Badajoz (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Badajoz is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It was first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election. Located in Extremadura in south west Spain, it is the largest electoral district in Congress in terms of geographical area. At the time of the 2011 election, Badajoz was the largest town with 116,000 voters out of the total electorate of just over 557,000. Mérida (45,000 voters), Don Benito (28,000) voters and Almendralejo (24,000) voters were the next largest municipalities.^[1]

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution ^[2] the boundaries must be the same as the province of Badajoz 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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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.^[2]

Number of members

In the general elections of 1977, 1979 and 1982 Badajoz returned 7 members. That figure was reduced to 6 members for the 1986 election and it has stayed at that figure since then.

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population.^[3] 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.^[4] In Badajoz the ratio was slightly below that at 89,775.^[5]

Summary of seats won 1977-2011

Seats shown for the People's Party include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance and the Popular Coalition before 1989.

Vote share summary 1977-2011

Results

2011 General Election

The 2011 election saw the PP win a fourth seat for the first time, while the PSOE had their worst result since the 1979 election.

Summary of the 20 November 2011 Congress of Deputies election results in Badajoz.

2008 General Election

Sitting PP deputy Germán López was placed fourth on the PP list^[6] for the 2008 election in a district where the PP had never won more than three seats and consequently lost his seat.

Summary of the 9 March 2008 Congress of Deputies election results in Badajoz.

2004 General Election

Summary of the 14 March 2004 Congress of Deputies election results in Badajoz.

Source:^[7]

2000 General Election

Summary of the 12 March 2000 Congress of Deputies election results in Badajoz.

^†Barrero was replaced by Germán López on 16 October 2000.

External links

• List of members by year

References

1. ↑ Number of voters by Municipality in 2008
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Spanish Constitution
3. ↑ General features of Spanish electoral system
4. ↑ 2004 Spanish election
5. ↑ Badajoz 2004 election results
6. ↑ PP candidate lists 2008
7. ↑ Interior ministry link to election results