Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1991
Encyclopedia
The 1991 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the third elections to the Madrid Assembly
, the unicameral
regional legislature of the autonomous community
of Madrid, since the Spanish transition to democracy
. The elections were held on 26 May 1991 to elect the 101 members of the Assembly, an increase of five seats compared to the previous elections
.
Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage
in a secret ballot
. The electoral system used was closed list
proportional representation
with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method
. Only lists which polled at least 5% of the total votes (including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above") were eligible for seats.
(PP) and Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), holding exactly half the seats. This meant that the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE) had to rely on the support of United Left
(IU) and an independent member, Nicolás Piñeiro Cuesta, who had initially been elected for the PP's predecessors, the Popular Alliance
, at the 1987 elections.
The 1991 elections saw the collapse of the CDS, which had entered the previous legislature in strength, winning 17 seats. The CDS lost most of their support at the 1991 election, falling below the 5% threshold and losing all their seats. The other three parties in the Assembly gained as a result, but the biggest gainers were the PP, who emerged as the largest party for the first time. However the defeat of the PP's allies, the CDS, meant that they were short of a minority and consequently Joaquín Leguina of the PSOE was re-elected President with the support of IU.
Madrid Assembly
The Madrid Assembly is the unicameral regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983....
, the unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
regional legislature of the autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
of Madrid, since the Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
. The elections were held on 26 May 1991 to elect the 101 members of the Assembly, an increase of five seats compared to the previous elections
Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1987
The 1987 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the second elections to the Madrid Assembly, the unicameral regional legislature of the autonomous community of Madrid, since the Spanish transition to democracy...
.
Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
in a secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. The electoral system used was closed list
Closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
. Only lists which polled at least 5% of the total votes (including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above") were eligible for seats.
Background and results
The previous legislature had been deadlocked, with the opposition bloc, consisting of the newly formed People's PartyPeople's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
(PP) and Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), holding exactly half the seats. This meant that the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSOE) had to rely on the support of United Left
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
(IU) and an independent member, Nicolás Piñeiro Cuesta, who had initially been elected for the PP's predecessors, the Popular Alliance
Popular Alliance (Spain)
The People's Alliance was a electoral coalition, and later a political party, founded in 1976 by Manuel Fraga along with six other former Francoist ministers.- History :...
, at the 1987 elections.
The 1991 elections saw the collapse of the CDS, which had entered the previous legislature in strength, winning 17 seats. The CDS lost most of their support at the 1991 election, falling below the 5% threshold and losing all their seats. The other three parties in the Assembly gained as a result, but the biggest gainers were the PP, who emerged as the largest party for the first time. However the defeat of the PP's allies, the CDS, meant that they were short of a minority and consequently Joaquín Leguina of the PSOE was re-elected President with the support of IU.
Results
| ← Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1991 → |
|||||||
| President and government | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Change | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
People's Party People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship... (PP) |
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez is a Spanish politician and mayor of Madrid. A stalwart of the conservative People's Party , he has previously been a leading figure in various local and national legislative bodies.-Personal life:... |
956,865 | 42.67 | +11.26 | 47 | +15 |
| Spanish Socialist Party of Madrid Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in... (PSOE) |
Joaquín Leguina | 820,510 | 36.59% | -1.86% | 41 | +1 | |
| United Left United Left (Spain) The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain... (IU) |
Isabel Villalonga | 270,558 | 12.07 | +4.59 | 13 | +6 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | José Ramón Lasuén | 75,081 | 3.35 | -13.28 | 0 | -17 | |
| Greens | 35,095 | 1.60 | +0.52 | 0 | |||
| Ecologists | 12,897 | 0.58 | N/A | 0 | |||
| Alternative Greens | 8,903 | 0.40 | N/A | 0 | |||
| Independent Madrilenian Regional Party | Nicolás Piñeiro | 7,883 | 0.35 | N/A | 0 | ||
| Socialist Workers' Party (PST) | 7,736 | 0.34 | N/A | 0 | |||
| Madrid Party-Ruiz Mateos Group José María Ruiz Mateos José María Ruiz-Mateos y Jiménez de Tejada is a Spanish businessman.He began by exporting wine to England. He founded the conglomerate Rumasa and had a lot of influence in Spanish society. In 1983, the government of Spain expropriated the company... |
4,382 | 0.20 | 0 | ||||
| Independent Convergence | 2,248 | 0.10 | 0 | ||||
| Spanish Revolutionary Workers' Party (PORE) | 2,187 | 0.10 | 0 | ||||
| Independent group of Aranjuez | 1,899 | 0.08 | 0 | ||||
| Alliance for the Republic (POSI-ADS) | 1,891 | 0.08 | 0 | ||||
| Leftist Platform (PCEml-CRPE) | 1,847 | 0.08 | 0 | ||||
| United Republican Action (PCEml-CRPE) | 1,348 | 0.06 | 0 | ||||
| United Madrilenian Centrists | 1,329 | 0.06 | N/A | 0 | |||
| Generational Integration | 815 | 0.04 | N/A | 0 | |||
| None of the above | N/A | 28,872 | 1.28 | N/A | N/A | ||
| Void | N/A | 9,269 | 0.4 | N/A | N/A |