Ourense (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Ourense 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 located in the Community of Galicia. It was the only constituency in the 2008 General Election where the PSOE gained a seat from the PP.

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution ^[1] the boundaries must be the same as the province of Ourense 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.^[1]

Number of members

In the general elections of 1977 until 1989 Ourense returned 5 members. That figure was reduced to 4 members from the 1993 General Election onwards.

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population.^[2] 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 like Ourense.

In 2004 for example Spain had 34,571,831 voters giving an average of 98,777 voters per deputy.^[3] In Ourense however the number of voters per deputy was slightly below that at 82,173.^[4]

Summary of seats won 1977–2008

Note: Seats shown for the PP include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance and Popular Coalition before 1989.

Results

The 2008 election saw the biggest drop in any district in the PP's vote share and one of the ten largest rises for the PSOE, with the result that it was the only district where the PSOE gained a seat from the PP.

2004 General Election^[5]

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

External links

• List of members by year
• Number of voters by Municipality

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Spanish Constitution
2. ↑ General features of Spanish electoral system
3. ↑ 2004 Spanish election
4. ↑ Orense 2004 result
5. ↑ Interior ministry link to election results