Valencian parliamentary election, 1991

Valencian parliamentary election, 1991
Valencian Community
26 May 1991
All 89 seats in the Valencian Courts
45 seats needed for a majority
Registered 2,916,465 Increase6.9%
Turnout 2,019,411 (69.2%)
Decrease5.3 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Joan Lerma Pedro Agramunt Héctor Villalba
Party PSPV PP UV
Leader since 31 July 1979 15 December 1990 1991
Last election 42 seats, 41.3% 25 seats, 24.7%[lower-alpha 1] 6 seats, 9.1%
Seats won 45 31 7
Seat change Increase3 Increase6 Increase1
Popular vote 860,429 558,617 208,126
Percentage 42.8% 27.8% 10.4%
Swing Increase1.5 pp Increase3.1 pp Increase1.3 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Albert Taberner Alejandro Font de Mora
Party IU CDS
Leader since 1986 1991
Last election 6 seats, 7.9% 10 seats, 11.2%
Seats won 6 0
Seat change ±0 Decrease10
Popular vote 151,242 76,433
Percentage 7.5% 3.8%
Swing Decrease0.4 pp Decrease7.4 pp
President before election

Joan Lerma
PSPV

 Elected President

Joan Lerma
PSPV

The 1991 Valencian parliamentary election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd democratically-elected Valencian Courts, the regional legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia. At stake were all 89 seats in the Courts, determining the President of the Valencian Government.

As in other Spanish communities, the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) saw a substantial drop in its vote share, causing them to fall below the 5% threshold and lose all their 10 seats. The party's poor results across Spain would lead to the resignation of party leader and former Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez.

For the third and final time to date, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won the election in the Valencian Community, regaining the overall majority of seats it had lost in the 1987 election.

The newly-founded People's Party (PP), which had been formed from a merger of the People's Alliance (AP) and other right-wing parties in January 1989, were the biggest winners in the election, gaining 6 seats. The right-wing regional party Valencian Union (UV) also improved its position and won a seat for the first time in the province of Castellon. United Left (IU) maintained the results obtained by the IU-UPV alliance in the 1987 election. Valencian People's Unity (UPV) had broken its alliance with IU after the 1987 election, being left out of the Courts as a result.

Electoral system

The number of seats in the Valencian Courts was set to a fixed-number of 89. All Courts' members were elected in 3 multi-member districts, corresponding to the Valencian Community's three provinces, using the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation system. Each district was entitled to an initial minimum of 20 seats, with the remaining 29 seats allocated among the three provinces in proportion to their populations, on the required condition that the number of inhabitants per seat in each district did not exceed 3 times those of any other. For the 1991 election, seats were distributed as follows: Alicante (30), Castellon (22) and Valencia (37).

Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. Only lists polling above 5% of valid votes (which include blank ballots—for none of the above) in all of the community were entitled to enter the seat distribution. This meant that in the case a list polled above 5% in one or more of the districts but below 5% in the community totals, it would remain outside of the seat apportionment.[1]

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Valencian Courts election results →
Party Vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV-PSOE) 860,429 42.85 Increase1.57 45 Increase3
People's Party (PP)[lower-alpha 1] 558,617 27.82 Increase3.11 31 Increase6
Valencian Union (UV) 208,126 10.36 Increase1.22 7 Increase1
United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV) 151,242 7.53 Decrease0.42 6 ±0
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 76,433 3.81 Decrease7.43 0 Decrease10
Valencian People's Unity (UPV) 73,813 3.68 New 0 ±0
The Greens (LV) 35,375 1.76 Increase0.65 0 ±0
The Greens of Alicante-Green Union (LVA-UVE) 5,569 0.28 New 0 ±0
Socialist Democracy (DS) 5,207 0.26 New 0 ±0
Cantonalist Party of the Alicantine Country (ALICANTON) 4,119 0.21 New 0 ±0
Left Platform (PE) 2,758 0.14 New 0 ±0
Valencian Nationalist Union (UNV) 2,248 0.11 Decrease0.10 0 ±0
National Front (FN) 2,184 0.11 New 0 ±0
Alliance for the Republic (AR) 1,383 0.07 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 20,606 1.03 Decrease0.04
Total 2,008,109 100.00 89 ±0
Valid votes 2,008,109 99.44 Increase0.56
Invalid votes 11,302 0.56 Decrease0.56
Votes cast / turnout 2,019,411 69.24 Decrease5.21
Abstentions 897,054 30.76 Increase5.21
Registered voters 2,916,465
Source: Argos Information Portal
Vote share
PSPV-PSOE
  
 42.85%
PP
  
 27.82%
UV
  
 10.36%
EUPV
  
 7.53%
CDS
  
 3.81%
UPV
  
 3.68%
LV
  
 1.76%
Others
  
 1.17%
Blank ballots
  
 1.03%
Parliamentary seats
PSPV-PSOE
  
 50.56%
PP
  
 34.83%
UV
  
 7.87%
EUPV
  
 6.74%

Results by province

Election results by province.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 People's Party results are compared to the People's Alliance and People's Democratic Party totals in the 1987 election.

References

  1. ↑ "Law 1/1987, of 31 March, Valencian electoral".