La Rioja (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
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La Rioja is one of the 52 electoral districts (circunscripciónes) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. Logroño is the largest town accounting for nearly half the electorate. There are no other municipalities with electorates over 10,000. [1] The constituency, like the province, was originally called Logroño but this was changed in 1980. [2]
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[edit] Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution [3] the boundaries must be the same as the autonomous community of La Rioja 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. [4]
[edit] Number of members
La Rioja has returned four members at every election since the restoration of democracy.
Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population. [5] These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this has been to overrepreseent smaller provinces like La Rioja at the expense of larger provinces. La Rioja had a ratio of 58,694 voters per deputy in 2004 [6] a figure below the Spanish average of 98,777 voters per deputy. [7]
[edit] Summary of seats won 1977–2008
| 1977 | 1979 | 1982 | 1986 | 1989 | 1993 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Centre Union (UCD) | 2 | 3 | ||||||||
| Popular Alliance / People's Party (PP) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
[edit] Results
At the most recent election in 2004, the PSOE regained the seat that they had lost to the PP four years earlier. Results in the largest town of Logroño have been close to the community average. In the latest election for example, the PP polled 47.88% against 44.58% for the PSOE.
[edit] 2004 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 92,441 | 49.94 | 2 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 81,390 | 43.97 | 2 | |
| United Left | 5,115 | 2.76 | 0 | |
| Others | 2,326 | 1.30 | 0 |
Source: [8]
[edit] 2000 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 91,810 | 54.10 | 3 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 59,171 | 34.87 | 1 | |
| United Left (Izquierda Unida) | 6,830 | 4.02 | 0 | |
| Riojan Party (Partido Riojano) | 6,155 | 3.63 | 0 | |
| Others | 2,464 | 1.50 | 0 |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ La Rioja municpal electorates
- ^ La Rioja name change
- ^ Spanish Constitution
- ^ Spanish Constitution
- ^ General features of Spanish electoral system
- ^ La Rioja election result 2004
- ^ 2004 Spanish election
- ^ Interior ministry link to election results
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