1995 Asturian regional election

The 1995 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. All 45 seats in the General Junta were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1995 Asturian regional election

← 1991 28 May 1995 1999 →

All 45 seats in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
23 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered945,105 Green arrow up3.5%
Turnout652,640 (69.1%)
Green arrow up10.4 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Sergio Marqués Antonio Trevín Gaspar Llamazares
Party PP PSOE IU
Leader since 1995 17 June 1993 1991
Leader's seat Central Eastern Central
Last election 15 seats, 30.4% 21 seats, 41.0% 6 seats, 14.8%
Seats won 21 17 6
Seat change Green arrow up6 Red arrow down4 Blue arrow right0
Popular vote 272,495 219,527 106,538
Percentage 42.0% 33.8% 16.4%
Swing Green arrow up11.6 pp Red arrow down7.2 pp Green arrow up1.6 pp

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Executiva Nacional del PAS. Presidente- Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente IMGP0541.jpg
Leader Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente Alfonso Román
Party PAS CDS
Leader since 1985 1995
Leader's seat Central Central (lost)
Last election 1 seat, 2.7%[a] 2 seats, 6.7%
Seats won 1 0
Seat change Blue arrow right0 Red arrow down2
Popular vote 20,669 11,555
Percentage 3.2% 1.8%
Swing Green arrow up0.5 pp Red arrow down4.9 pp

Constituency results map for the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias

President before election

Antonio Trevín
PSOE

Elected President

Sergio Marqués
PP

The election was won by the People's Party (PP) under Sergio Marqués, which became the most-voted party in the region for the first and, to date, only time. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) vote suffered from the population weariness after 12 years of Socialist governments, the economic crisis and the eruption of numerous scandals both at the regional and the national level (one such scandal had forced the resignation of President Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil in 1993). United Left (IU) scored a record result despite failing to win any new seats, while the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) was expelled from the regional legislature.

Overview

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Electoral system

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The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Asturias, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Asturian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1]

Voting for the General Junta was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Asturias and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 45 members of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established by law as follows:

Each constituency was allocated an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 39 being distributed in proportion to their populations.[2]

In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.[3]

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[2][4]

Election date

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The term of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the General Junta were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 26 May 1991, setting the election date for the General Junta on Sunday, 28 May 1995.[1][2][4]

The General Junta could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament except in the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot. In such a case, the General Junta was to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[1]

Opinion polls

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The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are 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. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Results

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Overall

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Summary of the 28 May 1995 General Junta of the Principality of Asturias election results
 
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP) 272,495 42.00 +11.60 21 +6
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 219,527 33.83 –7.19 17 –4
United Left (IU) 106,538 16.42 +1.57 6 ±0
Asturianist Party (PAS)1 20,669 3.19 +0.45 1 ±0
Asturian Centre–Democratic and Social Centre (CA–CDS) 11,555 1.78 –4.97 0 –2
The Greens of Asturias (LV) 4,504 0.69 –0.68 0 ±0
Asturian League (LA) 1,959 0.30 New 0 ±0
Andecha Astur (AA) 1,948 0.30 +0.09 0 ±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) 1,108 0.17 –0.16 0 ±0
Asturian Council (Conceyu) 862 0.13 –0.23 0 ±0
Blank ballots 7,655 1.18 –0.05
Total 648,820 45 ±0
Valid votes 648,820 99.41 +0.16
Invalid votes 3,820 0.59 –0.16
Votes cast / turnout 652,640 69.05 +10.36
Abstentions 292,465 30.95 –10.36
Registered voters 945,105
Sources[5][6][7]
Footnotes:
  • 1 Asturianist Party results are compared to Asturian Coalition totals in the 1991 election.
Popular vote
PP
42.00%
PSOE
33.83%
IU
16.42%
PAS
3.19%
CA–CDS
1.78%
Others
1.60%
Blank ballots
1.18%
Seats
PP
46.67%
PSOE
37.78%
IU
13.33%
PAS
2.22%

Distribution by constituency

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Constituency PP PSOE IU PAS
% S % S % S % S
Central 42.0 15 31.4 11 18.6 6 3.5 1
Eastern 44.1 3 42.6 2 6.5 2.8
Western 40.7 3 43.5 4 9.2 1.4
Total 42.0 21 33.8 17 16.4 6 3.2 1
Sources[5][6][7]

Aftermath

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Government formation

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Investiture
Ballot → 7 July 1995 10 July 1995
Required majority → 23 out of 45 Simple
  • PP (21)
21 / 45
 N
21 / 45
 Y
17 / 45
 N
17 / 45
 N
  • IU (6) (on 7 Jul)
6 / 45
 N Eliminated
Abstentions
  • IU (6) (on 10 Jul)
  • PAS (1)
1 / 45
7 / 45
Absentees
0 / 45
0 / 45
Sources[7]

1999 motion of no confidence

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Motion of no confidence
Ovidio Sánchez (PP)
Ballot → 10 March 1999
Required majority → 23 out of 45  N
Yes
  • PP (16)
16 / 45
No
6 / 45
Abstentions
20 / 45
Absentees
3 / 45
Sources[7][8]

Notes

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  1. ^ Results for PASUNA in the 1991 election.

References

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Opinion poll sources
  1. ^ a b "El PP se impuso en diez comunidades". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 29 May 1995.
  2. ^ "El PP será la fuerza más votada en 12 comunidades". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
  3. ^ "Insuficiente subida popular". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
  4. ^ "Mañana, previsiones para las municipales". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
  5. ^ "El PP gana en doce autonomías y el PSOE sólo en Extremadura, según un sondeo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 May 1995.
  6. ^ "Preelectoral Comunidad Autónoma de Asturias (Estudio 2161. Abril-Mayo 1995)". CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
  7. ^ "Estudio CIS nº 2161. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
Other
  1. ^ a b c Ley Orgánica 7/1981, de 30 de diciembre, de Estatuto de Autonomía del Principado de Asturias. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Organic Law 7) (in Spanish). 30 December 1981. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Ley 14/1986, de 26 de diciembre, sobre régimen de elecciones a la Junta General del Principado de Asturias. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Law 14) (in Spanish). 26 December 1986. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  3. ^ Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Organic Law 5) (in Spanish). 19 June 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Electoral Results. General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. 4th Legislature (1995–1999)". www.jgpa.es (in Spanish). General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Electoral Results. 1995". www.sadei.es (in Spanish). SADEI. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d "Elecciones a la Junta General del Principado de Asturias (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  8. ^ "Rechazada la moción de censura contra Marqués con mayoría de abstenciones". El Mundo (in Spanish). 10 March 1999. Retrieved 8 December 2019.