1991 Castilian-Leonese regional election

1991 Castilian-Leonese regional election
26 May 1991
All 84 seats in the Cortes of Castile and León
43 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered2,069,469 3.6%
Turnout1,398,238 (67.6%)
5.6 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Juan José Lucas Jesús Quijano José Luis Sagredo
Party PP PSOE CDS
Leader since 14 January 1991 26 May 1990 1991
Leader's seat Valladolid Valladolid Salamanca
Last election 34 seats, 38.3%[a] 32 seats, 34.0% 18 seats, 19.4%
Seats won 43 35 5
Seat change 9 3 13
Popular vote 602,773 504,709 112,821
Percentage 43.5% 36.4% 8.1%
Swing 5.2 pp 2.4 pp 11.3 pp
  Fourth party
 
Leader Antonio Herreros
Party IU
Leader since 1991
Last election 0 seats, 3.8%
Seats won 1
Seat change 1
Popular vote 74,197
Percentage 5.4%
Swing 1.6 pp
Constituency results map for the Cortes of Castile and León
President before election

Jesús Posada
PP

Elected President

Juan José Lucas
PP

A regional election was held in Castile and León on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Cortes of the autonomous community. All 84 seats in the Cortes were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.

The preceding legislature had seen José María Aznar forming a minority government of People's Alliance (AP) in 1987 through the abstention of the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and the support of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent Solution (SI) of Burgos mayor José María Peña San Martín. In May 1989, following AP's re-foundation into the People's Party (PP) earlier that year, the CDS joined the cabinet as a coalition partner, granting the regional government an overall majority in the Cortes. In September 1989, Aznar resigned in order to become the PP's leading candidate for the 29 October general election—and eventually, PP national president in April 1990—, with the regional presidency being granted to Jesús Posada. However, Posada renounced contesting the party's candidacy for re-election in January 1991, following Aznar's decision to pick Juan José Lucas as regional candidate instead.

The election saw the PP secure its first absolute majority in the region, virtually ensuring the election of Lucas to the regional presidency. The CDS, on the other hand, saw its support collapse from 18 to 5 seats, with the PP's majority leaving the party out of government. The opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) slightly increased its vote share and seat count compared to its 1987 result, whereas United Left (IU) entered the Cortes for the first time with one seat.

Overview

Under the 1983 Statute of Autonomy, the Cortes of Castile and León were the unicameral legislature of the homonymous autonomous community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1]

Electoral system

Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Castile and León 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.[2][3][4]

The Cortes of Castile and León were entitled to three seats per each multi-member constituency—corresponding to the provinces of Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora—plus one additional seat per each 45,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 22,500. All members were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency.[2][5] The use of the electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.[6]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Cortes constituency was entitled the following seats:[7]

Seats Constituencies
15 León
14 Valladolid
11 Burgos, Salamanca
8 Zamora
7 Ávila, Palencia
6 Segovia
5 Soria

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 Cortes of Castile and León expired four years after the date of their previous ordinary election, with amendments earlier in 1991 fixing election day for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The election decree was required to be issued between the fifty-fourth and sixtieth day prior to the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Castile and León (BOCYL).[10][11][12] The previous election was held on 10 June 1987, setting the date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which was 26 May 1991.

The Cortes of Castile and León could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament, except in the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot. In such a case, the Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected legislators merely serving out what remained of their original four-year term.[13]

The election to the Cortes of Castile and León was officially called on 2 April 1991 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOCYL, setting election day for 26 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 21 June.[7]

Outgoing parliament

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of the election call.[14][15]

Parliamentary composition in April 1991
Groups Parties Legislators
Seats Total
People's Parliamentary Group PP 33 33
Socialist Parliamentary Group PSOE 31 31
Democratic and Social Centre's Parliamentary Group CDS 18 18
Mixed Parliamentary Group INDEP 2[b] 2

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.[18][19]

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
PP
List
 Juan José Lucas Conservatism
Christian democracy
38.3%
[a] 		34 [20][21]
[22][23]
[24][25]
[26]
PSOE
List
 Jesús Quijano Social democracy 34.0% 32
CDS
List
 José Luis Sagredo Centrism
Liberalism 		19.4% 18
IU
List
 Antonio Herreros Socialism
Communism 		3.8% 0

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; 43 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Castile and León.

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Victory preferences

The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Cortes of Castile and León election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP)1 602,773 43.52 +5.23 43 +9
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 504,709 36.44 +2.43 35 +3
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 112,821 8.14 −11.23 5 −13
United Left (IU) 74,197 5.36 +1.55 1 +1
The Greens (LV) 20,193 1.46 New 0 ±0
Leonese People's Union (UPL) 11,432 0.83 +0.21 0 ±0
Burgalese Popular Action (APB) 6,493 0.47 New 0 ±0
Regionalist Democracy of Castile and León (DRCL) 4,587 0.33 New 0 ±0
Party of El Bierzo (PB) 4,465 0.32 −0.06 0 ±0
Bercian Left (IB) 3,407 0.25 New 0 ±0
Castilian Regionalist Party (PREC) 3,042 0.22 New 0 ±0
Castilianist Union (UC) 2,229 0.16 New 0 ±0
Independent Progressive Union (UPI) 2,127 0.15 New 0 ±0
Regionalist Party of the Leonese Country (PREPAL) 2,123 0.15 −0.13 0 ±0
Commoners' Land (TC) 1,900 0.14 New 0 ±0
The Greens Ecologist–Humanist List (LVLE–H)2 1,622 0.12 −0.15 0 ±0
Palentine Unity (UP) 1,558 0.11 New 0 ±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) 895 0.06 −0.07 0 ±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) 873 0.06 New 0 ±0
Left Unitary Platform (PCE (m–l)–CRPE) 435 0.03 New 0 ±0
Nationalist Party of Castile and León (PANCAL) 298 0.02 −0.34 0 ±0
Blank ballots 23,028 1.66 +0.08
Total 1,385,207 84 ±0
Valid votes 1,385,207 99.07 +0.79
Invalid votes 13,031 0.93 −0.79
Votes cast / turnout 1,398,238 67.57 −5.58
Abstentions 671,231 32.43 +5.58
Registered voters 2,069,469
Sources[14][27][28][29]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PP
 
 43.52%
PSOE
 
 36.44%
CDS
 
 8.14%
IU
 
 5.36%
LV
 
 1.46%
Others
 
 3.43%
Blank ballots
 
 1.66%
Seats
PP
 
 51.19%
PSOE
 
 41.67%
CDS
 
 5.95%
IU
 
 1.19%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PP PSOE CDS IU
% S % S % S % S
Ávila 42.3 3 26.3 2 24.8 2 3.6 −
Burgos 44.0 6 34.0 5 5.8 − 6.6 −
León 39.8 7 38.9 7 5.5 1 4.9 −
Palencia 45.3 4 37.2 3 6.7 − 5.3 −
Salamanca 44.5 5 39.5 5 7.8 1 4.0 −
Segovia 46.1 4 32.4 2 11.0 − 5.8 −
Soria 52.3 3 33.9 2 6.4 − 2.7 −
Valladolid 42.6 7 38.4 6 5.2 − 8.2 1
Zamora 45.4 4 37.6 3 9.9 1 3.4 −
Total 43.5 43 36.4 35 8.1 5 5.4 1
Sources[14][27][28][29]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Nomination of Juan José Lucas (PP)
Ballot → 4 July 1991
Required majority → 43 out of 84 Y
Yes
  • • PP (43)
43 / 84
No
40 / 84
Abstentions
0 / 84
Absentees
1 / 84
Sources[14]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Results for AP (34.4%, 32 seats), PDP (2.4%, 1 seat), SI (1.3%, 1 seat) and PL (0.2%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
  2. ^ Pascual Sánchez, former PSOE legislator;[16] José Antonio Martín, former CDS legislator.[17]
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Within PP.
  4. ^ a b c d Does not include non-resident citizens.

References

Opinion poll sources

  1. ^ a b c "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
  2. ^ a b c d "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
  3. ^ "Lucas gobernará a sus anchas". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
  4. ^ "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
  5. ^ a b "Preelectoral municipales y autonómicas de Castilla y León 1991 (III) (Estudio nº 1949. Marzo 1991)". CIS (in Spanish). 25 March 1991.
  6. ^ a b "Preelectoral municipales y autonómicas de Castilla y León 1991 (II) (Estudio nº 1923. Febrero 1991)". CIS (in Spanish). 19 February 1991.
  7. ^ "Estudio CIS nº 1923. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 19 February 1991.
  8. ^ "Barómetro de la comunidad autónoma de Castilla y León (III) (Estudio nº 1766. Octubre 1988)". CIS (in Spanish). 26 October 1988.
  9. ^ "Estudio CIS nº 1766. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 26 October 1988.

Other

  1. ^ Statute (1983), arts. 9 & 13.
  2. ^ a b Statute (1983), art. 10.
  3. ^ LECyL (1987), art. 2.
  4. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3.
  5. ^ LECyL (1987), arts. 18–20.
  6. ^ Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Dublin: Trinity College Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b Decreto 60/1991 de 1 de abril, por el que se convocan elecciones a las Cortes de Castilla y León (PDF) (Decree 60/1991). Official Gazette of Castile and León (in Spanish). 1 April 1991. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  8. ^ LECyL (1987), arts. 21 & 26.
  9. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 46 & 48.
  10. ^ Statute (1983), art. 11.
  11. ^ LECyL (1987), art. 16.
  12. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 42.
  13. ^ Statute (1983), art. 15.
  14. ^ a b c d Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones a Cortes de Castilla y León (desde 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  15. ^ "El Parlamento. Legislaturas anteriores. II Legislatura" (in Spanish). Cortes of Castile and León. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  16. ^ "GP 17/2. Alta del Ilmo. Sr. D. Pascual Sánchez Iñigo en el Grupo Parlamentario Mixto" (PDF). Boletín Oficial de las Cortes de Castilla y León (in Spanish) (104): 3259. 27 September 1989. ISSN 2253-7414.
  17. ^ "GP 32/2. Cambios habidos en la composición de los Grupos Parlamentarios Baja del Ilmo. Sr. D. José Antonio Martín de Marco en el Grupo Parlamentario de Centro Democrático y Social Alta del Ilmo. Sr. D. José Antonio Martín de Marco en el Grupo Parlamentario Mixto" (PDF). Boletín Oficial de las Cortes de Castilla y León (in Spanish) (186): 6658. 22 March 1991. ISSN 2253-7414.
  18. ^ LECyL (1987), arts. 25–26.
  19. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 44.
  20. ^ Díez, Anabel (16 January 1989). "El Partido Liberal se disolverá para integrarse en el proyecto de Fraga". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  21. ^ "Fraga se empleó a fondo para lograr que el congreso de AP cambie el nombre del partido". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 21 January 1989. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  22. ^ "La DC aprobó ayer formalmente su integración en el Partido Popular". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 29 January 1989. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  23. ^ Forjas, Francisco (6 September 1989). "Aznar llora al despedirse de su equipo de gobierno en Castilla y León". El País. Valladolid. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  24. ^ De Dios, Luis Miguel (21 September 1989). "Jesús Posada asume la presidencia de la Junta de Castilla y León". El País. Valladolid. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  25. ^ González Ibáñez, Juan (12 December 1990). "Candidato del PP". El País. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  26. ^ De Dios, Luis Miguel (15 January 1991). "Posada renuncia a ser candidato del PP a la Junta de Castilla y León". El País. Valladolid. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Procesos electorales a las Cortes de Castilla y León" (in Spanish). Regional Government of Castile and León. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Resumen de los resultados de las elecciones a las Cortes de Castilla y León celebradas el día 26 de mayo de 1991, según los datos que figuran en las actas de escrutinio general remitidas por cada una de las Juntas Electorales provinciales" (PDF). Official Gazette of Castile and León (in Spanish) (126): 2403–2404. 3 July 1991. ISSN 1989-8959. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  29. ^ a b "Nº 153. Informe-declaración de las elecciones a las Cortes de Castilla y León de 26 de mayo de 1991" (PDF). Court of Auditors (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2026.

Bibliography

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