Galician regional election, 1981

Galician regional election, 1981
Galicia (Spain)
20 October 1981
All 71 seats in the Parliament of Galicia
36 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered 2,174,246
Turnout 1,006,222 (46.3%)

  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Xerardo Fernández Albor Xosé Quiroga Suárez Francisco Vázquez
Party AP UCD PSdG–PSOE
Leader since 1981 9 June 1979 1980
Leader's seat La Coruña Orense La Coruña
Seats won 26 24 16
Popular vote 301,039 274,191 193,456
Percentage 30.5% 27.8% 19.6%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Bautista Álvarez Camilo Nogueira Anxo Guerreiro
Party BNPG–PSG EG PCE–PCG
Leader since 1977 1980 1979
Leader's seat La Coruña Pontevedra La Coruña
Seats won 3 1 1
Popular vote 61,870 33,497 28,927
Percentage 6.3% 3.4% 2.9%

Constituency results map for the Parliament of Galicia
President before election

Xosé Quiroga Suárez
UCD

 Elected President

Xerardo Fernández Albor
AP

The 1981 Galician regional election was held on Tuesday, 20 October 1981, to elect the 1st Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Galicia. All 71 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with a constitutional referendum in Andalusia.

Despite predictions pointing that the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), the then-ruling party in Spain, would maintain the hegemony it had obtained in the general elections of 1977 and 1979, the party came a close second after Manuel Fraga's People's Alliance (AP), which won the election with slightly over 30% of the vote and 26 seats. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) fared better that in the general elections, but did not obtain the expected gains, with just below 20% of the vote and 16 seats.[1]

After the election, an agreement between the two most-voted parties allowed Xerardo Fernández Albor from AP to be elected President of the Xunta, as head of a minority cabined with the external support of the UCD.

The Galician election of 1981 marked the beginning of the end for the Union of the Democratic Centre as a relevant political force in Spanish politics, confirming its ever more dwindling support among voters and AP's growth at its expense.[2][3] The 1982 Andalusian election held seven months later would suppose another blow to UCD, accelerating the internal decomposition of the party into the next general election.

Overview

Background

With the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the celebration in Spain of the first ordinary general election after the Spanish transition to democracy, the process for the establishment of the "State of the Autonomies" started with the rebirth of the "historical communities" of Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia, in application of article 151 of the Spanish Constitution.

For Galicia, an Assembly of Galician Parliamentarians was constituted on 25 July 1979 composed by 16 political representatives both with and without parliamentary representation (8 from UCD, 2 from PSOE and AP and 1 each for the PCE and other leftist and nationalist parties), in order to elaborate a draft for the regional Statute of Autonomy. The resulting text, known as the "Statute of UCD", was considered by left-wing nationalist parties as unambitious and of second order when compared to the Catalan and Basque projects.[4] Massive political demonstrations were held throughout the main Galician cities on 4 December 1979 in order to protest against the proposed draft, leading Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez to acknowledge that he had been wrong in the handling of the development of the Galician statute.[5] Subsequently, new negotiations ensued until a new project was approved in 1981, having been previously ratified in a referendum held on 21 December 1980 with a very low turnout of 28.27%.

As a result of the Statute's approval, legislative and executive procedures were put in place to establish the new autonomous community and hold the first regional election, which was finally set for 20 October 1981.[6][7]

Electoral system

The Parliament of Galicia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, having legislative power in matters of regional competence as underlined by the Spanish Constitution and the Galician Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to grant or revoke confidence from a President of the Xunta.[8] Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, with all nationals over eighteen, registered in Galicia and in full enjoyment of all political rights entitled to vote.

The 71 members of the Parliament of Galicia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 3 per 100 of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, dependant on the district magnitude.[9] Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of La Coruña, Lugo, Orense and Pontevedra. Each constituency was allocated a fixed number of seats: 22 for La Coruña, 15 for Lugo, 15 for Orense and 19 for Pontevedra.[8]

The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure at least the signature of 0.1 per 100 of the electors entered in electoral register of the constituency for which they were seeking election—needing to secure, in any case, the signature of 500 electors—. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within fifteen days from the election call.[10]

Election date

Transitory Provision One of the Statute of Autonomy for Galicia of 1981 required for the Provisional Xunta, in agreement with the Government of Spain, to call an election within 120 days after the date of enactment of the Statute, with election day taking place within sixty days after the call. As a result, an election could not be held later than the 180th day from the date of enactment of the Statute.[8] The Statute of Autonomy was published in the Official State Gazette on 28 April 1981, with the election taking place 180 days after publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament at Sunday, 25 October 1981.[11][12]

Initially, 15 or 18 October 1981 were considered as the most likely dates for the election to be held, but members from the ruling UCD did not rule out it taking place up to one week later.[13][14] On 21 August and after deliberation by the Provisional Xunta and in agreement with the State Government, President Xosé Quiroga Suárez called the election for Tuesday, 20 October 1981.[15][16]

Campaign

The governing Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) ran its campaign with the "Defend what is yours" slogan, emphasizing the defense of values such as personal freedom and regional culture, the modernization of key economic sectors such as fishing and agriculture, the identity of the Spanish nation and an efficient autonomy for Galicia. The party's aim was to remain the community's hegemonic force after the 1977 and 1979 landslides in the region. Before the electoral campaign, the different factions within the Galician branch of the UCD had reached a compromise to put off internal quarrelling, resulting from the nomination of Xosé Quiroga Suárez as presidential candidate without the approval of some sectors within the party, until after the election, to prevent giving voters an image of disunity.[17]

On the other hand, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the main opposition party in Spain, used the slogan "Galicia wants to live", advocating for an improvement of the Statute and for the excitement of voters into the newly-found autonomic perspective. Socialist aims were not directed towards winning the election, as Galicia was considered a very conservative region, but rather, to consolidate the gains foreseen by opinion polls with prospects for incoming elections in the remainder of the country. One of the aims for both parties was also to reduce the exceptionally high abstention rates that had plagued all elections held in Galicia since the Transition.

Aside from both main parties, the right-wing People's Alliance (AP), on the rise in opinion polls, made an election campaign centered on the image of its leader, Manuel Fraga, of Galician descent; a move which received criticism from other political groups as Fraga did not stand as candidate in the election. AP also tried to highlight the party's alleged "Galician personality" ("Galician, as you" was the party slogan for the election), aiming for securing strong gains in the region at the expense of the UCD, which was seen as a declining force at the time.[18]

Opinion polls

Individual poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If that date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance of a tie, the figures with the highest percentages are shaded. in the case of seat projections, they are displayed in bold and in a different font. The lead column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. 36 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Galicia.

Results

Overall

Summary of the 20 October 1981 Parliament of Galicia election results →
Parties and coalitions Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Alliance (AP) 301,039 30.52 — 26 —
Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 274,191 27.80 — 24 —
Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdG–PSOE) 193,456 19.62 — 16 —
Galician National-Popular Bloc–Galician Socialist Party (BNPG–PSG) 61,870 6.27 — 3 —
Galician Left (EG) 33,497 3.40 — 1 —
Galicianist Party (PG) 32,623 3.31 — 0 —
Communist Party of Galicia (PCE–PCG) 28,927 2.93 — 1 —
Workers' Socialist Party (PST) 18,249 1.85 — 0 —
Galician Socialist Unity–PSOE (USG–PSOE) 12,709 1.29 — 0 —
Blank ballots 0 0.00 —
Total 986,244 100.00 71 —
Valid votes 986,244 98.01 —
Invalid votes 19,978 1.99 —
Votes cast / turnout 1,006,222 46.28 —
Abstentions 1,168,024 53.72 —
Registered voters 2,174,246
Source(s): Argos Information Portal, historiaelectoral.com
Popular vote
AP
  
 30.52%
UCD
  
 27.80%
PSdG–PSOE
  
 19.62%
BNPG–PSG
  
 6.27%
EG
  
 3.40%
PG
  
 3.31%
PCG–PCE
  
 2.93%
PST
  
 1.85%
USG–PSOE
  
 1.29%
Others
  
 3.01%
Blank ballots
  
 0.00%
Seats
AP
  
 36.62%
UCD
  
 33.80%
PSdG–PSOE
  
 22.54%
BNPG–PSG
  
 4.23%
EG
  
 1.41%
PCG–PCE
  
 1.41%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency AP UCD PSdG BNPG–PSG EG PCG
% S % S % S % S % S % S
La Coruña 32.7 9 19.5 5 24.0 6 6.7 1 3.3 – 3.4 1
Lugo 31.4 5 35.0 6 16.1 3 8.0 1 0.9 – 1.5 –
Orense 28.0 5 42.7 7 16.4 3 5.2 – 0.5 – 2.0 –
Pontevedra 28.6 7 28.2 6 17.2 4 5.5 1 5.9 1 3.4 –
Total 30.5 26 27.8 24 19.6 16 6.3 3 3.4 1 2.9 1

Aftermath

AP victory over UCD caught many by surprise. The then-ruling party of Spain had not been able to win in one its most-favorable regions, finishing third in the most populous province of Galicia, Corunna, with 19.5%, behind PSOE's 24.0% and AP's 32.7%. It also narrowly failed to win in the other Atlantic province of Pontevedra, and while it maintained its primacy in the provinces of Lugo and Ourense, it did so with much reduced majorities when compared to the previous general election results in the region. AP went on to win much of the urban vote, with the UCD confined to the rural areas.[19][20]

The UCD debacle was seen as a consequence of the party's action of government at the national level, first under PM Adolfo Suárez, then under Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo. Economic crisis, the party's perceived poor management of the autonomic process and internal party infighting had seen its popularity plummet in opinion polls. This had been already made evident with the party's poor performance in the different elections held throughout 1980 (Catalonia and the Basque Country),[21] but Galicia had been considered a safe UCD stronghold, and while it was expected that the party would lose ground, an electoral defeat had not been foreseen. The election outcome only helped hasten the internal crisis between the different party factions, with voices claiming for an extraordinary congress to be held so as to renew the party's leadership, with pressure mounting over Calvo-Sotelo in order for him to prevent further electoral disasters.[22]

Vote evolution in Galicia 1977-1982
Party % Votes
1977 1979 1981 1982 1977 1979 1981 1982
UCD 53.76 48.18 27.80 17.71 606,726 493,124 274,191 230,113
PSOE 15.52 17.32 19.62 32.83 175,127 177,298 193,456 426,469
AP 13.13 14.19 30.52 37.60 148,239 145,266 301,039 488,438
BNPG 2.02 5.95 6.27 2.96 22,771 60,889 61,870 38,437
PCE 3.03 4.16 2.93 1.55 34,188 42,594 28,927 20,108
Turnout 60.73 49.20 46.28 63.70 1,152,376 1,039,743 1,006,222 1,321,060

The results of Galicia were the confirmation of the quickly deteriorating state of the UCD vote since the general election of 1979, when the party came in first place both nationally and in Galicia. By late 1981 it had become the second political force in opinion polls at the national level well behind the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, and after the Galician election the centre-right electorate started to migrate to AP. In the Andalusian May 1982 election the UCD further collapsed to third place behind both PSOE and AP, with a mere 13% to the 31% of 1979. By the time of the October 1982 general election it would become a minoritary force slightly below 7% nationally, leading to the party's dissolution in early 1983.

Investiture vote

First round: 8 January 1982
Absolute majority (36/71) required
Candidate: Xerardo Fernández Albor
Choice Vote
Parties Votes
YesYes AP (26), UCD (23), PSdG–PSOE (3)
52 / 71
No PSdG–PSOE (12), BNPG–PSG (3), EG (1), PCE–PCG (1)
17 / 71
Abstentions PSdG–PSOE (1)
1 / 71
Absences: UCD (1)
Source: historiaelectoral.com

Opinion poll sources

References

  1. ↑ "History of the Galician elections" (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 2008-08-28.
  2. ↑ Twenty years of autonomy in Galicia, by Jaime Rodríguez-Arana Muñoz (Spanish). Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  3. ↑ "UCD no longer the same" (in Spanish). ABC. 1981-12-31.
  4. ↑ "Galician statutes' birthday" (in Spanish). El Mundo. 2011-07-30.
  5. ↑ "Normality in the demonstrations against the Galician Statute" (in Spanish). El País. 1979-12-05.
  6. ↑ "The Parliament of Galicia election will be held in October" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-04-21.
  7. ↑ "20 October, Galician election and Andalusian referendum" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-08-21.
  8. 1 2 3 Statute of Autonomy for Galicia of 1981, Organic Law No. 1 of April 6, 1981 Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved on 8 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Electoral Rules Decree of 1977, Royal Decree-Law No. 20 of March 18, 1977 Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved on 27 December 2016.
  11. ↑ Conde Muruais, Perfecto (21 April 1981). "Las elecciones al Parlamento de Galicia se celebrarán en octubre". El País (in Spanish). Santiago de Compostela. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  12. ↑ "Abierto el plazo para las próximas elecciones al Parlamento gallego". El País (in Spanish). 28 April 1981. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  13. ↑ Conde Muruais, Perfecto (3 May 1981). "Propuesta centrista para que las elecciones en Galicia se celebren entre el 15 y el 18 de octubre". El País (in Spanish). Santiago de Compostela. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "El Gobierno estudió la convocatoria de las elecciones gallegas". El País (in Spanish). 8 May 1981. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. ↑ "El 20 de octubre, elecciones gallegas y referéndum andaluz". El País (in Spanish). 21 August 1981. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  16. ↑ Decree calling for elections to the Parliament of Galicia, Decree No. 23 of August 21, 1981 Official Gazette of the Xunta of Galicia (in Galician). Retrieved on 11 August 2017.
  17. ↑ "Truce in the Galician UCD at the approach of the regional election" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-09-08.
  18. ↑ "ABC 02-10-81 edition, pag. 13" (in Spanish). ABC. 1981-10-02.
  19. ↑ "Spectacular growth of AP in detriment of UCD in the Galician Parliament election" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-10-21.
  20. ↑ "UCD becomes a ruralist party in Galicia" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-10-22.
  21. ↑ "UCD electoral setbacks" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-10-22.
  22. ↑ "The different centrist families accuse each other of the Galician defeat" (in Spanish). El País. 1981-10-22.
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