Basque Parliament

Basque Parliament Eusko Legebiltzarra Parlamento Vasco
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Bakartxo Tejeria, EAJ-PNV Since 20 October 2012
Structure
Seats	75
Political groups	Government (27): EAJ-PNV (27) Suported by (16): PSE-EE (16) Opposition (32): EH Bildu (21) PP (10) UPyD (1)
Elections
Voting system	Closed party lists in three 25-seat constituencies, with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method
Last election	21 October 2012
Next election	On or before 20 November 2016
Meeting place
Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava
Website
Website

The Basque Parliament (Basque: Eusko Legebiltzarra, Spanish: Parlamento Vasco) is the legislative body of the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain and the elected assembly to which the Basque Government is responsible.

The Parliament meets in the Basque capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz, although the first session of the modern assembly, as constituted by the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country, was held in Guernica – the symbolic centre of Basque freedoms – on 31 March 1980.^[1] Later in 1980 it started meeting at the premises of the Alavese government. In 1982, it got its own site in a former high school. The symbol of the Parliament is an oaken sculpture by Nestor Basterretxea representing a stylized tree, an allusion to the tradition of Basque political assemblies meeting under a tree, as in Guernica.

It is composed of seventy-five deputies representing citizens from the three provinces of the Basque autonomous community. Each province (Álava, Gipuzkoa and Biscay) elects the same number of deputies, despite their having very different levels of population. This was chosen to earn support from Álava and Navarre, less populated territories in which Basque nationalism is less popular. Still, Navarre did not join the autonomous community.

The elections are held using closed list proportional representation with seats allocated on a Provincial basis using the D'Hondt method of allocation. To qualify for seats in a particular province, electoral lists must receive at least 3% of the votes cast in that province, including votes "en blanco" for "none of the above." From 1984 to 2001, the election threshold was 5% in each province. Sessions of the Basque Parliament are conducted in both Basque and Spanish, with translation services.

The current Speaker of the Basque Parliament is Bakartxo Tejeria, who was elected on the EAJ-PNV ticket in 2012.

Basque Country
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Basque Country
Statute of Autonomy Statute of Autonomy Ibarretxe Plan
President Lehendakari (List) Iñigo Urkullu
Parliament Eusko Legebiltzarra Speaker Bakartxo Tejeria
Judiciary High Tribunal of Justice Ombudsman
Public order Home Office Basque Police - Ertzaintza Municipal police - Udaltzaingoa
Political parties Parliamentary parties PNV, EH Bildu, PSE-EE, PP, UPyD
Former political parties Aralar, Batasuna, EMK, DCV-EKD, EE, EuE, EIA, EA, EAE-ANV, EB-B, HASI, HZ
Elections 1979 referendum 1980 parliament 1984 parliament 1986 parliament 1990 parliament 1994 parliament 1998 parliament 2001 parliament 2005 parliament 2009 parliament 2012 parliament
Administrative divisions Provinces Gipuzkoa Biscay Álava Comarcas Municipialities
Other countries Atlas Politics portal

See also

• List of Basque Presidents (known as Lehendakari), heads of the Basque government
• List of Presidents of the Basque Parliament

References

External links

• Official website of the Basque Parliament (in Basque and Spanish)

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