Elections to the Madrid Assembly, May 2003
Encyclopedia
The May 2003 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the sixth 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 25 May 2003 to elect the 111 members of the Assembly, an increase of eleven 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.
The elections saw the People's Party
(PP), lose their absolute majority of votes and seats. Subsequently, a major scandal rocked the Assembly, as two members of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE) refused to enter into a pact with the third party, United Left
(IU). With no candidate able to obtain the absolute majority of votes needed to become President of Madrid, fresh elections were held in October 2003.
, retaining their majority in the 1999 elections
.
For the May 2003 election, the ruling PP switched leadership: incumbent President Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
aimed for the office of Mayor of Madrid
, which he successfully obtained with a safe majority, while the regional list was headed by Senator and ex-Minister Esperanza Aguirre. The election was hotly contested and in the end the PP won but fell some 25,000 votes short of a majority, with 55 out of 111 seats. The other two forces in the newly-elected Assembly
, the PSOE with 47 seats and IU
with 9, both leaning left, started negotiations and in the end agreed to a coalition government
, which included the election of a favourable President of the Assembly (i.e. Speaker) and Bureau. As part of the deal, Socialists would control the majority of the government, but a disproportionate amount of the budget would be under the responsibility of IU regional ministers. This sparked criticism from some sectors in the Socialist party, but then-leader Rafael Simancas dismissed them as moot, saying "it was time for a government of the left in Madrid".
However, when the opening session of the new legislature began and the temporary president called for the election of the Speaker to start, concern spread through the Socialist ranks: two of their Assembly Members (AMs) were missing, leaving the left-wing coalition with 54 seats against the 55-strong People's Party. At Mr. Simancas' request, the vote was delayed for 15 minutes but finally the PP forced its commencement. The result was the election of the PP AM Concepción Dancausa as Speaker and a PP-favorable Bureau (4 members against 2 Socialists and 1 IU).
The scandal swept into the media, making the two "absent" AMs, Eduardo Tamayo and María Teresa Sáez, the most sought-after people in Madrid that day. Suddenly, they granted a TV interview in which they explained their reasons for not showing up: the coalition deal with United Left, they insisted, was not fair to the voters, who had chosen the Socialists over IU more than five to one. Tamayo argued that "90% of the PSOE programme is irreconcilable with that of IU" Furthermore, both felt their concerns were too quickly dismissed they were raised in the internal party apparatus, which they criticised as being too willing to reach power no matter what the cost. In response, party leader Rafael Simancas, who denied such concerns were actually voiced in party meetings, started the procedure to expel them from the party. He then fired a full round towards the PP, which he accused of bribing the two AMs to prevent a left-wing government in Madrid and "using paychecks to change the election results". The rival party quickly denied all accusations and sued the PSOE for calumnies. The two parties immediately engaged in a political and media dogfight
for the whole summer, while the third party in dispute, IU, only mildly criticised the PP and distanced itself from the confrontation.
The situation in the Assembly was no better, as the two PSOE AMs continued not to attend: even though the conservatives held a theoretical majority with 55 seats out of 109 and could push some decisions through, neither it nor the rival coalition could command the absolute majority of 56 seats required for the election of the President of Madrid. The People's Party was rumoured to be planning an investiture vote for its candidate Esperanza Aguirre
, who called for the dissolution of the Assembly and fresh elections. The proposal was not moot, since the law governing the election of the regional President requires an absolute majority in the first vote, but only a plurality in a second poll, making the left-wing coalition unable to block the election of its arch-rival. Furthermore, the PP requested the legal services of the House to determine whether the "majority" would actually be defined to be 55 seats, since the two socialist AMs had never been sworn into their seats.
In response, the two AMs notified the Speaker they would finally enter the Assembly at its next meeting, which created an even more awkward situation: there was no viable majority, since the Socialist party had expelled them, denounced them as "traitors" and refused to accept their votes in an investiture session. Then, Assembly Speaker, PP AM Concepción Dancausa announced that she would be forced to call new elections if no candidate could heed the confidence of the House. In a bid to delay the new elections until after the summer, Socialist leader Rafael Simancas, who had pushed for a parliamentary investigation of the events, requested a vote for his investiture
to be scheduled. He claimed not to intend to be elected, even though Tamayo and Sáez had offered their support should the pact with IU be modified. With Tamayo and Saez abstaining, Simancas lost the vote in a session marked by accusations and counter-accusations between the different groupings.
During the summer, a parliamentary committee
was formed and put to work investigating the causes of the "betrayal". The left-wing coalition was cornered in the choice of committee members, since there was no way they could have a majority: either they followed the letter of the Assembly rules and allotted at least a member to each parliamentary group (thus again leaving the majority in the hands of Tamayo and Sáez) or accepted the PP proposal by which the House denied the two AMs representation in the committee on the grounds that they were the actual object of investigation (thus giving the majority to the conservatives). The latter choice was finally implemented and, after a month of 12-hour sessions in which many prominent politicians and businessmen from both sides were summoned and vast amounts of vitriol were served by both mainstream parties, the committee passed a report concluding Tamayo and Sáez were not bribed by PP and placing full blame on the PSOE. The report, however, was defeated in the full House vote, in which the two AMs (who could not then be barred from participating) joined the left-wing coalition in their "no" vote even though they kept defending their innocence.
Fresh elections were held on October 26, 2003, with the Socialists centering its campaign on the "stolen elections". Tamayo and Sáez created a new political party called New Socialism, gathering about 6,000 votes and no seats. The new result, with a slightly reduced turnout, was a majority for the PP, which ironically gained two seats (up to 57) from the PSOE (down to 45), while IU raised its voter share and fell just short of getting one more seat (but finally repeated its previous result of 9). About a month later, PP leader Esperanza Aguirre
won the investiture vote and was sworn in as the 3rd President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.
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 25 May 2003 to elect the 111 members of the Assembly, an increase of eleven seats compared to the previous elections
Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1999
The 1999 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the fifth 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.
The elections saw the 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), lose their absolute majority of votes and seats. Subsequently, a major scandal rocked the Assembly, as two members of the 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) refused to enter into a pact with the third party, 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). With no candidate able to obtain the absolute majority of votes needed to become President of Madrid, fresh elections were held in October 2003.
Background
After 12 years of PSOE rule, the PP had won an absolute majority in the 1995 electionsElections to the Madrid Assembly, 1995
The 1995 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the fourth elections to the Madrid Assembly, the unicameral regional legislature of the autonomous community of Madrid, since the Spanish transition to democracy...
, retaining their majority in the 1999 elections
Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1999
The 1999 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the fifth elections to the Madrid Assembly, the unicameral regional legislature of the autonomous community of Madrid, since the Spanish transition to democracy...
.
For the May 2003 election, the ruling PP switched leadership: incumbent President 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:...
aimed for the office of Mayor of Madrid
Mayor of Madrid
The Mayor of Madrid is an elected politician who, along with Madrid City Council, is accountable for the strategic government of Madrid....
, which he successfully obtained with a safe majority, while the regional list was headed by Senator and ex-Minister Esperanza Aguirre. The election was hotly contested and in the end the PP won but fell some 25,000 votes short of a majority, with 55 out of 111 seats. The other two forces in the newly-elected Assembly
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 PSOE with 47 seats and IU
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...
with 9, both leaning left, started negotiations and in the end agreed to a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
, which included the election of a favourable President of the Assembly (i.e. Speaker) and Bureau. As part of the deal, Socialists would control the majority of the government, but a disproportionate amount of the budget would be under the responsibility of IU regional ministers. This sparked criticism from some sectors in the Socialist party, but then-leader Rafael Simancas dismissed them as moot, saying "it was time for a government of the left in Madrid".
Scandal
The scandal swept into the media, making the two "absent" AMs, Eduardo Tamayo and María Teresa Sáez, the most sought-after people in Madrid that day. Suddenly, they granted a TV interview in which they explained their reasons for not showing up: the coalition deal with United Left, they insisted, was not fair to the voters, who had chosen the Socialists over IU more than five to one. Tamayo argued that "90% of the PSOE programme is irreconcilable with that of IU" Furthermore, both felt their concerns were too quickly dismissed they were raised in the internal party apparatus, which they criticised as being too willing to reach power no matter what the cost. In response, party leader Rafael Simancas, who denied such concerns were actually voiced in party meetings, started the procedure to expel them from the party. He then fired a full round towards the PP, which he accused of bribing the two AMs to prevent a left-wing government in Madrid and "using paychecks to change the election results". The rival party quickly denied all accusations and sued the PSOE for calumnies. The two parties immediately engaged in a political and media dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
for the whole summer, while the third party in dispute, IU, only mildly criticised the PP and distanced itself from the confrontation.
The situation in the Assembly was no better, as the two PSOE AMs continued not to attend: even though the conservatives held a theoretical majority with 55 seats out of 109 and could push some decisions through, neither it nor the rival coalition could command the absolute majority of 56 seats required for the election of the President of Madrid. The People's Party was rumoured to be planning an investiture vote for its candidate Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid...
, who called for the dissolution of the Assembly and fresh elections. The proposal was not moot, since the law governing the election of the regional President requires an absolute majority in the first vote, but only a plurality in a second poll, making the left-wing coalition unable to block the election of its arch-rival. Furthermore, the PP requested the legal services of the House to determine whether the "majority" would actually be defined to be 55 seats, since the two socialist AMs had never been sworn into their seats.
In response, the two AMs notified the Speaker they would finally enter the Assembly at its next meeting, which created an even more awkward situation: there was no viable majority, since the Socialist party had expelled them, denounced them as "traitors" and refused to accept their votes in an investiture session. Then, Assembly Speaker, PP AM Concepción Dancausa announced that she would be forced to call new elections if no candidate could heed the confidence of the House. In a bid to delay the new elections until after the summer, Socialist leader Rafael Simancas, who had pushed for a parliamentary investigation of the events, requested a vote for his investiture
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
to be scheduled. He claimed not to intend to be elected, even though Tamayo and Sáez had offered their support should the pact with IU be modified. With Tamayo and Saez abstaining, Simancas lost the vote in a session marked by accusations and counter-accusations between the different groupings.
During the summer, a parliamentary committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
was formed and put to work investigating the causes of the "betrayal". The left-wing coalition was cornered in the choice of committee members, since there was no way they could have a majority: either they followed the letter of the Assembly rules and allotted at least a member to each parliamentary group (thus again leaving the majority in the hands of Tamayo and Sáez) or accepted the PP proposal by which the House denied the two AMs representation in the committee on the grounds that they were the actual object of investigation (thus giving the majority to the conservatives). The latter choice was finally implemented and, after a month of 12-hour sessions in which many prominent politicians and businessmen from both sides were summoned and vast amounts of vitriol were served by both mainstream parties, the committee passed a report concluding Tamayo and Sáez were not bribed by PP and placing full blame on the PSOE. The report, however, was defeated in the full House vote, in which the two AMs (who could not then be barred from participating) joined the left-wing coalition in their "no" vote even though they kept defending their innocence.
Fresh elections were held on October 26, 2003, with the Socialists centering its campaign on the "stolen elections". Tamayo and Sáez created a new political party called New Socialism, gathering about 6,000 votes and no seats. The new result, with a slightly reduced turnout, was a majority for the PP, which ironically gained two seats (up to 57) from the PSOE (down to 45), while IU raised its voter share and fell just short of getting one more seat (but finally repeated its previous result of 9). About a month later, PP leader Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid...
won the investiture vote and was sworn in as the 3rd President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.