Spanish general election, 1977
Encyclopedia
The Spanish general election of 1977 took place on 15 June 1977. It was the first election since the death of Francisco Franco
.
Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage
in a secret ballot
. The elections were held using closed list
proportional representation
in 52 electoral districts corresponding to the 50 provinces of Spain and the African enclaves of Ceuta
and Melilla
. The largest districts Barcelona
, Madrid
and Valencia
elected 32, 31 and 15 members respectively. Other districts elected from 3 to 12 members. The exceptions were Ceuta and Melilla which were single member districts. Seats were allocated using the D'Hondt method
and only lists which polled 3% of the total vote (which included votes "en blanco" i.e. for none of the above) were eligible for seats. With the exception of the Communist Party of Spain
, none of the parties which supported the Second Republic
or those which were descended from them were legalised until after the elections, and were therefore rendered ineligible to take part .
The elections took place against the backdrop of a poor economic situation in Spain. They were marred by demonstrations against alleged irregularities and bombings in many areas. In Barcelona, 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside the building housing the local election board. They claimed they had not been included in the census which would have given them the right to vote. Two policemen were also hurt when a Molotov cocktail
was thrown at their vehicle. In Seville
, three people, including two policemen, suffered minor injuries when a bomb exploded at the magistrates' court. Additionally four explosions occurred in Pamploma and two in Cordoba.
The election results were a disappointment for the Communist Party which fell short of its objective of obtaining 30 to 40 deputies.
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
.
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 elections were held using 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...
in 52 electoral districts corresponding to the 50 provinces of Spain and the African enclaves of Ceuta
Ceuta (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Ceuta is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales...
and Melilla
Melilla (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Melilla is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales...
. The largest districts Barcelona
Barcelona (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Barcelona is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. When first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election, Barcelona was the largest electoral district in Congress in terms of...
, Madrid
Madrid (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Madrid is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It has the largest electorate of all the 52 districts. Madrid is the largest city...
and Valencia
Valencia (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Valencia is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is the third largest district in Congress in terms of the numbers of deputies elected, as it elects sixteen deputies out of the total...
elected 32, 31 and 15 members respectively. Other districts elected from 3 to 12 members. The exceptions were Ceuta and Melilla which were single member districts. Seats were 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...
and only lists which polled 3% of the total vote (which included votes "en blanco" i.e. for none of the above) were eligible for seats. With the exception of the Communist Party of Spain
Communist Party of Spain
The Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party in Spain. It is the largest member organization of the United Left electoral coalition and has influence in the largest trade union in Spain, Workers' Commissions ....
, none of the parties which supported the Second Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
or those which were descended from them were legalised until after the elections, and were therefore rendered ineligible to take part .
The elections took place against the backdrop of a poor economic situation in Spain. They were marred by demonstrations against alleged irregularities and bombings in many areas. In Barcelona, 2,000 demonstrators gathered outside the building housing the local election board. They claimed they had not been included in the census which would have given them the right to vote. Two policemen were also hurt when a Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
was thrown at their vehicle. In Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, three people, including two policemen, suffered minor injuries when a bomb exploded at the magistrates' court. Additionally four explosions occurred in Pamploma and two in Cordoba.
The election results were a disappointment for the Communist Party which fell short of its objective of obtaining 30 to 40 deputies.
- Voters: 18,590,130 (78.8% participation)
- Valid votes: 18,3243,33
- Blank votes: 46,248 (0.3% of valid votes)
Party Abbreviation Votes % Seats Democratic Centre Union (Unión de Centro Democrático) UCD 6,310,391 34.52 166 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Spanish Socialist Workers' PartyThe 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...
(Partido Socialista Obrero Español)PSOE 5,371,866 29.39 118 Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España) PCE 1,709,890 9.35 19 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 :...
(Alianza Popular)AP 1,504,771 8.23 16 Popular Socialist Party-Socialist Unity Popular Socialist Party (Spain)The People's Socialist Party was a Spanish political party.The origins of the party dated back to 1954 when the University professor, Enrique Tierno Galván published various academic studies of a Marxist character. In 1965, working together with Raúl Morodo, he formed the Castillian Socialist...
(Partido Socialista Popular - Unidad Socialista)PSP-US 816,582 4.47 6 Democratic Agreement for Catalonia (Pacte Democratic per Catalunya) PDPC 514,647 2.82 11 Basque Nationalist Party Basque Nationalist PartyThe Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country...
(Euzko Alderdi Jeltzalea - Partido Nacionalista Vasco)PNV 296,193 1.62 8 Coalición Electoral Equipo de la Democracia Cristiana FDC-EDC 215,841 1.18 Center and Christian Democratic Union of Catalonia Democratic Union of CataloniaThe Democratic Union of Catalonia is a political party in Catalonia, Spain. Together with the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia, it is part of the Convergence and Union coalition.It describes itself as Catalan nationalist and Christian Democrat....
(Unió del Centre i la Democracia Cristiana de Catalunya)UDC-IDCC 172,791 0.95 2 Catalan Left-Democratic Electoral Front (Esquerra de Catalunya - Front Electoral Democràtic) EC-FED 143,954 0.79 1 Frente Democrático de Izquierdas FDI 122,608 0.67 Alianza Socialista Democrática ASDCI 101,916 0.56 Agrupación Electoral de Trabajadores AET 77,575 0.42 Alianza Nacional del 18 de Julio AN18 67,336 0.37 Reforma Social Española RSE 64,241 0.35 Euskadiko Ezkerra EE 61,417 0.34 1 Falange Española de las JONS Auténtica FJONSA 46,548 0.25 Independents INDEP 43,786 0.24 Frente para la Unidad de los Trabajadores FUT 41,208 0.23 Candidatura Aragonesa Independiente de Centro CAIC 37,183 0.2 1 Partido Socialista Vasco ESB 36,002 0.2 Partit Socialista del Pais Valencià PSPV 31,138 0.17 Candidatura Independiente del Centro INDEP 29,834 0.16 1 Partido Socialista Gallego PSG 27,197 0.15 Democracia Cristiana Vasca DCV 26,100 0.14 Falange Española de las JONS FJONS 25,017 0.14 Unión Navarra de Izquierda UNAI 24,489 0.13 Bloque Nacional Popular Gallego BNPG 22,771 0.12 Alianza Foral Navarra AFN 21,900 0.12 Unidad Regional Andaluza URA 21,350 0.12 Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Sector Histórico) PSOE-H 21,242 0.12 Lliga de Catalunya Partit Liberal Català LLIGA 20,109 0.11 Asociación Nacional para el Estudio de Problemas Actuales ANEPA-CP 18,113 0.1 Unión Autonomista de Navarra UAN 18,079 0.1 Pueblo Canario Unido PCU 17,717 0.1 Demócratas Independientes Vascos DIV 15,505 0.08 Unitat Popular per Socialisme CUPS 12,040 0.07 Unión Autonomista de Baleares UAB 11,914 0.07 Centro Izquierda de Albacete CCIA 11,879 0.06 Unidad Regionalista URAS 10,821 0.06 Frente Navarro Independiente FNI 10,606 0.06 Partido Popular Canario PPCAN 9,650 0.05 Democracia Social Cristiana de Cataluña DSCC 9,157 0.05 Movimiento Socialista MS 8,741 0.05 Montejurra-Federalismo-Autogestión MFA 8,461 0.05 Acción Social Agraria ASA 8,439 0.05 Asociación Círculos José Antonio CJA 8,184 0.04 Acción Nacionalista Vasca ANV 6,435 0.04 Democracia Cristiana Aragonesa DCAR 6,014 0.03 Fuerza Nueva FN 5,541 0.03 Unidad Popular CUP 5,206 0.03 Partido Socialista de Canarias PSCAN 5,110 0.03 Partido Independiente de Madrid PIM 4,814 0.03 Frente Autonomista Aragonés FAA 4,791 0.03 Partido Proverista PPROV 4,590 0.03 Izquierda Canaria Unida ICU 4,118 0.02 Partido Socialista Democrático Español PSDE 3,786 0.02 Partido Demócrata Gallego PDG 3,196 0.02 Unión Demócrata de las Islas Baleares UDIB 2,946 0.02 Federación Laborista FL 2,631 0.01 Partido Radical Socialista de Valencia PRSV 2,345 0.01 Agrupación Electoral Independiente del Campo y la Ciudad AEICYC 1,623 0.01 Candidatura Unitaria de la Izquierda Regionalista CUIR 1,504 0.01 Candidatura Independiente de la Pequeña y Mediana Empresa CIPYE 1,480 0.01 Asociación de Electores de Ceuta ADEC 1,099 0.01 Agrupación de Electores Carlistas ADC 938 0.01 Falange Esporádica Independiente FEI 855 0 Partido Agrario Español PAE 833 0 Partido Liberal Independiente PLI 805 0 Bloque Andaluz de Izquierdas BAI 226 0 Total 18,278,085 100% 350