Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Spanish Congress Electoral District)

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It was first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election and covers the western part of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna are the largest municipalities, both having over 100,000 voters.^[1]

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution ^[2] the boundaries must be the same as the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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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Electoral procedures

The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.^[3]) Under this law, the elections in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as in other districts, are supervised by the Electoral Commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, polling stations are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.^[4]

The format of the ballot paper is designed by the Spanish state, however, the law allows political parties to produce and distribute their own ballot papers, either by mailing them to voters or by other means such as street distribution, provided that they comply with the official model. The government then covers the cost of all printed ballot papers. These must then be marked by voters, either in the polling station or outside the polling station and placed inside sealed envelopes which are then placed inside ballot boxes in the polling station. Following the close of polls, the ballots are then counted in each individual polling station in the presence of representatives of the political parties and candidates. The ballots are then immediately destroyed, with the exception of those considered invalid or challenged by the candidates' representatives, which are retained for further scrutiny. The result is that full recounts are impossible.^[5]

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.^[2]

Number of members

Santa Cruz de Tenerife has usually returned seven members at every election from 1977 onwards, the exception being the 1986 election when it was reduced to six members.

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population.^[6] 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 at the expense of larger provinces.

In 2004 Spain had 34,571,831 voters giving an average of 98,777 voters per deputy.^[7] Santa Cruz de Tenerife was close to the average with the ratio being 103,112.^[8]

Summary of seats won 1977-2011

Seats shown for the People's Party include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance in 1982 and the Popular Coalition in 1986. Seats shown for the Canarian Coalition include seats won by the Canarian Independent's grouping (Agrupaciones Independientes de Canarias) in 1986 and 1989.

Vote share summary 1977-2011

^* Results for the Canarian Coalition which, until becoming a political party in its own right in 2005, was a coalition of various smaller parties.

Results

The PP topped the poll in the 2000 election. This was the first time that a party of the centre right had achieved this since the 1979 election. The PSOE regained top spot in 2004, but the PP regained it at the 2011 election.

2011 General Election

Summary of the 20 November 2011 Congress of Deputies election results in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

2008 General Election

Summary of the 11 March 2008 Congress of Deputies election results in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

2004 General Election

Summary of the 14 March 2004 Congress of Deputies election results in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

2000 General Election

Summary of the 12 March 2000 Congress of Deputies election results in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Notes:-

• ^†Mato was replaced by Raquel Pérez on 18 June 2003.

Source:^[9]

External links

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

References