 2021 .
14. Web site: Preelectoral de Galicia. Elecciones Autonómicas 2001 (Estudio nº 2432. Septiembre-Octubre 1998) . es . CIS . 10 October 2001.
15. Web site: Estudio CIS nº 2432. Ficha técnica . es . CIS . 10 October 2001.
16. Web site: El PSOE cree ahora que un gobierno del BNG generaría miedo e incertidumbre . es . ABC . 24 September 2001.
17. Web site: Otra encuesta otorga a Fraga una nueva mayoría absoluta . es . ABC . 30 September 2001.
18. Web site: Una encuesta del PP le da la mayoría en las elecciones, aun sin el voto emigrante . es . La Voz de Galicia . 29 July 2001.
19. Web site: Un sondeo revela un desgaste en el PP y le augura un triunfo apurado en octubre . es . La Voz de Galicia . 18 July 2001.
20. Web site: El PPdeG revalidará una nueva mayoría absoluta según el Barómetro de la USC . es . El Correo Gallego . 19 July 2001.
21. Web site: Fraga podría mantener la mayoría absoluta a pesar del incremento de Bloque y PSOE . es . La Voz de Galicia . 14 July 2001.
22. Web site: El PP continúa como primera fuerza electoral en Galicia, pero con un ligero declive . es . El País . 16 July 2001.
23. Web site: El PP confía en mantener su mayoría en Galicia aun perdiendo dos diputados . es . ABC . 2 June 2001.
24. Web site: Galicia: el PP confía en mantener su mayoría aún perdiendo diputados . es . ABC Sevilla . 2 June 2001.
25. Web site: El aumento de los indecisos ante la cercanía de las elecciones perjudica a PP y Bloque . es . La Voz de Galicia . 14 April 2001.
26. Web site: La llave de Raxoi está en América . es . La Voz de Galicia . 24 March 2001.
27. Web site: El PP perdió tres puntos desde el verano y sólo supera en unas décimas a la oposición . es . La Voz de Galicia . 1 January 2001.
28. Web site: El PSOE disputa al BNG la condición de alternativa a los populares, según un sondeo . es . La Voz de Galicia . 19 January 2001.
29. Web site: La mitad de los gallegos con más de 55 años decantan su voto a favor del PPdeG . es . La Voz de Galicia . 23 September 2001.
30. Web site: El PP aumenta en intención de voto para las autonómicas en detrimento del BNG . es . La Voz de Galicia . 2 July 2000.
31. Web site: Elecciones al Parlamento de Galicia (1981 - 2020) . es . Historia Electoral.com . 25 September 2017.
32. Web site: Parliament of Galicia election results, 21 October 2001 . 13 November 2001 . es . www.juntaelectoralcentral.es . . 25 September 2017.
33. Web site: Parliament of Galicia election results, 21 October 2001. Error correction . 11 December 2001 . es . www.juntaelectoralcentral.es . Central Electoral Commission . 25 September 2017.