Córdoba (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

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Location of Córdoba electoral district in Spain.
Location of Córdoba electoral district in Spain.

Córdoba is one of the 52 electoral districts (circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is one of eight districts which correspond to the provinces of Andalusia. It was first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election. Córdoba is the largest town with just over 250,000 voters accounting for over 40% of the electorate and it is the only municipality with more than 25,000 voters.

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[edit] Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution [1] the boundaries must be the same as the province of Córdoba and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

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[edit] Eligibility

Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from Regional Assemblies if successfully elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible. [2]

[edit] Number of members

Since the general election of 1977 Córdoba has returned seven members. This figure will be reduced to six members from the 2008 election onwards. [3]

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population. [4] These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this law has been to overrepresent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces.

In 2004 Spain had 34,571,831 voters giving an average of 98,777 voters per deputy [5]. In Córdoba the ratio was 90,451.[6]

[edit] Summary of seats won 1977-2008

1977 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1996 2000 2004 2008
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 3 3 5 4 5 4 4 3 4 4
Democratic Centre Union (UCD) 3 3
United Left (IU) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
People's Party (PP) 2 2 1 2 2 3 3 2

Seats shown for the People's Party include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance and the Popular Coalition before 1989. Seats shown for United Left include seats won by the Communist Party of Spain before 1986.

[edit] Results

Córdoba has usually been one of the best districts for the parties of the left. The PSOE has topped the poll at almost every election. The sole exception was the election of 2000 when the PP gained top place. Córdoba has frequently produced the best result overall for IU and this was true in the most recent election, although they still lost their seat.

[edit] 2004 General Election

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 14 March 2004 Congress of Deputies election results in Córdoba.
Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 246,324 49.86 4 Carmen Calvo Poyato, Miguel Ángel Moratinos
People's Party (Partido Popular) 166,665 33.74 3
United Left (Izquierda Unida) 47,908 9.70 0
Andalusian Party (Partido Andalucista) 19,648 3.98 0
Others 5,190 1.10 0

Source: [7]

[edit] 2000 General Election

[discuss] – [edit]
Summary of the 12 March 2000 Congress of Deputies election results in Córdoba.
Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected
People's Party (Partido Popular) 188,636 40.86 3
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 187,195 40.55 3
United Left 55,125 11.94 1
Andalusian Party (Partido Andalucista) 20,963 4.54 0
Others 3,775 0.80 0

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Spanish Constitution
  2. ^ Spanish Constitution
  3. ^ representation reduced
  4. ^ General features of Spanish electoral system
  5. ^ 2004 Spanish election
  6. ^ Córdoba 2004 election results
  7. ^ Interior ministry link to election results
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Electoral districts of the Spanish Congress of Deputies