1991 Castilian-Manchegan regional election

The 1991 Castilian-Manchegan regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Cortes of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. All 47 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1991 Castilian-Manchegan regional election

← 1987 26 May 1991 1995 →

All 47 seats in the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha
24 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered1,304,996 3.6%
Turnout946,138 (72.5%)
2.9 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader José Bono José Manuel Molina José Molina Martínez
Party PSOE PP IU
Leader since 25 March 1983 23 December 1989 1991
Leader's seat Toledo Toledo Albacete
Last election 25 seats, 46.3% 18 seats, 35.9%[a] 0 seats, 5.4%
Seats won 27 19 1
Seat change 2 1 1
Popular vote 489,876 336,642 57,967
Percentage 52.2% 35.9% 6.2%
Swing 5.9 pp 0.0 pp 0.8 pp

Constituency results map for the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha

President before election

José Bono
PSOE

Elected President

José Bono
PSOE

For the third consecutive time, the election was won by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, which under José Bono obtained a new absolute majority, with 27 out of 47 seats and over 52% of the share. The People's Party (PP), a party formed in 1989 from the merger of the People's Alliance (AP), the People's Democratic Party and the Liberal Party (PL), obtained 19 seats and 35.9% of the vote. United Left (IU) entered the Courts for the first time with 1 seat.

The three parties' gains came at the cost of the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which lost 2/3 of its votes and its 4 seats, being expelled from the Courts as a result.

Overview edit

Electoral system edit

The Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Castilian-Manchegan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Junta of Communities.[1] Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Castilla–La Mancha and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 47 members of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha 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. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, depending on the district magnitude.[2] Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo. Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of five seats, with the remaining 22 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations.[1][3]

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 the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought 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 of the election being called.[3][4][5]

Election date edit

The term of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha expired four years after the date of their previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the Cortes were to be fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 10 June 1987, setting the election date for the Cortes on Sunday, 26 May 1991.[1][3][4][5]

The Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the candidate from the party with the highest number of seats was to be deemed automatically elected.[1]

Opinion polls edit

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; 24 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha.

Results edit

Overall edit

Summary of the 26 May 1991 Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha election results
 
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 489,876 52.17 +5.84 27 +2
People's Party (PP)1 336,642 35.85 –0.07 19 +1
United Left (IU) 57,967 6.17 +0.81 1 +1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 32,793 3.49 –7.00 0 –4
The Greens EcologistHumanist List (LVLE–H)2 4,836 0.52 +0.33 0 ±0
Action for Talavera (ACTAL) 2,441 0.26 New 0 ±0
Social Democratic Party of Castilla–La Mancha (PSDCLM) 1,102 0.12 –0.02 0 ±0
Regionalist Unitary Party (PUR) 1,052 0.11 –0.02 0 ±0
Regionalist Party of Castilla–La Mancha (PRCM) 984 0.10 New 0 ±0
Commoners' Land (TC) 918 0.10 New 0 ±0
Regionalist Party of Guadalajara (PRGU) 769 0.08 New 0 ±0
Alliance for the Republic (AxR) 294 0.03 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 9,300 0.99 +0.01
Total 938,974 47 ±0
Valid votes 938,974 99.24 +0.40
Invalid votes 7,164 0.76 –0.40
Votes cast / turnout 946,138 72.50 –2.93
Abstentions 358,858 27.50 +2.93
Registered voters 1,304,996
Sources[6][7][8][9]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PSOE
52.17%
PP
35.85%
IU
6.17%
CDS
3.49%
Others
1.32%
Blank ballots
0.99%
Seats
PSOE
57.45%
PP
40.43%
IU
2.13%

Distribution by constituency edit

Constituency PSOE PP IU
% S % S % S
Albacete 54.0 6 31.5 3 8.7 1
Ciudad Real 56.4 7 31.7 4 5.6
Cuenca 50.3 5 39.8 3 3.3
Guadalajara 40.9 3 44.5 4 8.0
Toledo 51.3 6 38.1 5 5.8
Total 52.2 27 35.9 19 6.2 1
Sources[6][7][8][9]

Aftermath edit

Investiture
José Bono (PSOE)
Ballot → 3 July 1991
Required majority → 24 out of 47  Y
Yes
28 / 47
No
  • PP (18)
18 / 47
Abstentions
  • IU (1)
1 / 47
Absentees
0 / 47
Sources[9]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Results for AP (34.07%, 18 seats) and PDP (1.69%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Within PP.

References edit

Opinion poll sources
  1. ^ a b c "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
  2. ^ a b c "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
  3. ^ "José Bono se hace fuerte en Fuensalida". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
  4. ^ "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
Other
  1. ^ a b c d Statute of Autonomy of Castilla–La Mancha of 1982. Official State Gazette (Organic Law 9) (in Spanish). 10 August 1982. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b c Castilla–La Mancha Electoral Law of 1986. Official Journal of Castilla–La Mancha (Law 5) (in Spanish). 23 December 1986. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b General Electoral System Organic Law of 1985. Official State Gazette (Organic Law 5) (in Spanish). 19 June 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Representation of the people Institutional Act". www.juntaelectoralcentral.es. Central Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha election results, 26 May 1991" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Castilla–La Mancha. 14 June 1991. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  7. ^ a b "III Legislature. Regional election, 26 May 1991". www.cortesclm.es (in Spanish). Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Number 157. Report-declaration of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha election of 26 May 1991" (PDF). tcu.es (in Spanish). Court of Auditors. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Elecciones a las Cortes de Castilla - La Mancha (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 September 2017.