La Rioja (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

La Rioja 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. Logroño is the largest town accounting for nearly half the electorate. Calahorra (16,000 voters at the time of the 2008 election) and Arnedo (10,400 voters) were the only other municipalities with electorates over 10,000.^[1] The constituency, like the province, was originally called Logroño but this was changed in 1980.^[2] Although the People's Party (PP) has usually outpolled the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the representation has been stable with each party winning two of the district's four seats in each election from 1982 onwards. The sole exception was at the 2000 election, when the PP gained a third seat.

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.

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 elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible.^[3]

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 two 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 has been to over-represeent smaller provinces like La Rioja at the expense of larger provinces. La Rioja had a ratio of 58,694 voters per deputy in 2004^[5] a figure below the Spanish average of 98,777 voters per deputy. ^[6]

Summary of seats won 1977–2008

Vote share summary 1977-2008

Results

2008 General Election

2004 General Election

At the 2004 election, the PSOE regained the seat that they had lost to the PP four years earlier. Results in the largest town of Logroño were close to the community average. In the 2004 election for example, the PP polled 47.88% against 44.58% for the PSOE.

Source: ^[7]

2000 General Election

External links

• List of members by year

References

1. ^ Number of voters by Municipality in 2008
2. ^ La Rioja name change
3. ^ ^{a b} Spanish Constitution
4. ^ General features of Spanish electoral system
5. ^ La Rioja election result 2004
6. ^ 2004 Spanish election
7. ^ Interior ministry link to election results