Spanish general election, 2011

Spanish general election, 2011

2008 ← 20 November 2011 → Next

All 350 seats of the Congress of Deputies and 208 of 264 seats in the Senate 176 seats needed for a majority Opinion polls   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Mariano Rajoy Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba Cayo Lara Party People's Party PSOE United Left Leader since 4 September 2003 9 July 2011 14 December 2008 Last election 154 seats, 39.94% 169 seats, 43.87% 2 seats, 2.45% Seats won 186 110 11 Seat change 32 59 9 Popular vote 10,830,693 6,973,880 1,680,810 Percentage 44.62% 28.73% 6.92% Swing 4.68% 15.14% 3.15%

Prime Minister of Spain before election José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero PSOE Elected Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy People's Party

A legislative election for the Cortes Generales in Spain was held on 20 November 2011. The elections were for 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies, which will determine who becomes the Prime Minister of Spain. Elections were also held for the 208 directly elected seats in the upper house, the Senate. The elections were commonly referred to as 20-N throughout the electoral campaign.

The People's Party, led by Mariano Rajoy won an absolute majority in the elections, while the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party suffered their worst defeat since transition to democracy.

Background

The outgoing Spanish government was led by Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who announced that he would not run for a third term. The deputy prime minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba was the party's candidate for Prime Minister, as he was the only candidate in the leadership election in his party.^[1] The other major national party, People's Party, was led by Mariano Rajoy for the third successive election.

Overview

The Congress of Deputies consists of 350 members, elected in 50 multi-member districts using the D'Hondt method, with Ceuta and Melilla electing one member each using plurality voting.^[2]

Boundaries

Spain

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Spain

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Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution, the boundaries of the electoral districts must be the same as the provinces of Spain and, under Article 141, this can only be altered with the approval of congress.^[3]

Electoral system

Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% of the total vote (which includes votes "en blanco", i.e., for none of the above) can be considered. Under articles 12 and 68 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.^[3]

Eligibility

Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of both chambers of the Cortes or of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from regional assemblies if elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible.^[3] Additionally, under Article 11 of the Political Parties Law, June 2002 (Ley Orgánica 6/2002, de 27 de junio, de Partidos Políticos), parties and individual candidates may be prevented from standing by the Spanish Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo), if they are judged to have violated Article 9 of that law which prohibits parties which are perceived to discriminate against people on the basis of ideology, religion, beliefs, nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation (Article 9a), foment or organise violence as a means of achieving political objectives (Article 9b) or support or compliment the actions of "terrorist organisations" (Article 9c).^[4] Article 55, Section 2 of the 1985 electoral law also disqualifies director generals or equivalent leaders of state monopolies and public bodies such as the Spanish state broadcaster RTVE.^[5] Lastly, following changes to the electoral law which took effect for the 2007 municipal elections, candidates' lists must be composed of at least 40% of candidates of either gender and each group of five candidates must contain at least two males and two females.^[6]

Presenting candidates

Parties and coalitions of different parties which have registered with the Electoral Commission can present lists of candidates (Article 44, 1985 electoral law). Groups of electors which have not registered with the commission can also present lists, provided that they obtain the signatures of 1% of registered electors in a particular district (Article 169).^[5]

Currently, the autonomous regions that hold the largest representation of seats in Congress are Andalusia, with 61 seats; Catalonia, with 47 seats; and Madrid, with 35. Historically, these three autonomous regions play a key role in determining the final outcome in the national elections.^[7]

The two main national parties, PP and PSOE, since 2000, have held a combined total of at least 300 seats. Convergència i Unió is the party with the third highest number of seats, 10 at the 2004 and 2008 general elections.

Political parties

Spain has more than 50 registered national parties, but fewer than 10 are considered significant. Since 1982, only 2 political parties have won in Spanish national elections:^[7]

• Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE): The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, a social-democratic party;
• Partido Popular (PP): The People's Party, a liberal conservative party.

At the 2008 General elections the only two other nationally represented parties which won seats were the United Left and the Union, Progress and Democracy.^[7] A number of other regional parties also won seats, which were Convergence and Union and Republican Left in Catalonia, the Basque Nationalist Party in the Basque Country, the Galician Nationalist Bloc in Galicia, the Canarian Coalition in the Canary Islands and the Navarrese People's Union and Nafarroa Bai in Navarre.

At a local level there are many other parties, but none of them are considered to be of significance at a national level. This does not mean that they play a small role. Some of these parties are considered key strategic players at a national level in the event of a hung parliament (where no single party wins a majority of seats). However, not all parties are able to run for elections due to a change in the law.^[8] For an updated list please see the following link.

Incumbent Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he would not seek a third term in office, thus forcing the Socialist Party to hold a primary to choose a new leader after 22 May local elections. This was also read as problematic for Spain's efforts to curb its deficit amidst the European sovereign debt crisis. His austerity measures had been appreciated by investors which led to Spanish bond yields falling despite neighbour Portugal's bond yields soaring.^[9]

Opinion polls

Data from Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS) polls.

Date	PSOE	PP	IU	CiU	ERC	PNV	BNG	CC	NaBai	UPyD	Others	None of the above
April 2008[10]	43.6%	37.6%	3.9%	3.2%	1.6%	1.5%	1.1%	—	—	2.6%	2.3%	2.6%
July 2008[11]	39.5%	39.3%	4.8%	3.3%	1.5%	1.1%	0.9%	—	—	2.5%	4.0%	3.1%
October 2008[12]	39.7%	39.7%	4.3%	3.8%	1.3%	1.1%	0.9%	—	—	2.9%	4.1%	2.1%
January 2009[13]	39.7%	39.5%	4.5%	3.4%	1.3%	1.1%	1.0%	—	—	3.1%	4.3%	2.1%
April 2009[13]	40.8%	40.0%	4.5%	3.4%	1.5%	1.0%	0.6%	—	—	2.9%	3.8%	1.5%
July 2009[13]	39.0%	40.2%	4.6%	3.4%	1.6%	1.2%	0.8%	0.5%	—	3.2%	3.1%	2.4%
October 2009	37.7%	41.0%	4.7%	3.7%	1.5%	1.3%	0.8%	0.5%	—	3.7%	3.2%	1.9%
January 2010[13]	36.2%	40.0%	6.1%	3.7%	1.3%	1.0%	0.8%	0.9%	—	4.4%	3.5%	2.1%
April 2010[14]	38.0%	39.5%	5.8%	3.6%	1.0%	1.3%	0.7%	0.6%	—	3.3%	3.7%	2.5%
July 2010[15]	34.9%	41.2%	5.4%	4.1%	1.4%	1.3%	1.1%	0.4%	—	3.8%	4.0%	2.4%
October 2010[16]	34.3%	42.2%	6.2%	3.5%	0.8%	1.2%	0.8%	0.7%	—	4.1%	3.2%	1.1%
January 2011	34.0%	44.1%	5.7%	3.9%	0.8%	1.2%	0.9%	0.5%	—	2.9%	3.5%	2.5%
April 2011[17]	33.4%	43.8%	5.2%	3.5%	1.3%	1.3%	0.9%	0.5%	0.4%	3.5%	3.8%	2.2%
July 2011[18]	36.0%	43.1%	5.1%	3.1%	1.1%	1.0%	0.5%	0.5%	0.2%	3.0%	4.3%	2.1%
November 2011[19]	29.9%	46.6%	6.2%	3.3%	1.2%	1.2%	0.8%	0.6%	—	2.9%	3.6%	2.0%

Results

As widely expected, the People's Party made significant gains in the elections and secured an absolute majority, with the incumbent Spanish Socialist Workers' Party conceding before complete results were confirmed. They experienced their worst defeat since the transition to democracy in the late 1970s.^[20] Incoming prime minister Mariano Rajoy acknowledged the difficult times Spain was facing, with its government debt yields at a record high. He said, "There will be no miracles. We haven't promised any."^[21]

Political Party		Congress					Senate
		Total Votes	%	+/-	Deputies	+/-	Senators	+/-
	People's Party (PP)	10,830,693	44.62%	4.68%	186	32	136	35
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	6,973,880	28.73%	15.14%	110	59	48	40
	United Left (IU)	1,680,810	6.92%	3.15%	11	9	-	-
	Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	1,140,242	4.69%	3.50%	5	4	-	-
	Convergence and Union (CiU)	1,014,263	4.17%	1.14%	16	6	9	5
	Amaiur	333,628	1.37%	1.37%	7	7	3	3
	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	323,517	1.33%	0.14%	5	1	4	2
	Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) - Reagrupament - Catalunya Sí	255,961	1.05%	0.11%	3		-	-
	Catalan Agreement of Progress (PSC-ICV-EUA)						7	5
	Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)	183,279	0.75 %		2
	Canarian Coalition (CC-NC-PNC)	143,550	0.59 %		2		1
	Compromís-Q	125,150	0.51 %		1	1
	Asturian Forum (FAC)	99,173	0.40 %		1	1
	Geroa Bai (Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), Atarrabia Taldea, Zabaltzen)	42,411	0.17 %		1	1
TOTAL (turnout 71.69%)			92.92 %	N/A	350		208

Source: Ministerio del Interior - Elecciones Generales 2011

Transition

Rajoy is due to become prime minister on 20 December.^[22]

See also

• Spain general election debate, 2011

References

1. ^ Rubalcaba, "candidato de facto" del PSOE al no lograr avales ningún aspirante - ABC (Spanish)
2. ^ General features of Spanish electoral system, ElectionResources.org accessed 20 April 2011
3. ^ ^{a b c} "The Spanish Constitution of 1978". http://www.mir.es/DGPI/Normativa/Normativa_Estatal/Constitucion_Espanola/constitucion_espanola.html. Retrieved 6 March 2011. 
4. ^ "Law regarding registration of political parties". http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Admin/lo6-2002.html#c3. Retrieved 6 March 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Law governing electoral procedures". http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Admin/lo5-1985.html. Retrieved 6 March 2011. 
6. ^ "OSCE observers task force report on 2008 Spanish election" (PDF). Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe OSCE. http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/02/29695_en.pdf. Retrieved 6 March 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Elections in Spain accessed 6 March 2011
8. ^ [1] (In Spanish) Noticias- Recogidas de firmas
9. ^ Ross, Emma (4 April 2011). "Spain's Deficit Fight Risks Setback as Zapatero Bows Out of 2012 Election". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-03/spain-s-deficit-fight-risks-setback-as-zapatero-quits-election.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
10. ^ "CIS opinion poll, April de 2008". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
11. ^ "CIS opinion poll, July 2008". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
12. ^ "CIS poll, October 2008". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
13. ^ ^{a b c d} "CIS poll, January 2009". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
14. ^ "CIS poll, April de 2010". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
15. ^ "CIS poll, July 2010". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
16. ^ "CIS poll, October 2010". Cis.es. http://www.cis.es/cis/opencms/-Archivos/Indicadores/documentos_html/sB606050020.html. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
17. ^ "Barómetro CIS de Abril de 2011" (PDF). http://www.abc.es/gestordocumental/uploads/nacional/abril.pdf. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
18. ^ "Barómetro CIS de Julio de 2011". Electometro.es. http://www.electometro.es/2011/07/el-psoe-remonta-26-puntos-sin-zapatero-cis/. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
19. ^ "Barómetro CIS de Julio de 2011". Electometro.es. http://www.lasprovincias.es/apoyos/documentos/cis-noviembre.pdf/. Retrieved 20 November 2011. 
20. ^ "Spain election: Rajoy's Popular Party declares victory". BBC News. 20 November 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15809062. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
21. ^ Tremlett, Giles (20 November 2011). "Spain election: People's party sweeps to crushing victory over Socialists". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/20/spain-election-peoples-party-victory. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
22. ^ "Centre-right roars to victory in Spain election". Reuters. 20 November 2011. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/21/uk-spain-election-idUKTRE7AI0H720111121?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews. Retrieved 21 November 2011.