Spanish general election, 1993

Spanish general election, 1993
Spain
6 June 1993
All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of 256) seats in the Senate
176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Opinion polls
Registered 31,030,511 4.8%
Turnout 23,718,816 (76.4%)
6.7 pp

  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Felipe González José María Aznar Julio Anguita
Party PSOE PP IU
Leader since 28 September 1979 4 September 1989 12 February 1989
Leader's seat Madrid Madrid Madrid
Last election 177 seats, 40.1% 107 seats, 25.8% 17 seats, 9.1%
Seats won 159 141 18
Seat change 18 34 1
Popular vote 9,150,083 8,201,463 2,253,722
Percentage 38.8% 34.8% 9.6%
Swing 1.3 pp 9.0 pp 0.5 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Miquel Roca Iñaki Anasagasti Luis Mardones
Party CiU EAJ/PNV CC
Leader since 4 July 1982 1986 18 April 1986
Leader's seat Barcelona Biscay Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Last election 18 seats, 5.0% 5 seats, 1.2% 1 seats, 0.3%
Seats won 17 5 4
Seat change 1 0 3
Popular vote 1,165,783 291,448 207,077
Percentage 4.9% 1.2% 0.9%
Swing 0.1 pp ±0.0 pp 0.6 pp

Constituency results map for the Congress of Deputies
Prime Minister before election

Felipe González
PSOE

 Elected Prime Minister

Felipe González
PSOE

The 1993 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 6 June 1993, to elect the 5th Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 256 seats in the Senate.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party under Felipe González achieved the largest number of votes and seats for the fourth consecutive time, though it lost its absolute majority in both chambers of the Cortes. In contrast, José María Aznar's People's Party won a large share of the vote, thus increasing their seats in both the Congress and the Senate and consolidating its position as the main opposition party. For the first time since 1979, the election brought in a hung parliament, forcing the governing PSOE to pact with nationalist groups in order to renew their mandate.

In the aftermath of the election, the PSOE saw itself under increased pressure due both to political instability as a result of its low majority (relying on increasingly unstable pacts with Convergence and Union to pass its legislation) and of the uncovering of numerous cases of corruption within the government itself. The pact with CiU would end in the fall of 1995, forcing PM Felipe González to call early elections 15 months before their scheduled date, which would see the opposition right-wing People's Party of Aznar win for the first time.

Electoral system

The Spanish Cortes Generales were regarded as an imperfect bicameral system. The Congress of Deputies had greater legislative power than the Senate, having the ability to grant or revoke confidence from a Prime Minister and to override Senate vetoes by an absolute majority of votes. Nonetheless, the Senate possessed a few exclusive, yet limited in number functions—such as its role in constitutional amendment—which were not subject to the Congress' override.[1][2] Voting for the Cortes Generales was on the basis of universal suffrage, with all nationals over eighteen and in full enjoyment of all political rights entitled to vote.

For the Congress of Deputies, 348 seats 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.[3] Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Spain. Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 248 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations. Ceuta and Melilla were allocated the two remaining seats, which were elected using plurality voting.[1][4][5][6]

For the Senate, 208 seats were elected using an open list partial block voting, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. In constituencies electing four seats, electors could vote for up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, for up to two candidates; and for one candidate in single-member districts. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces was allocated four seats, whereas for insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, districts were the islands themselves, with the larger—Majorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife—being allocated three seats each, and the smaller—Menorca, Ibiza-Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma—one each. Ceuta and Melilla elected two seats each. Additionally, autonomous communities could appoint at least one senator each and were entitled to one additional senator per each million inhabitants.[1][4][5][6]

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 1 per 100 of the electors entered in electoral register of the constituency for which they were seeking election. 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 ten days from the election call.[4][6]

Election date

Articles 68 and 69 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 established that the term of each House of the Cortes Generales—the Congress and the Senate—expired four years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. Article 42 of the General Electoral System Law of 1985 required for the election Decree to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of the Cortes in the event that the Prime Minister did not make use of his prerogative of early dissolution. The Decree was to be published on the following day in the Official State Gazette, with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 29 October 1989, which meant that the legislature's term would expire on 29 October 1993. The election Decree was required to be published no later than 5 October 1993, with the election taking place on the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes Generales at Saturday, 4 December 1993.[4][6]

Article 115 of the Constitution granted the Prime Minister the prerogative to dissolve both Houses at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no state of emergency under Article 116 was in force and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. Additionally, under Article 99 both Houses were to be dissolved and a new election called if an investiture process failed to elect a Prime Minister within a two-month period from the first ballot.[1][5] While there was no constitutional requirement—aside from Article 99—for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate, there were no precedents for separate elections, with governments having long preferred that elections for the two Houses take place simultaneously.

Parties and leaders

Parties and coalitions Composition Ideology Candidate
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) Social democracy Felipe González
People's Party (PP) Liberal conservatism José María Aznar
United Left (IU) Communism Julio Anguita
Convergence and Union (CiU) Catalan nationalism Miquel Roca
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) Social liberalism Adolfo Suárez
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) Basque nationalism Iñaki Anasagasti
Canarian Coalition (CC) Canarian nationalism Lorenzo Olarte
Popular Unity (HB) Abertzale left Jon Idigoras
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) Left-wing nationalism Pilar Rahola
The Greens (LV) Green politics Francisco Garrido
Aragonese Party (PAR) Aragonese regionalism José María Mur
Basque Solidarity–Basque Left (EA–EuE) Basque nationalism Xabier Albistur
Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) Galician nationalism —
Valencian Union (UV) Blaverism Vicente González Lizondo
Andalusian Party (PA) Andalusian nationalism Salvador Pérez Bueno

Opinion polls

Campaign

Leaders' debates

Spanish general election debates, 1993
Date Organisers Moderator(s)     P  Present  
PSOE PP
24 May Antena 3 Manuel Campo Vidal P
González		 P
Aznar
31 May Telecinco Luis Mariñas P
González		 P
Aznar
Candidate viewed as "performing best" or "most convincing" in each debate
Debate Poll source PSOE PP Notes
24 May Demoscopia[7] 21.0 50.0 29.0% said none won, that it was a tie or were undecided.
Opina[8] 18.4 42.5 13.9% said none won, 8.1% it was a tie and 17.2% were undecided.
Sigma Dos[9] 28.0 49.8 22.2% said none won, that it was a tie or were undecided.
31 May Demoscopia[10] 48.0 18.0 34.0% said none won, that it was a tie or were undecided.
Opina[11] 36.2 15.3 13.6% said none won, 17.4% it was a tie and 17.5% were undecided.

Results

Congress of Deputies

← Summary of the 6 June 1993 Congress of Deputies election results →
Parties and coalitions Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)1 9,150,083 38.78 –1.33 159 –18
People's Party (PP) 8,201,463 34.76 +8.97 141 +34
United Left (IU) 2,253,722 9.55 +0.48 18 +1
Convergence and Union (CiU) 1,165,783 4.94 –0.10 17 –1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 414,740 1.76 –6.13 0 –14
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 291,448 1.24 ±0.00 5 ±0
Canarian Coalition (CC)2 207,077 0.88 +0.45 4 +3
Popular Unity (HB) 206,876 0.88 –0.18 2 –2
Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) 189,632 0.80 +0.39 1 +1
The Greens (LV) 185,940 0.79 –0.11 0 ±0
Aragonese Party (PAR) 144,544 0.61 +0.26 1 ±0
Basque Solidarity–Basque Left (EA–EuE) 129,293 0.55 –0.12 1 –1
Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) 126,965 0.54 +0.31 0 ±0
Valencian Union (UV) 112,341 0.48 –0.23 1 –1
Andalusian Party (PA) 96,513 0.41 –0.63 0 –2
The Ecologists (LE) 68,851 0.29 –0.38 0 ±0
Ruiz-Mateos Group–European Democratic Alliance (ARM–ADE) 54,518 0.23 –0.84 0 ±0
Andalusian Progress Party (PAP) 43,169 0.18 New 0 ±0
Valencian People's Union (UPV) 41,052 0.17 –0.03 0 ±0
Workers' Socialist Party (PST) 30,068 0.13 –0.27 0 ±0
Union for the Progress of Cantabria (UPCA) 27,005 0.11 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 188,679 0.80 +0.11
Total 23,591,864 100.00 350 ±0
Valid votes 23,591,864 99.46 +0.20
Invalid votes 126,952 0.54 –0.20
Votes cast / turnout 23,718,816 76.44 +6.70
Abstentions 7,311,695 23.56 –6.70
Registered voters 31,030,511
Source(s): Ministry of the Interior, historiaelectoral.com
Popular vote
PSOE
  
 38.78%
PP
  
 34.76%
IU
  
 9.55%
CiU
  
 4.94%
CDS
  
 1.76%
EAJ/PNV
  
 1.24%
CC
  
 0.88%
HB
  
 0.88%
ERC
  
 0.80%
PAR
  
 0.61%
EA–EUE
  
 0.55%
UV
  
 0.48%
Others
  
 3.97%
Blank ballots
  
 0.80%
Seats
PSOE
  
 45.43%
PP
  
 40.29%
IU
  
 5.14%
CiU
  
 4.86%
EAJ/PNV
  
 1.43%
CC
  
 1.14%
HB
  
 0.57%
ERC
  
 0.29%
PAR
  
 0.29%
EA–EUE
  
 0.29%
UV
  
 0.29%

Senate

← Summary of the 6 June 1993 Senate of Spain election results →
Parties and coalitions Seats
Won +/− Not up Total seats
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 96 –11 21 117
People's Party (PP) 93 +15 13 106
United Left (IU) 0 –1 2 2
Convergence and Union (CiU) 10 ±0 5 15
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 0 –1 — 0
Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 3 –1 2 5
Canarian Coalition (CC)[lower-alpha 1] 5 +1 1 6
Popular Unity (HB) 1 –2 — 1
Aragonese Party (PAR) 0 ±0 1 1
Basque Solidarity (EA) 0 ±0 1 1
Riojan Party (PR) 0 ±0 1 1
Valencian Nationalist Left (ENV) 0 ±0 1 1
Total 208 ±0 48 256
Source(s): Ministry of the Interior, historiaelectoral.com
  1. ↑ Canarian Coalition results are compared to the combined totals of AIC, AM and AHI in the 1989 election.
Seats
PSOE
  
 45.70%
PP
  
 41.41%
CiU
  
 5.86%
CC
  
 2.34%
EAJ/PNV
  
 1.95%
IU
  
 0.78%
HB
  
 0.39%
PAR
  
 0.39%
EA
  
 0.39%
PR
  
 0.39%
ENV
  
 0.39%

Aftermath

Investiture

Investiture of
Felipe González (PSOE)		 Yes No Abstentions
9 July 1993 (1st ballot)
(176/350 required)		 181 • PSOE (159)
• CiU (17)
• PNV (5)		 165 • PP (141)
• IU–IC (17)
• CC (4)
• ERC (1)
• EA (1)
• UV (1)		 1 • PAR (1)
Source: historiaelectoral.com

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Spanish Constitution of 1978, December 29, 1978 Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved on 27 December 2016.
  2. ↑ "Constitución española, Sinopsis artículo 66". congreso.es (in Spanish). Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 General Electoral System Organic Law of 1985, Organic Law No. 5 of June 19, 1985 Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved on 28 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Constitution" (PDF). congreso.es. Congress of Deputies. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Representation of the people Institutional Act". juntaelectoralcentral.es. Central Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "Triunfo claro de Aznar en el primer debate". El País (in Spanish). 26 May 1993.
  8. ↑ "Aznar superó a González en el debate". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 26 May 1993.
  9. ↑ "Las encuestas de "El Mundo", "La Vanguardia" y "El País" dan el triunfo a Aznar". ABC (in Spanish). 26 May 1993.
  10. ↑ "Victoria neta de González sobre Aznar en el segundo cara a cara televisivo". El País (in Spanish). 2 June 1993.
  11. ↑ "González ganó por 20,9 puntos a Aznar". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2 June 1993.
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