Elections in Spain

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Entrance to the Spanish Chamber of Deputies

The electoral system for the two-chamber Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales , is regulated in Articles 68 and 69 of the Constitution and in Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (LOREG).

The two chambers of parliament are the House of Representatives and the Senate . The election to the House of Representatives takes place according to a proportional representation system in constituencies of different sizes, the election of the Senate is a majority vote in electoral constituencies . The electoral system for both houses has remained essentially unchanged since the first democratic elections (1977) after the end of the Franco regime .

The LOREG also regulates the electoral system for electing MEPs, local councils, mayors, island councils in the Canaries and provincial councils (with the exception of the Basque provinces). The regulations on the electoral system for the elections to the parliaments of the regions (autonomous communities) can be found predominantly in their own regional laws.

Congreso

Classification of the electoral area

The Spanish provinces form the basis for the constituency of the constituencies

The electoral area is divided into 52 constituencies . These are the 50 provinces and the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla . The allocation of seats to the constituencies is determined before the election: 248 seats are allocated according to the size of the population (according to the Hare-Niemeyer procedure ), plus two basic mandates for each province. The two autonomous cities are each represented by one MP, so that there is a total of 350 seats (Art. 68 Para. 2 of the Constitution, Art. 162 LOREG).

The basic mandates give preference to provinces with few inhabitants. In the 2008 parliamentary elections, an arithmetical figure of 38,070 people were eligible to vote in the province of Teruel , whereas in the province of Madrid there were 128,286 people who were eligible to vote.

It is also characteristic that the constituencies are very different in size and there are many small constituencies in particular (2008 election: 2 with one, 1 with two, 8 with three, 9 with four, 7 with five, 8 with six, 4 with seven, 5 with eight, 1 with nine, 2 with ten, 2 with twelve, Valencia with 16, Barcelona with 31 and Madrid with 35 MPs). The average constituency is 6.7 MPs.

Vote accounting

The parties draw up their own lists of candidates in each constituency. Voters can only vote for one list; there are no personalized components. The seats are allocated to the lists within the constituencies according to the D'Hondt procedure , which favors large parties (Art. 163 LOREG). In addition, there is a threshold clause of 3% at constituency level (Art. 163 para. 1a) LOREG), which, however, is only relevant in the two largest constituencies - in the others, more than 3% of the votes are required to get a seat to obtain. The votes are not offset between the constituencies, which means that the votes cast on parties that could not achieve a seat in the constituency concerned are lost.

Effects of the electoral system

The electoral system puts smaller, nationwide parties at a major disadvantage, as they have little chance of a seat in parliament in the numerous small constituencies in which only a single-digit number of seats can be awarded. They can only hope for seats in the few large constituencies; votes cast on them in the other constituencies are not taken into account for the allocation of seats. Regional parties with clear strongholds, however, are less affected by this effect: their votes are concentrated in a few constituencies in which they have a good chance of obtaining seats in parliament; in the other constituencies they usually do not run at all. Thus obtained Izquierda Unida , the third largest party nationally active in the 2008 election with 969,871 votes, only two mandates that only in Catalonia is incurred regional party Convergence and Union (CiU), however, with 779,425 votes ten seats. The large parties in particular benefit from this disadvantage. In the 1989 election , this meant that the ruling socialists received 39.6% of the vote and 50.0% of the seats. The expectation of voters that, especially in smaller constituencies, only votes for one of the large parties will make a difference in the election result also influences voting decisions. The term voto útil (“useful vote”) has established itself as a catchphrase for this phenomenon, which leads to a higher proportion of votes for the major parties .

A disadvantage for smaller parties can also result from the fact that the D'Hondt procedure is used for the distribution of seats in the constituencies, which tends to favor larger parties. Since this procedure is used in fifty individual constituencies, this can mean that the last seat to be allocated in several constituencies goes to a larger party and not to a smaller party to which it would have gone in a different seat allocation procedure . In the 2016 election z. For example, according to the Hare-Niemeyer process , there would have been a different distribution of seats in 20 constituencies. Here would Ciudadanos 9 mandates, Podemos 6 mandates and EH Bildu won over by the D'Hondt distribution mandate. The PP would have had 11, the PSOE 3 and the PNV and CDC 1 less mandate each.

In the 2015 election , Podemos , the third strongest party nationwide, received 20% of the seats with 21% of the vote. Ciudadanos , the fourth strongest force , held 11% of the seats with 14% of the vote. This kept the negative effects of the electoral system on the "smaller" parties in this election within limits, which is due to the fact that - unlike the smaller parties in previous elections - they were able to achieve relatively high proportions of votes. In the 2016 election , Unidos Podemos (third strongest force, share of the vote: 21%; mandate share: 20%) was hardly affected by the effects, while Ciudadanos (fourth strongest force, share of the vote: 13%, share of seats: 9%) was already.

senate

The "Senado" is made up of Article 69 of the Constitution

  • 208 members directly elected by the people and
  • further senators (currently 58) who are determined by the parliaments of the individual regions (Spanish: Comunidades Autónomas ).

Direct dial

Classification of the electoral area

The electoral area is divided into 59 constituencies . These are the 47 mainland provinces (each with - regardless of the population - four senators), the island constituencies of Gran Canaria, Mallorca and Tenerife (three each), Ibiza-Formentera, Menorca, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma (one senator each) and the two autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla (two each), so that a total of 208 directly elected senators results (Art. 165 LOREG).

Due to this distribution of mandates, constituencies with few inhabitants are preferred even more than in the elections to the Congreso : In the parliamentary elections in 2008 there were arithmetically 9,551 people eligible to vote in the island constituency of Hierro , 19,342 in the province of Soria , and 1,122,510 in the province of Madrid . However, this is explained by the constitutional position of the Senate: This is not the representative body, but the chamber of "territorial representation" (Article 69, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution).

Vote accounting

It is a question of a person choice. The voter can vote in the four-man constituencies for up to three, in the three- and two-man constituencies for up to two and in the one-man constituencies for one candidate, even spread over several nominations (" panaschieren "). The candidates with the highest number of votes are elected (Art. 166 LOREG).

Effects of the electoral system

The parties only put up the number of candidates in the constituencies that corresponds to the number of votes that the voter has (in four-man constituencies that is three) in order to prevent the potential for voters from being split up. This, and the fact that most voters cast their votes as one group to the candidates of their preferred party, means that the ratio of the seats won by the strongest party to those of the second strongest party in the vast majority of cases in the four-man constituencies 3 : 1, in the three-man constituencies 2: 1 and in the two-man constituencies 2: 0. In the five elections from 1993 to 2008 only five cases came to a different result (out of a total of 354 individual elections in the constituencies): In 1993 the PSOE and PP shared the seats equally in Valencia and Melilla, in 2004 in Toledo and Teruel, 2008 in Ciudad Real; In 2011, CiU and PSC shared the seats of the province of Tarragona equally. The result of the electoral system is therefore to be classified as a majority vote.

Senators of the Regions

Number and distribution

The number of senators sent by the regions depends on the population of the respective region (one plus another for every one million inhabitants, Art. 69 (5) of the Constitution). In the Xth legislature, which ran from December 2011 to 2015, there were a total of 58 ( Andalusia 9, Aragon 2, Asturias 2, Balearic Islands 2, Basque Country 3, Extremadura 2, Galicia 3, Canary Islands 3, Cantabria 1, Castile-La Mancha 3 , Castile-Leon 3, Catalonia 8, La Rioja 1, Madrid 7, Murcia 2, Navarra 1, Valencia 6).

Electoral process

The delegated senators are appointed by the regional parliaments in accordance with the provisions of the respective statutes of autonomy of the regions, whereby the proportional representation must be observed (Art. 69 Para. 5 of the Constitution, Art. 165 Para. 4 LOREG).

European Parliament

The voting system for the election of Spanish MEPs is also regulated in the LOREG (Art. 214–217). The entire national territory forms a single constituency. The seats are distributed among the nominations according to the D'Hondt procedure , there is no threshold clause.

Parliaments of the Autonomous Communities

The electoral system for elections to the Parliaments of the Autonomous Communities is not regulated in the Constitution and the LOREG, but in the Statutes of Autonomy (which regulate the internal constitution of the Autonomous Communities) and in the electoral laws of the Autonomous Communities based on them.

However, they are limited in the choice of the electoral system: According to Art. 152.1 of the Spanish Constitution, the regional parliaments are to be elected according to proportional representation principles. However, according to its wording, this constitutional provision only applies to the autonomous communities of the so-called "fast lane" (Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia). According to the case law of the Constitutional Court, however, it is also to be applied to the rest of the Autonomous Communities, so that they are generally prevented from providing for a majority vote for the election of their parliaments.

The electoral system in all Autonomous Communities therefore essentially corresponds to that used in the election for the Congress. In the autonomous communities, which consist of several provinces, these form the constituencies (except for the Canaries, where the individual islands are). The Autonomous Communities, which consist of only one province (Asturias, Cantabria, Navarra, La Rioja, Madrid, Balearic Islands, Murcia) either form a single constituency or are divided into several constituencies.

In all Autonomous Communities - as in the case of the election to the Congreso - the allocation of seats only takes place at the level of the constituencies according to the D'Hondt procedure.

There are only significant deviations in the amount of the threshold clause and in the mode of distribution of mandates among the constituencies (especially the number of basic mandates per constituency).

In detail:

Andalusia

According to Art. 101.1 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 109 members. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the constituency is the province, that no province may have more than double the number of delegates from another (Art. 104.1) and that the election is based on proportional representation (Art. 104.2).

The Andalusian electoral law sets the number of MPs at 109. Each constituency (province) receives eight basic mandates, the remaining 45 mandates are distributed among the provinces according to the ratio of population, which resulted in the election of March 9, 2008 as follows: Almería 12, Cádiz 15, Córdoba 12, Granada 13, Huelva 11, Jaén 12, Málaga 16, Sevilla 18. The average constituency is 13.6 MPs. Here, too, the system of basic mandates leads to a preference for the provinces with few inhabitants, so in the 2008 election there were 34,813 people eligible to vote in the province of Huelva, in Seville there were 81,625.

The conversion of the election result into seats follows the same rules as for the election to the congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

Aragon

According to Art. 36 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 65 and at most 80 members (Art. 36). The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the constituency is the province (Art. 37.4) and that the election takes place according to the principles of proportional representation (Art. 37.3). It is also stipulated that the number of inhabitants per mandate of the most populous province may not exceed 2.75 times the number of inhabitants per mandate of the least populous province (Art. 36).

The electoral law of the Autonomous Community of Aragon sets the number of MPs at 67. Each constituency (province) receives 13 basic mandates, the remaining 28 mandates are distributed among the provinces according to the proportion of the population. If the stipulations of the Statute of Autonomy (2.75 regulation) are not complied with, the most populous province receives as many MPs at the expense of the least populous province until the required ratio is established. This resulted in the following distribution for the elections on May 22, 2011: Huesca 18, Teruel 14, Saragossa 35. The average constituency is 22.3 MPs. Here, too, the system of basic mandates leads to a preference for the provinces with few inhabitants, so in the 2011 election there were 10,377 inhabitants in the province of Teruel, and 27,807 in Saragossa.

The conversion of the election result into seats follows the same rules as for the election to the congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

Asturias

With regard to the electoral system, the Statute of Autonomy only contains the provision that the election must be based on the principles of proportional representation (Art. 25.1).

The Asturian electoral law sets the number of MPs at 45. The election takes place in three constituencies (West, Central, East), the layout of which is specified in the electoral law (according to municipalities, Asturias consists of only one province). Each constituency receives 2 basic mandates, the remaining 39 mandates are distributed to the constituencies according to the ratio of the population, which resulted in the election of May 27, 2007 as follows: middle 34, west 6, east 5. The average constituency is 15 members . Here, too, the system of basic mandates leads to a preference for constituencies with few residents (since the basic mandates only make up 13% of all seats, which is not so pronounced), so in the 2007 elections there were arithmetically 15,859 eligible voters in the constituency in the constituency In the middle there were 22,866.

The conversion of the election result into seats follows the same rules as in the case of the election to the congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

Balearic Islands

According to Art. 41 of the Statute of Autonomy, elections in the constituencies of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are based on the principles of proportional representation.

The electoral law of the Balearic Islands stipulates that of the total of 59 MPs, 33 are elected in the constituency of Mallorca, 13 in the constituency of Menorca, 12 in the constituency of Ibiza and one in the constituency of Formentera. The average constituency size is 14.8 MPs. As a result of the number of mandates per constituency stipulated in the electoral law, the number of eligible voters per member of the election on May 27, 2007 was between 4,845 (Menorca) and 16,809 (Mallorca).

The conversion of the election result into seats is carried out according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d'Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies) with the only exception that the threshold clause in the constituencies is not 3% but 5%.

Basque Country

According to Art. 26 of the Statute of Autonomy, elections to parliament are made in the provinces as constituencies according to the principles of proportional representation, with the same number of members being elected in each province.

The Basque electoral law sets the number of MPs to be elected in each constituency at 25, for a total of 75 seats. The allocation of an equal number of MPs to each province despite considerable differences in the population results in considerable imbalances. In the elections on March 1, 2009, there were arithmetically 9,929 people eligible to vote in the province of Álava, in Vizcaya it was 37,328 and in Guipuzcoa 23,000.

The conversion of the election result into seats follows the same rules as for the election to the congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

Extremadura

According to Art. 21.1 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of a maximum of 65 members who are elected according to the principle of proportional representation. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the constituency is the province and that the electoral law has to determine a number of basic mandates for each province, while the remaining seats are to be allocated to the provinces according to the proportion of the population (Art. 21.2).

The electoral law of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura sets the number of MPs at 65. Each constituency (province) receives 20 basic mandates, the remaining 25 mandates are distributed among the provinces according to the ratio of the population, which resulted in the election of May 22, 2011 as follows: Badajoz 36, Cáceres 29. The average constituency is 32, 5 MPs. In the elections in May 2011, the number of people in the province of Cáceres was 14,313 and 19,226 in Badajoz.

The conversion of the election result into seats takes place according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies). However, there is a peculiarity with the threshold clause: When allocating seats in the constituency, not only the parties that received at least 5% of the votes there, but also those for which this is not the case, but which also ran in the other constituency and have received at least 5% of the votes based on the overall result.

Galicia

According to Art. 11.5 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 60 and at most 80 members. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the constituency is the province (Art. 11.4) and that the election takes place according to the principles of proportional representation (Art. 11.2).

The Galician Electoral Law sets the number of MPs at 75. Each constituency (province) receives ten basic mandates, the remaining 35 mandates are distributed among the provinces according to the proportion of the population, which resulted in the following distribution in the election of March 1, 2009: La Coruña 24, Lugo 15, Orense 14, Pontevedra 22. The average constituency is thus 18.8 MPs. Here, too, the system of basic mandates leads to a preference for the provinces with few inhabitants, so in the 2009 election there were arithmetically 23,080 eligible voters in the province of Lugo, in La Coruña there were 44,662.

The conversion of the election result into seats is carried out according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d'Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies) with the only exception that the threshold clause in the constituencies is not 3% but 5%.

Canaries

According to Art. 39 Para. 2 of the Statute of Autonomy of 2018, the parliament consists of at least 50 and at most 75 members. The election takes place according to the principles of proportional representation in the electoral districts of El Hierro , Fuerteventura , Gran Canaria , La Gomera , Lanzarote , La Palma and Tenerife , as well as in a constituency that includes the entire autonomous community.

The first transitional provision ( Spanish disposición transitoria primera ) of the Statute of Autonomy contains further provisions : In this the number of MPs is set at 70, of which 15 each in the constituencies of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, eight each in the constituencies of La Palma, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, four in La Gomera and three in El Hierro to choose from. Another nine MPs are elected in the constituency of the entire territory of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. With regard to the threshold clause, the transitional provision contains the provision that, when allocating seats in the constituency, the nomination that received the most votes in the constituency is taken into account, as well as the nominations that have won at least 15% of the votes in the constituency and those parties which have lost at least 4% of the votes according to the overall election result of the entire Autonomous Community. The provisions of the transitional provision apply until another regulation is made by law.

Cantabria

According to Article 10.4 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 35 and at most 45 members. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the entire Autonomous Community, which consists of only one province, forms a single constituency (Art. 10.2) and that elections are based on proportional representation (Art. 10.1).

The Cantabrian electoral law sets the number of MPs at 39. The conversion of the election result into seats takes place according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt) with the only exception that the threshold clause is not 3% but 5%.

Castile-La Mancha

According to Article 10.2 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 47 and at most 59 members. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the constituency is the province, with at least ten in the province of Albacete, at least eleven in the province of Ciudad Real, at least eight in the province of Cuenca, at least seven in the province of Guadalajara and at least eleven in the province of Toledo are elected and the election is based on the principles of proportional representation (Art. 10.2).

The electoral law of the Autonomous Community sets the number of MPs at 49, of which ten are elected in the province of Albacete, eleven in Ciudad Real, eight in Cuenca, eight in Guadalajara and twelve in Toledo. The average size of the constituency is 9.8 MPs. As a result of the number of seats per constituency stipulated in the electoral law, the number of residents per member of the election on May 22, 2011 was between 27,215 (Cuenca) and 58,163 (Toledo).

The conversion of the election result into seats follows the same rules as for the election to the congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

Castile and Leon

According to Art. 21.2 of the Statute of Autonomy, the constituency is the province, with each province having three basic mandates. In addition, each province receives one deputy for every 45,000 inhabitants and another if this division leaves a remainder of more than 22,500 inhabitants. The distribution of the mandates according to this regulation resulted in the following results for the elections on May 22, 2011: Ávila 7, Burgos 11, León 14, Palencia 7, Salamanca 11, Segovia 7, Soria 5, Valladolid 15 and Zamora 7, a total of 84. Here, too, the system of basic mandates leads to a preference for the provinces with few inhabitants, so in the 2011 election there were arithmetically 19,052 inhabitants in the province of Soria and 35,663 in León. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that elections are based on the principles of proportional representation (Art. 21.1).

The election results are converted into seats in accordance with the electoral law of the Autonomous Community according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

Catalonia

According to Art. 56 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 100 and at most 150 members, who are elected according to the principle of proportional representation.

Catalonia is the only one of the 17 autonomous communities that has not yet passed its own electoral law. Further elements of the electoral system result from the fourth transitional provision ( disposición transitoria cuarta ) of the Autonomy Statute of 1979, which remains in force after the second transitional provision ( disposición transitoria segunda ) of the new Autonomous Statute from 2006 until an electoral law is passed. According to this, electoral districts are the four provinces, with 85 in the province of Barcelona, ​​17 in the province of Girona, 15 in the province of Lleida and 18 in the province of Tarragona, making the parliament a total of 135 members. The average constituency size is thus 33.8 MPs. Due to the number of mandates per constituency stipulated in the transitional provision of the Statute of Autonomy, the number of persons entitled to vote per Member of the election on November 28, 2010 was between 20,079 (Lleida) and 45,892 (Barcelona).

Incidentally, the transitional provision of the Statute of Autonomy refers to the LOREG. The conversion of the election result into seats is therefore carried out according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle in each constituency, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies).

La Rioja

According to Art. 17.2 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 32 and at most 40 members. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the entire Autonomous Community, which consists of only one province, forms a single constituency (Art. 17.3) and that elections are based on the principles of proportional representation (Art. 17.1).

The Electoral Law of the Autonomous Community sets the number of MPs at 33. The conversion of the election result into seats takes place according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats according to d´Hondt) with the only exception that the threshold clause is not 3% but 5%.

Madrid

According to Art. 10.2 of the Statute of Autonomy, the parliament consists of one member for every 50,000 inhabitants or one more if there is a remainder of more than 25,000 inhabitants. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the entire Autonomous Community, which consists of only one province, forms a single constituency (Art. 10.5), the threshold clause is 5% (Art. 10.6) and the election is based on the principles of proportional representation (Art 10.1).

According to the electoral law of the Autonomous Community, the implementation of the election results in seats takes place according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats according to d´Hondt) with the only exception that the threshold clause is 5%.

Murcia

According to Art. 24.2 of the Statute of Autonomy, Parliament consists of at least 45 and a maximum of 55 members who are elected according to the principle of proportional representation (Art. 24.1).

The Murcia Region's electoral law sets the number of MPs at 45. The election takes place in five constituencies, the layout of which is specified in the electoral law (according to municipalities, Murcia consists of only one province). Each constituency receives a basic mandate, the remaining 40 mandates are distributed among the constituencies according to the proportion of the population. The average size of the constituency is 9 MPs. Here, too, the system of basic mandates leads to a preference for constituencies with a small number of residents. In the 2007 election, there were arithmetically 13,311 eligible voters in constituency 5, and in constituency 3 there were 24,227.

The conversion of the election result into seats is carried out according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies), with the only exception that the threshold clause in the constituencies is not 3%, but 5%.

Navarre

According to Art. 15.2 of the Statute of Autonomy, the Parliament consists of at least 40 and at most 60 members who are elected according to the principle of proportional representation.

Navarre's electoral law sets the number of MPs at 50. The entire autonomous community, which consists of only one province, forms a single constituency. The conversion of the election result into seats takes place according to the same rules as for the election to the Congress (rigid lists, 3 percent hurdle, distribution of seats according to d´Hondt).

Valencia

According to Article 23.1 of the Statute of Autonomy from 2006, Parliament consists of at least 99 members who are elected according to the principle of proportional representation. The Statute of Autonomy also stipulates that the constituency is the province, with each province being entitled to 20 basic mandates and the remaining seats being distributed among the provinces according to the proportion of population. It is also stipulated that the number of residents per mandate in one province may not exceed three times the number of residents per mandate in another province (Art. 24).

The electoral law of the Autonomous Community sets the number of MPs at 89, which contradicts Art. 23.1 of the Statute of Autonomy (minimum number 99). This is due to the fact that the electoral law dates from the time before the new Statute of Autonomy came into force in 2006 and has not yet been adapted. Since the Statute of Autonomy is the higher-ranking norm, a total of 99 members were elected in the election on May 22, 2011. The remaining number of representatives per province after taking into account the 20 basic mandates is distributed to the provinces according to their population using the d´Hondt procedure. If the stipulations of the Statute of Autonomy (number of residents per mandate no more than three times that of another province) are not complied with, the distribution result must be corrected accordingly. In the 2011 election, this resulted in 35 seats for the province of Alicante, 24 for Castellón and 40 for Valencia. The average constituency size is 33 members. Here, too, the high number of basic mandates leads to a preference for the provinces with few inhabitants. In the 2011 election, the province of Castellón had an arithmetical 25,178 inhabitants and 64,529 in Valencia.

The conversion of the election result into seats is carried out according to the same rules as for the election to the Congreso (rigid lists, distribution of seats in the constituency according to d´Hondt, no offsetting between the constituencies) with the only exception that there is a threshold clause of 5%, but not in relation to the result in the constituency, but in the entire electoral area.

Local councils and mayors

The voting system for electing the municipal councils is also regulated in the LOREG (Art. 179–184). The number of municipal council members to be elected depends on the size of the population; each municipality forms a single constituency (Art. 179). Here, too, there are rigid lists and mandates are allocated according to the D'Hondt procedure, although the threshold clause is 5% (Art. 180).

The mayor ( alcalde ) is elected at the constituent meeting of the municipal council. Only the top candidates from the respective lists can run for election to the municipal council. If one of the applicants receives an absolute majority in this ballot, he is elected mayor (which opens up the possibility of forming "coalitions"); if this majority is not achieved, the top candidate on the list of mayor who received the most votes in the election to the local council becomes mayor.

There is a special feature in the municipalities with no more than 250 inhabitants: five municipal council members are elected there. Each nomination can contain up to five names. There is a choice of people. The voter has four votes, which he can freely distribute to the applicants. The five applicants with the most votes form the municipal council (Art. 184). Here, too, the mayor is elected at the constituent meeting of the municipal council, although any council member can stand as a candidate. If one of the applicants receives an absolute majority in this ballot, he is elected mayor (which opens up the possibility of forming "coalitions"); if this majority is not achieved, the council member who received the most votes in the election to the council becomes mayor.

An exception are the municipalities that are organized according to the system of the concejo abierto (these are those in which this system is traditionally used). In them, only the mayor is directly elected by those entitled to vote (Art. 179.2), the function of the municipal council is assumed by an assembly of all citizens entitled to vote ( asamblea vecinal ).

Island Councils

The voting system for the election of the island councils (" Cabildos Insulares ") existing in the Canaries for each island is regulated in the LOREG (Art. 201). Each island forms a single constituency, otherwise the rules for the election of municipal councils apply accordingly. The President of the Island Council becomes the top candidate on the list that won the most votes.

Also in the Balearic Islands there is an island council (" Consejo Insular ") for each of the four islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera ). The voting system for the election of the island councils is regulated in a regional law of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. However, the island of Formentera consists of only one municipality, so that the island council is also a local council and is elected according to the rules applicable to local councils. The island council for Mallorca consists of 33 members, the one for Menorca and Ibiza of 13 each. The islands each form a single constituency. There is a 5 percent threshold. The seats are allocated according to the D'Hondt method.

Provincial Councils

In the Autonomous Communities, which consist of several provinces, the self-governing body at the provincial level is the Provincial Council ( Diputación Provincial ), in those which consist of only one province, its functions are carried out by the Parliament of the Autonomous Community.

The voting system for the election of the Diputaciones Provinciales is also regulated in the LOREG (Art. 204–209).

The Diputación consists of 25 (up to 500,000 inhabitants), 27 (up to 1 million inhabitants), 31 (up to 3.5 million inhabitants) or 51 (over 3.5 million inhabitants) members (Art. 204.1), who are elected indirectly become.

First, the seats are allocated to the judicial districts in the province ( partidos judiciales ) according to the proportion of the population, with each judicial district receiving at least one seat and no judicial district more than three fifths of the total seats to be allocated (Art. 204.2).

Then it is determined at the judicial district level how many votes each party has won in the elections to the municipal councils, whereby only parties are taken into account that have won a seat on at least one of the municipal councils. The total number of seats to be allocated in the judicial district will be allocated to the parties using the D'Hondt procedure. (Art. 205)

After the formation of the municipal councils, all municipal council members elected in the judicial district meet separately according to party and elect the number of members their party is entitled to in the Diputación Provincial . (Art. 206)

In the constituent session of the Diputación Provincial , it elects its president from among its members, with an absolute majority being necessary in the first ballot. If this is not achieved, there will be a second ballot in which the person with the most votes is elected.

A special feature applies to the provincial councils of the three Basque provinces Álava, Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa, which are called " Juntas Generales ". For these, the voting system is regulated in a Basque regional law. The 51 MPs are directly elected. The electoral system largely corresponds to the one used in the election for the Congreso : the provinces are divided into constituencies (three in Álava, four in Vizcaya and four in Guipúzcoa). The seats are distributed among the constituencies according to the proportion of the population. There are rigid lists. In the constituency, the seats are allocated to the lists according to the election result using the D'Hondt procedure, with a 3% threshold in the respective constituency. There is no offsetting of votes between the constituencies.

literature

  • Jonathan Hopkin: Spain: Proportional Representation with Majoritarian Outcomes . In: Michael Gallagher / Paul Mitchell (eds.): The Politics of Electoral Systems . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2005, pp. 375-394.
  • ML Marquez / V. Ramírez: The Spanish electoral system: Proportionality and governability . In: Annals of Operations Research . Vol. 84, 1998, pp. 45-59. ( PDF, access required )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General. Retrieved June 25, 2011 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ a b Junta Electoral Central: Publication of the election results in the Boletín Oficial del Estado 93/2008, pp. 20322ff. (PDF; 451 kB) Retrieved on February 16, 2009 (Spanish).
  3. ↑ Royal Decree on the convening of elections in the Boletín Oficial del Estado 13/2008, pp. 2607f. (PDF; 67 kB) Retrieved on February 16, 2009 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ Jonathan Hopkin: Spain: Proportional Representation with Majoritarian Outcomes . In: Michael Gallagher / Paul Mitchell (eds.): The Politics of Electoral Systems . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2005, pp. 375-394, here pp. 378f.
  5. ↑ Jonathan Hopkin: Spain: Proportional Representation with Majoritarian Outcomes . In: Michael Gallagher / Paul Mitchell (eds.): The Politics of Electoral Systems . Oxford University Press, Oxford u. a. 2005, pp. 375-394, here p. 384.
  6. ↑ a b Spanish Interior Ministry: Results of Spanish elections since 1977. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 24, 2010 ; Retrieved February 16, 2009 (Spanish). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elecciones.mir.es
  7. ^ Spanish Senate: Website of the Spanish Senate. Retrieved January 17, 2011 (Spanish).
  8. ↑ Cortes de España: Ley Orgánica 1/2018, de 5 de noviembre, de reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Canarias. Jefatura del Estado, 2018, accessed November 18, 2018 (Spanish).
  9. ↑ Ley 7/2009, de 11 de diciembre, electoral de los consejos insulares. ( Spanish ) Noticias Jurídicas. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ Ley 1/1987, de 27 de marzo, de elecciones para las Juntas Generales de los Territorios Históricos de Araba, Bizkaia y Guipuzkoa. ( Spanish ) Noticias Jurídicas. Retrieved June 4, 2013.