1987 Valencian regional election
10 June 1987
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All 89 seats in the Corts Valencianes 45 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 2,727,703 2.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 2,030,881 (74.5%) 1.8 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A regional election was held in the Valencian Community on Wednesday, 10 June 1987, to elect the 2nd Corts of the autonomous community. All 89 seats in the Corts were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain, as well as the 1987 European Parliament election.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), suffering from a strong loss of popular support, lost 9 seats together with the absolute majority it had achieved in 1983. However, the PSOE remained as the largest party by a great margin due to the splitting up of the vote between the opposition parties. Incumbent President Joan Lerma was able to retain government thanks to the support of the IU-UPV alliance, and went on to form a minority government.
The People's Coalition had broken up after the 1986 general election. As a result, the People's Alliance (AP) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) contested the election separately. AP, with future Mayoress of Valencia Rita Barberá as regional candidate, scored slightly less than 24% of the vote and lost 2 seats compared to the combined totals for the AP-PDP-UL coalition in 1983, while the PDP was swept out of the Corts entirely.
On the other hand, the election saw an increase of support for minor parties: Centrist Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) experienced a significant increase of its popular support and became the third political force in the region with over 10% of the share. The regionalist right-wing Valencian Union (UV), which ran separately for the first time, won 6 seats to the 5 it had obtained within the People's Coalition in 1983. The Communist Party of Spain (PCE), which had formed the electoral alliance United Left (IU) in April 1986 with other smaller left-wing parties across Spain, stood in coalition with the regional Valencian People's Unity (UPV) and won 6 seats.
Overview
Under the 1982 Statute of Autonomy, the Corts Valencianes were the unicameral legislature of the Valencian Community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[2]
Electoral system
Voting for the Corts was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Valencian Community and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated.[3][4][5]
The Corts Valencianes entitled to a minimum of 75 and a maximum of 100 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 89. All members were elected in three multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Alicante, Castellón and Valencia, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 20 seats and the remaining 29 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in any given province did not exceed three times that of any other)—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied regionally.[3][6]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Corts constituency was entitled the following seats:[7]
| Seats | Constituencies |
|---|---|
| 37 | Valencia(+2) |
| 29 | Alicante |
| 23 | Castellón(–2) |
The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes.[8][9]
Election date
The term of the Corts Valencianes expired four years after the date of their previous election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Journal of the Valencian Government (DOGV), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication.[3][10][11] The previous election was held on 8 May 1983, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 8 May 1987. The election decree was required to be published in the DOGV no later than 14 April 1987, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Saturday, 13 June 1987.
The Corts could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament.[3]
The Corts Valencianes were officially dissolved on 14 April 1987 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the DOGV, setting election day for 10 June and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 2 July.[7]
Outgoing parliament
The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.[1]
| Groups | Parties | Legislators | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Total | ||||
| Socialist Parliamentary Group | PSOE | 51 | 51 | ||
| People's Parliamentary Group | AP | 19 | 19 | ||
| Communist Parliamentary Group | PCPV | 6 | 6 | ||
| Mixed Group | PDP | 5[c] | 13 | ||
| UV | 4[d] | ||||
| PL | 2[e] | ||||
| INDEP | 2[f] | ||||
Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[14][15]
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
| Candidacy | Parties and alliances |
Leading candidate | Ideology | Previous result | Gov. | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote % | Seats | ||||||||
| PSOE | List |
Joan Lerma | Social democracy | 51.4% | 51 | [16] | |||
| AP | List
|
Rita Barberá | Conservatism National conservatism |
31.9% [a] |
32 | [17] | |||
| PDP | List |
José María de Andrés | Christian democracy | [18] [19] | |||||
| UV | List
|
Filibert Crespo | Blaverism Conservatism |
[17] [20] | |||||
| IU–UPV | List
|
Albert Taberner | Socialism Valencian nationalism |
10.5% [b] |
6 | [17] | |||
| CDS | List |
Pedro Gozalbo | Centrism Liberalism |
1.9% | 0 | [17] | |||
Opinion polls
The tables below list opinion polling results 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.
Voting intention estimates
The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. Refusals are generally excluded from the party vote percentages, while question wording and the treatment of "don't know" responses and those not intending to vote may vary between polling organisations. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 45 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Corts Valencianes.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | Lead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 regional election | 10 Jun 1987 | N/a | 74.5 | 41.3 42 |
– | [g] | [g] | 11.2 10 |
9.1 6 |
23.7 25 |
1.0 0 |
7.9 6 |
17.6 |
| Demoscopia/El País[p 1] | 22–26 May 1987 | ? | 74 | 42.2 43 |
– | [g] | [g] | 12.7 11 |
4.8 0 |
26.8 30 |
0.7 0 |
7.4 5 |
15.4 |
| Sofemasa/AP[p 2][p 3] | 16 Apr 1987 | ? | ? | 35.3 | – | 5.9 | – | 13.7 | 5.9 | 23.5 | 3.9 | – | 11.8 |
| 1986 general election | 22 Jun 1986 | N/a | 76.4 | 47.5 (49) |
28.8 (32) |
4.7 (0) |
1.9 (0) |
8.8 (8) |
3.1 (0) |
[h] | [h] | – | 18.7 |
| 1983 regional election | 8 May 1983 | N/a | 72.7 | 51.4 51 |
31.9 32 |
7.5[i] 6 |
3.1 0 |
1.9 0 |
[h] | [h] | [h] | – | 19.5 |
Results
Overall
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 828,961 | 41.28 | −10.13 | 42 | −9 | |
| People's Alliance (AP)1 | 476,099 | 23.71 | n/a | 25 | +5 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 225,663 | 11.24 | +9.36 | 10 | +10 | |
| Valencian Union (UV)1 | 183,541 | 9.14 | n/a | 6 | +1 | |
| United Left–Valencian People's Union (IU–UPV)2 | 159,579 | 7.95 | −2.58 | 6 | ±0 | |
| Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity (PTE–UC) | 33,770 | 1.68 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| The Greens (LV) | 22,262 | 1.11 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| People's Democratic Party–Valencian Centrists (PDP–CV)1 | 20,171 | 1.00 | n/a | 0 | −6 | |
| Valencian Electoral Coalition (CEV) | 11,984 | 0.60 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Spanish Vertex Ecological Development Revindication (VERDE) | 5,056 | 0.25 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Communist Unification of Spain (UCE) | 4,325 | 0.22 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Valencian Nationalist Left (ENV–URV) | 4,175 | 0.21 | −0.19 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Platform (PH) | 3,658 | 0.18 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Republican Popular Unity (UPR)3 | 3,309 | 0.16 | +0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Left Front (FI) | 2,295 | 0.11 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI) | 1,884 | 0.09 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Liberal Party (PL)1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0 | −1 | |
| Blank ballots | 21,497 | 1.07 | +0.38 | |||
| Total | 2,008,229 | 89 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 2,008,229 | 98.88 | −0.09 | |||
| Invalid votes | 22,652 | 1.12 | +0.09 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 2,030,881 | 74.45 | +1.71 | |||
| Abstentions | 696,822 | 25.55 | −1.71 | |||
| Registered voters | 2,727,703 | |||||
| Sources[1][21][22] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
Distribution by constituency
| Constituency | PSOE | AP | CDS | UV | IU–UPV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | |
| Alicante | 42.6 | 14 | 28.0 | 9 | 14.3 | 4 | 0.8 | − | 6.8 | 2 |
| Castellón | 40.9 | 11 | 30.7 | 8 | 11.5 | 3 | 3.1 | − | 5.5 | 1 |
| Valencia | 40.6 | 17 | 19.9 | 8 | 9.5 | 3 | 14.9 | 6 | 9.1 | 3 |
| Total | 41.3 | 42 | 23.7 | 25 | 11.2 | 10 | 9.1 | 6 | 7.9 | 6 |
| Sources[1][21] | ||||||||||
Aftermath
Government formation
| Investiture | |||||
| Candidate | Ballot → | 21 July 1987 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required majority → | 45 out of 89 | ||||
| Joan Lerma (PSOE) | 48 / 89
|
||||
No
|
25 / 89
| ||||
Abstentions
|
10 / 89
| ||||
Absentees
|
6 / 89
| ||||
| Rita Barberá (AP) | Yes
|
25 / 89
|
|||
58 / 89
| |||||
| Abstentions | 0 / 89
| ||||
Absentees
|
6 / 89
| ||||
| Sources[1][23] | |||||
Notes
- ^ a b c Within the AP–PDP–UL–UV alliance in the 1983 election: AP (20 seats), PDP (6 seats), UV (5 seats) and UL/PL (1 seat).[1]
- ^ a b Results for PCE–PCPV (7.5%, 6 seats) and UPV (3.1%, 0 seats) in the 1983 election.
- ^ José María de Andrés, José Antonio Bandrés, Emilio Bomant, Joaquín Galant and Vicente Pérez Devesa, former CP legislators.[12][13]
- ^ Manuel Campillos, Xavier Casp, Salvador Llácer and Joaquín Vidal, former CP legislators.[12]
- ^ Juan Marco Molines and Piedad Ortells, former CP legislators.[12]
- ^ Antonio Martínez Serrano and Antonio García Ágredas, former CP legislators.[12]
- ^ a b c d Within IU–UPV.
- ^ a b c d e Within AP–PDP–UL–UV/AP–PDP–PL.
- ^ Results for PCE–PCPV in the 1983 election.
References
Opinion poll sources
- ^ "El CDS e IU-UPV, partidos 'bisagra'" (PDF). El País (in Spanish). 4 June 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ "Una encuesta de AP pronostica un fuerte descenso del PSOE en las municipales". ABC (in Spanish). 17 April 1987.
- ^ "Notable descenso del PSOE en los próximos comicios, según una encuesta encargada por AP". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 17 April 1987.
Other
- ^ a b c d e Lozano, Carles. "Eleccions a les Corts Valencianes (des de 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Catalan). Retrieved 1 November 2025.
- ^ Statute (1982), arts. 10–11.
- ^ a b c d Statute (1982), arts. 12–13.
- ^ LECV (1987), art. 2.
- ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3.
- ^ LECV (1987), arts. 10–12.
- ^ a b Decreto 16/1987, de 13 de abril, del Presidente de la Generalitat Valenciana, de convocatoria de elecciones a las Cortes Valencianas (PDF) (Decree 16/1987). Official Journal of the Valencian Government (in Spanish). 13 April 1987. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ LECV (1987), art. 13.
- ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 46 & 48.
- ^ LECV (1987), art. 14.
- ^ LOREG (1985), art. 42.
- ^ a b c d "Fuga de diputados 'populares' al Grupo Mixto en las Cortes Valencianas". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. 5 January 1986. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ^ "El cuarto diputado no adscrito de la historia de las Cortes Valencianas". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. EFE. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2026.
- ^ LECV (1987), art. 26.
- ^ LOREG (1985), art. 44.
- ^ Muñoz, Manuel (22 April 1985). "Victoria relativa de Joan Lerma en el congreso de los socialistas valencianos". El País (in Spanish). Alicante. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d "Previsible continuidad al frente de la Generalitat valenciana". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. 28 May 1987. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
- ^ "El PDP irá en solitario". El País (in Spanish). 14 September 1986. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ^ "Alzaga descarta cualquier coalición del PDP con Alianza Popular". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. 28 January 1987. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ^ Jardí, Manuel (30 November 1985). "Unión Valenciana abandona Coalición Popular". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
- ^ a b "Resolución 18/1987, de 22 de julio, de la Junta Electoral de la Comunidad Valenciana, por la que se publican los resultados finales y la relación de Diputados electos en las elecciones a Cortes Valencianas celebradas el 10 de junio de 1987" (PDF). Official Journal of the Valencian Government (in Spanish) (641): 3752–3754. 31 July 1987. ISSN 0212-8195. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
- ^ "Resultados electorales. Datos electorales - Elecciones autonómicas: 1987" (in Spanish). Corts Valencianes. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ^ "El socialista Joan Lerma, reelegido presidente de la Generalitat valencina". El País (in Spanish). 22 July 1987. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
Bibliography
- Ley Orgánica 5/1982, de 1 de julio, de Estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad Valenciana (Organic Law 1/1982). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 1 July 1982 [version as of 10 July 1982]. BOE-A-1982-17235. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (Organic Law 5/1985). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 19 June 1985 [version as of 3 April 1987]. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
- Ley 1/1987, de 31 de marzo, Electoral Valenciana (Law 1/1987). Official Journal of the Valencian Community (in Spanish). 31 March 1987 [version as of 6 April 1987]. BOE-A-1987-9636. Retrieved 30 October 2025.