Basque parliamentary election, 2012

21 October 2012

All 75 seats in the Basque Parliament 38 seats needed for a majority

Opinion polls
Registered	1,775,351 0.0%
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	EH Bildu	PSE-EE (PSOE)
Leader since	2 December 2007	2 July 2012	23 March 2002
Last election	30 seats, 38.1%	5 seats, 9.6%^{[lower-alpha 1]}	25 seats, 30.4%
Seats won	27	21	16
Seat change	3	16	9
Popular vote	384,766	277,923	212,809
Percentage	34.2%	24.7%	18.9%
Swing	3.9 pp	15.1 pp	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
PSE-EE (PSOE)

Elected Lehendakari

Iñigo Urkullu
EAJ-PNV

The 2012 Basque parliamentary election was held on Sunday, 21 October 2012, to elect the 10th Basque Parliament, the regional legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of the Basque Country. At stake were all 75 seats in the Parliament, determining the Lehendakari (President of the Basque Country). It was a snap election, held several months earlier than required.^[1]

The Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV) defended its position as the strongest party, while the left-wing separatist Basque Country Unite coalition (EHB) 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, corresponding to the Basque Country's three provinces, using the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation system. Each district was assigned a fixed set of seats, distributed as follows: Alava (25), Biscay (25) and Gipuzkoa (25).

Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. Only lists polling above 3% of valid votes in each district (which include 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]

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.

Date	Polling Firm/Source	PNV	PSE	PP	Aralar	EA	IU	UPyD	EHB	EB-B	Others	Lead
Date	Polling Firm/Source										Others	Lead
21 Oct 2012	Regional Election	34.2	18.9	11.6	w.EHB	w.EHB	2.7	1.9	24.7	1.5	4.5	9.5
Exit polls
2–13 Oct	NC-Report	33.2	18.9	13.0	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.7	2.5	26.4		2.3	6.8
2–11 Oct	Aztiker	34.7	14.6	10.8	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.2	2.2	28.5	0.0	6.0	6.2
8–10 Oct	Sigma-2	33.3	20.2	14.7	w.EHB	w.EHB	2.8	2.1	24.5		2.4	8.8
3–10 Oct	My Word	32.3	18.8	10.5	w.EHB	w.EHB	1.8	5.8	25.6	1.5	3.7	6.7
1–10 Oct	Aztiker	35.2	14.6	10.4	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.3	2.2	28.3		6.0	6.9
30 Sep–9 Oct	Aztiker	34.4	15.3	10.8	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.2	2.1	28.2		6.0	6.2
29 Sep–8 Oct	Aztiker	34.6	15.3	11.2	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.1	2.0	27.9		5.9	6.7
6–7 Oct	Ikerfel	33.1	18.5	12.5	w.EHB	w.EHB	4.5	1.9	26.3		3.2	6.8
28 Sep–7 Oct	Aztiker	32.7	15.6	11.5	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.8	2.6	27.2		6.6	5.5
1–5 Oct	GPS	33.4	19.4	11.4	w.EHB	w.EHB	2.6	1.5	26.6	0.7	4.4	6.8
25 Sep–5 Oct	Aztiker	32.2	16.8	11.8	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.0	2.1	27.4		6.7	4.8
25 Sep–4 Oct	NC-Report	32.1	18.9	13.3	w.EHB	w.EHB		2.8	28.0		4.9	4.1
24 Sep–4 Oct	Aztiker	33.4	14.9	12.4	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.4	2.0	27.2		6.7	6.2
2–3 Oct	Gizaker	33.9	19.8	14.2	w.EHB	w.EHB	1.9	1.3	27.1	1.1	0.7	6.8
23 Sep–3 Oct	Aztiker	35.8	15.8	13.8	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.6	1.7	27.4		1.9	8.4
22 Sep–2 Oct	Aztiker	35.1	16.3	14.1	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.8	1.7	26.8	0.2	2.0	8.3
30 Sep	NC-Report	31.5	17.1	13.7	w.EHB	w.EHB		3.1	27.5		7.1	4.0
10–25 Sep	CIS	36.2	17.2	10.7	w.EHB	w.EHB	4.2	2.0	25.1		4.6	11.1
23 Sep	NC-Report	31.5	18.2	13.8	w.EHB	w.EHB		2.5	27.7		6.3	3.8
16 Sep	NC-Report	32.0	18.6	14.3	w.EHB	w.EHB		2.9	26.7		5.5	5.3
9 Sep	NC-Report	31.8	18.9	14.2	w.EHB	w.EHB		2.8	26.3		6.0	5.5
21–25 Aug	NC-Report	31.2	19.0	14.1	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.5	3.1	26.5		2.6	4.7
22–24 Aug	Sigma-2	33.7	21.4	12.8	w.EHB	w.EHB	2.3	1.1	27.3		1.4	6.4
24 Jun	Ikerfel	34.6	18.8	12.1	w.EHB	w.EHB	4.7	1.2	25.8		2.8	8.8
21–23 Jun	NC-Report	30.6	19.5	16.7	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.8	2.3	25.1		2.0	5.5
8–24 May	UPV/EHU	32.1	20.0	14.0	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.0	1.8	24.7	2.0	2.4	7.4
7–12 May	NC-Report	29.8	19.1	16.5	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.5		27.2		3.9	2.6
23 Apr	Gara	29.0	15.0	16.0	w.EHB	w.EHB	5.0		28.0		7.0	1.0
2012
25 Nov–19 Dec	UPV/EHU	30.7	18.3	15.4	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.1	1.8	24.7		6.0	6.0
20 Nov 2011	General Election	27.4	21.6	17.8	w.EHB	w.EHB	3.7	1.8	24.1		3.6	3.3
22 May 2011	JJGG Election	29.6	16.1	13.7	3.3	w.EHB	3.2	0.8	24.3		9.0	5.3
27–29 Jan	Gizaker	36.7	24.4	12.4	5.4			1.5	12.8		6.8	12.3
2011
2 Apr	Gizaker	38.9	29.3	13.3	9.5	3.3	2.2	1.8			1.7	9.6
2010
7 Jun 2009	EP Election	28.5	27.8	16.0	5.6		1.8	1.5	16.0		3.8	0.7
1 Mar 2009	Regional Election	38.1	30.4	13.9	6.0	3.6	3.5	2.1			2.4	7.7

Seat projections

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 were required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.

38 seats needed for majority
Date	Polling Firm/Source	PNV	PSE	PP	Aralar	EA	IU	UPyD	EHB	EB-B	Others
Date	Polling Firm/Source										Others
21 Oct 2012	Regional Election	27	16	10	w.EHB	w.EHB	0	1	21	0	0
21 Oct	Ipsos-Eco	24−27	13−15	9−11	w.EHB	w.EHB	0−1	0−1	23−26	0	0
Exit polls
2–13 Oct	NC-Report	24−27	14−16	10−12	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	1	20−22	0	0
2–11 Oct	Aztiker	28	12	9	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	1	24	0	0
8–10 Oct	Sigma-2	24−26	16−18	12	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	0	20	0	0
3–10 Oct	My Word	25−27	14−15	9−10	w.EHB	w.EHB	0	1	23−25	0	0
1–10 Oct	Aztiker	28	12	8	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	1	24	0	0
30 Sep–9 Oct	Aztiker	28	12	9	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	1	24	0	0
29 Sep–8 Oct	Aztiker	27	13	10	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	1	23	0	0
6–7 Oct	Ikerfel	25−27	15−16	10	w.EHB	w.EHB	2−3	0−1	21	0	0
28 Sep–7 Oct	Aztiker	27	13	9	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	1	23	0	0
1–5 Oct	GPS	24−26	16−17	10	w.EHB	w.EHB	0−1	1	21−23	0	0
25 Sep–5 Oct	Aztiker	26	13	10	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	1	24	0	0
25 Sep–4 Oct	NC-Report	24−25	14	10−12	w.EHB	w.EHB	3	1	21−23	0	0
24 Sep–4 Oct	Aztiker	26	13	11	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	0	23	0	0
2–3 Oct	Gizaker	24−25	16−17	11−13	w.EHB	w.EHB	0	0	21−22	0	0
23 Sep–3 Oct	Aztiker	26	14	11	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	1	22	0	0
22 Sep–2 Oct	Aztiker	26	14	11	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	0	22	0	0
30 Sep	NC-Report	23−25	14−15	11−13	w.EHB	w.EHB	0−1	0	22−24	0	0
10–25 Sep	CIS	27	14	9−10	w.EHB	w.EHB	3	0	21−22	0	0
23 Sep	NC-Report	23−25	14−15	11−13	w.EHB	w.EHB	1−2	0	21−24	0	0
16 Sep	NC-Report	23−26	14−16	11−13	w.EHB	w.EHB	1	1	21−22	0	0
21–25 Aug	NC-Report	22−25	14−16	11−13	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	1	20−22	0	0
22–24 Aug	Sigma-2	24−25	17	12	w.EHB	w.EHB	0	0	21−22	0	0
24 Jun	Ikerfel	24−26	14−17	11−12	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	0	19−21	0	0
21–23 Jun	NC-Report	22−24	15−16	14	w.EHB	w.EHB	1−2	0	21−22	0	0
8–24 May	UPV/EHU	23−24	17	12−13	w.EHB	w.EHB	0	0	22	0	0
7–12 May	NC-Report	22−23	15	14	w.EHB	w.EHB	1−2	0	22−23	0	0
23 Apr	Gara	22	12	15	w.EHB	w.EHB	2	0	24	0	0
2012
25 Nov–19 Dec	UPV/EHU	22−23	16	14	w.EHB	w.EHB	0−3	0	19−22		0
20 Nov 2011	General Election	(20)	(18)	(15)	w.EHB	w.EHB	(2)	(0)	(20)		(0)
22 May 2011	JJGG Election	(24)	(13)	(13)	(1)	w.EHB	(2)	(0)	(22)		(0)
27–29 Jan	Gizaker	29−30	20−21	11−12	3−4	0	0	1	9−10		0
2011
2 Apr	Gizaker	31	24	12	5	1	1	1	0		0
2010
7 Jun 2009	EP Election	(21)	(24)	(14)	(4)		(0)	(0)	(12)		(0)
1 Mar 2009	Regional Election	30	25	13	4	1	1	1			0

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 21 October 2012 Basque Parliament election results
Party		Vote			Seats

Party		Votes	%	±pp	Won	+/−
	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ-PNV)	384,766	34.16	3.98	27	3
	Basque Country Unite (EH Bildu)^{[lower-alpha 1]}	277,923	24.67	15.05	21	16
	Socialist Party of the Basque Country-Basque Country Left (PSE-EE/PSOE)	212,809	18.89	11.47	16	9
	People's Party (PP)	130,584	11.59	2.36	10	3
	United Left-The Greens-Plural Left (IU-LV)	30,318	2.69	0.78	0	1
	Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	21,539	1.91	0.21	1	±0
	United Left-Greens (EB-B)	17,345	1.54	New	0	±0
	Equo Greens-Basque Ecologists (EB-EE)	11,625	1.03	New	0	±0
	Blank Seats (Eb-Az)	11,480	1.02	New	0	±0
	Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA-ATTKA)	4,066	0.36	0.22	0	±0
	Jaded.org (Hartos.org)	2,831	0.25	New	0	±0
	For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	2,476	0.22	0.07	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	1,113	0.10	0.06	0	±0

Parties with less than 0.1% of the vote		2,885	0.26	–	±0
	Family and Life Party (PFyV)	821	0.07	0.03	±0
	Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI)	778	0.07	0.04	±0
	Communist Unification of Spain (UCE)	684	0.06	New	±0
	Basque Communists-Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (EK-PCPE)	442	0.04	New	±0
	Welcome (Ongi Etorri)	101	0.01	New	±0
	Community Integration Party (PYC)	59	0.01	New	±0

	Blank ballots	14,640	1.30	1.20

Total		1,126,400	100.00		75	±0

Valid votes		1,126,400	99.18	7.98
Invalid votes		9,168	0.81	7.98
Votes cast / turnout		1,135,568	63.96	0.72
Abstentions		639,783	36.04	0.72
Registered voters		1,775,351

Source: Argos Information Portal

Vote share

EAJ-PNV			34.16%
EH Bildu			24.67%
PSE-EE/PSOE			18.89%
PP			11.59%
IU-LV			2.69%
UPyD			1.91%
EB-B			1.54%
EB-EE			1.03%
Eb-Az			1.02%
Others			1.19%
Blank ballots			1.30%

Parliamentary seats

EAJ-PNV			36.00%
EH Bildu			28.00%
PSE-EE/PSOE			21.33%
PP			13.33%
UPyD			1.33%

Post-election

Investiture voting

Date	Choice	Vote	Total
12 Dec 2012 Majority required: Absolute (38/75)	Iñigo Urkullu	PNV (27)	27 / 75
	Laura Mintegi	EHB (21)	21 / 75
	Blank	PSE-EE (16), PP (10), UPyD (1)	27 / 75
13 Dec 2012 Majority required: Simple	YIñigo Urkullu	PNV (27)	27 / 75
	Laura Mintegi	EHB (21)	21 / 75
	Blank	PSE-EE (16), PP (10), UPyD (1)	27 / 75
Source: Historia Electoral - Basque Parliament Elections

Notes

1 2 Compared to the Aralar+Basque Solidarity results in the 2009 election.

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

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