Basque parliamentary election, 2012

Basque parliamentary election, 2012

21 October 2012

All 75 seats in the Basque Parliament 38 seats needed for a majority Turnout 1,135,568 (64.0%) 0.7 pp   First party Second party Third party   Leader Iñigo Urkullu Laura Mintegi Patxi López Party EAJ-PNV EHB PSE-EE Leader since 2 December 2007 2 July 2012 23 March 2002 Last election 30 seats, 38.1% Did not stand 25 seats, 30.4% Seats won 27 21 16 Seat change 3 21 9 Popular vote 384,766 277,923 212,809 Percentage 34.2% 24.7% 18.9% Swing 3.9 pp New party 11.5 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Antonio Basagoiti Gorka Maneiro Party PP UPyD Leader since 25 October 2008 2008 Last election 13 seats, 13.9% 1 seat, 2.1% Seats won 10 1 Seat change 3 ±0 Popular vote 130,584 21,539 Percentage 11.6% 1.9% Swing 2.3 pp 0.2 pp

Provinces won by EAJ-PNV (green) and EHB (light green)

Lehendakari before election Patxi López PSOE Elected Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu EAJ-PNV

Elections for the Basque Parliament were held in the Basque Country, a Spanish autonomous community, on 21 October 2012, a year earlier than required.^[1] The Basque National Party defended its position as the strongest party, while the left-wing separatist Bildu coalition made significant gains in terms of its share of votes and seats. All other major parties lost votes and seats.^[2]

Electoral system

The 75 members of the Basque Parliament were elected in 3 multi-member districts using the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation. Each district was entitled to 25 seats. Only lists polling above 3% of the total vote in each district (which includes blank ballots—for none of the above) were entitled to enter the seat distribution.^[3]

Background

Following the 2009 parliamentary election, Patxi López of the Basque Socialist Party (PSE-EE) became the first Lehendakari (i.e. regional president) in thirty years not to be affiliated to the Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV).

In 2011 Eusko Alkartasuna (EA), Alternatiba, other abertzale groups and independent individuals from the Basque leftist-nationalist milieu, formed a coalition named Bildu.

In the 2011 municipal elections, the EAJ-PNV came first with 30.1% of the vote, but the big winner was Bildu, which obtained 25.5% and a majority of town councillors. Among the other parties, the PSE-EE gained 16.3%, the People's Party (PP) 13.5%, and Aralar 3.0%.^[4]

In late 2011 the leftist-secessionist coalition was enlarged to include other abertzale groups, including Aralar. In the 2011 general election, this new coalition, known as Amaiur, came second in the Basque Country with 24.1% of the vote, behind the EAJ-PNV, which came first with 27.4%. Among the other parties, the PSE-EE won 21.5% of the vote and the PP 17.8%.^[5]

The four main groups that constituted Amaiur, namely abertzale left (former Batasuna members, led by Rufi Etxeberria), EA, Alternatiba and Aralar, announced that they would also stand as part of a joint list also in the election.^[6] That list was named Euskal Herria Bildu (EHB)^[7] and Laura Mintegi was chosen as candidate for Lehendakari.^[8]

Results

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 Summary of the 21 October 2012 Basque Parliament elections results

Party		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Basque National Party Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea - EAJ-PNV	383,565	34.64	3.92	27	3
	Basque Country Gather Euskal Herria Bildu - EHB	276,989	25.00	15.28	21	16
	Socialist Party of the Basque Country – Basque Country Left Partido Socialista de Euskadi – Euskadiko Ezkerra - PSE-EE	211,939	19.13	11.57	16	9
	People's Party Partido Popular - PP	129,907	11.73	2.37	10	3
	Union, Progress and Democracy Unión, Progreso y Democracia - UPyD	21,492	1.94	0.21	1
	Other parties	83.872	7.57	4.54	0	1
Blank votes		14,615	1.29	0.28
Valid votes		1,122,379	99.20	7.99
Invalid votes		9.106	0.80	7.99
Totals and voter turnout		1,131,485	65.83	1.15	75	—
Electorate		1,718,696	100.00	—
Source: El País

Opinion polls

Vote

Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. The lead column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. Poll results use the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. However, if such date is unknown, the date of publication will be given instead.

Seats

Opinion polls showing seat projections are displayed in the table below. The highest seat figures in each polling survey have their background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. 38 seats are required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.

References

Elections and referendums in the Basque Country Parliamentary elections 1980 1984 1986 1990 1994 1998 2001 2005 2009 2012 next Referendums 1933 1979

Regional elections in Spain in the 2010s 2010 November: Catalonia 2011 May: Aragon Asturias Balearic Islands Canary Islands Cantabria Castile and León Castile-La Mancha Ceuta Extremadura La Rioja Madrid Melilla Murcia Navarre Valencian Community 2012 March: Andalusia Asturias October: Basque Country Galicia November: Catalonia 2015 March: Andalusia May: Aragon Asturias Balearic Islands Canary Islands Cantabria Castile and León Castile-La Mancha Ceuta Extremadura La Rioja Madrid Melilla Murcia Navarre Valencian Community September: Catalonia 2016 Basque Country Galicia