1996 Andalusian regional election

1996 Andalusian regional election
3 March 1996
All 109 seats in the Parliament of Andalusia
55 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered5,577,567 3.5%
Turnout4,347,193 (77.9%)
10.6 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Manuel Chaves Javier Arenas Luis Carlos Rejón
Party PSOE–A PP IULV–CA
Leader since 19 April 1990 25 July 1993 21 July 1988
Leader's seat Cádiz Seville Córdoba
Last election 45 seats, 38.7% 41 seats, 34.4% 20 seats, 19.1%
Seats won 52 40 13
Seat change 7 1 7
Popular vote 1,903,160 1,466,980 603,495
Percentage 44.1% 34.0% 14.0%
Swing 5.4 pp 0.4 pp 5.1 pp
  Fourth party
 
Leader Pedro Pacheco
Party PA
Leader since 1994
Leader's seat Cádiz
Last election 3 seats, 5.8%[a]
Seats won 4
Seat change 1
Popular vote 287,764
Percentage 6.7%
Swing 0.9 pp
Constituency results map for the Parliament of Andalusia
President before election

Manuel Chaves
PSOE–A

Elected President

Manuel Chaves
PSOE–A

A regional election was held in Andalusia on Sunday, 3 March 1996, to elect the 5th Parliament of the autonomous community. All 109 seats in the Parliament were up for election. It was held concurrently with the 1996 Spanish general election.

The 1994 election had resulted in a hung parliament. Manuel Chaves had formed a minority government of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party of Andalusia (PSOE–A), but was forced to dissolve the Parliament and call a snap election for March 1996 after barely twenty months into his term, as a result of the conservative People's Party (PP) and left-wing United Left (IULV–CA) joining into an unofficial alliance (dubbed as la pinza, Spanish for "the clamp") to block the Chaves government's parliamentary action. Scandals rocking Felipe González's national government and favourable opinion polls were among the reasons that led the two parties to team up to bring down the PSOE regional government.[1][2]

Despite opinion polls predicting a likely PSOE defeat, the election result was a major upset: the PSOE gained over 500,000 votes and 7 seats compared to the previous election and won a resounding victory as the PP stagnated and the IU vote collapsed. At 77.9%, turnout was the highest ever registered for a regional election in Andalusia.[3][4][5] This result allowed Chaves to form a coalition government with the Andalusian Party (PA), ending the period of political turmoil that had dominated the previous legislature.[6][7]

Overview

Under the 1981 Statute of Autonomy, the Parliament of Andalusia was 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.[8]

Electoral system

Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Andalusia 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.[9][10][11]

The Parliament of Andalusia was entitled to a minimum of 90 and a maximum of 110 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 109. All members were elected in eight multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville, with each being allocated an initial minimum of eight seats and the remaining 45 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the number of seats in each province did not exceed two times that of any other)—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.[9][12] The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.[13]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Parliament constituency was entitled the following seats:[14]

Seats Constituencies
19 Seville(+1)
15 Cádiz, Málaga(–1)
13 Córdoba, Granada
12 Jaén
11 Almería, Huelva

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.[15][16]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Andalusia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. 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 Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia (BOJA), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication (barring any date within from 1 July to 31 August).[9][17][18] The previous election was held on 12 June 1994, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 12 June 1998. However, due to the ban on summer elections, the election decree was required to be published in the BOJA no later than 7 May 1998, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest legal possible date for election day on Tuesday, 30 June 1998.

The regional president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Andalusia at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one.[17][19]

The Parliament of Andalusia was officially dissolved on 9 January 1996 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOJA, setting election day for 3 March and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 29 March.[14]

Campaign

Election debates

1996 Andalusian regional election debates
Date Organisers Moderator(s)     P  Present[b]    S  Surrogate[c]  
 NI  Not invited   I  Invited    A  Absent invitee 
PSOE–A PP IULV–CA PA Audience Ref.
28 February Cadena SER Iñaki Gabilondo P
Chaves 		P
Arenas 		NI NI — [20]
29 February Canal Sur Rafael Rodríguez P
Chaves 		P
Arenas 		P
Rejón 		P
Pacheco 		26.5%
(454,000) 		[21]
[22]

Opinion polls

The table below lists voting intention estimates 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. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 55 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Andalusia.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 3 March 1996 Parliament of Andalusia election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party of Andalusia (PSOE–A) 1,903,160 44.05 +5.33 52 +7
People's Party (PP) 1,466,980 33.96 −0.40 40 −1
United Left/The Greens–Assembly for Andalusia (IULV–CA) 603,495 13.97 −5.17 13 −7
Andalusian Party (PA)1 287,764 6.66 +0.86 4 +1
Communist Party of the Andalusian People (PCPA) 7,340 0.17 −0.17 0 ±0
Andalusian Nation (NA) 5,846 0.14 −0.13 0 ±0
Humanist Party (PH) 4,339 0.10 −0.05 0 ±0
Authentic Spanish Phalanx (FEA) 3,869 0.09 New 0 ±0
Centrist Union (UC) 1,688 0.04 −0.23 0 ±0
Democratic Andalusian Unity (UAD) 1,486 0.03 New 0 ±0
Voice of the Andalusian People (VDPA) 840 0.02 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 33,165 0.77 −0.08
Total 4,319,972 109 ±0
Valid votes 4,319,972 99.37 −0.03
Invalid votes 27,221 0.63 +0.03
Votes cast / turnout 4,347,193 77.94 +10.67
Abstentions 1,230,374 22.06 −10.67
Registered voters 5,577,567
Sources[23][24][25]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PSOE–A
 
 44.05%
PP
 
 33.96%
IULV–CA
 
 13.97%
PA
 
 6.66%
Others
 
 0.59%
Blank ballots
 
 0.77%
Seats
PSOE–A
 
 47.70%
PP
 
 36.70%
IULV–CA
 
 11.93%
PA
 
 3.67%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PSOE–A PP IULV–CA PA
% S % S % S % S
Almería 45.6 5 39.7 5 10.3 1 3.3 −
Cádiz 39.5 6 32.5 5 12.8 2 13.8 2
Córdoba 41.7 6 31.6 4 19.7 3 5.7 −
Granada 44.9 7 37.5 5 12.4 1 3.9 −
Huelva 49.2 6 32.8 4 11.5 1 5.3 −
Jaén 47.3 6 36.2 5 12.2 1 3.3 −
Málaga 39.6 6 37.3 6 15.8 2 5.7 1
Seville 47.4 10 29.7 6 13.9 2 7.5 1
Total 44.1 52 34.0 40 14.0 13 6.7 4
Sources[23][24][25]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Nomination of Manuel Chaves (PSOE–A)
Ballot → 11 April 1996
Required majority → 55 out of 109 Y
Yes
56 / 109
No
53 / 109
Abstentions
0 / 109
Absentees
0 / 109
Sources[23]

Notes

  1. ^ Results for PA–PAP in the 1994 election.
  2. ^ Denotes a main invitee attending the event.
  3. ^ Denotes a main invitee not attending the event, sending a surrogate in their place.

References

Opinion poll sources

  1. ^ "El PP ganará ampliamente en Andalucía". El País (in Spanish). 24 February 1996.
  2. ^ "Mayoría relativa del PP en Andalucía". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 25 February 1996.
  3. ^ "Distribuciones de frecuencia marginales del Estudio 2207 (Andalucía)". CIS (in Spanish). 21 February 1996.
  4. ^ "Estudio CIS nº 2207" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 21 February 1996.
  5. ^ a b "El PP ganará con claridad las elecciones andaluzas pero PSOE e IU tienen la mayoría". El Mundo (in Spanish). 26 February 1996.
  6. ^ "Andalucía prepara un vuelco histórico". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 21 February 1996.
  7. ^ "El PP podría formar gobierno en Andalucía con el apoyo del PA". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 19 February 1996.
  8. ^ "El PP ganará en Andalucía, pero no podrá formar un Gobierno estable". El País (in Spanish). 10 February 1996.
  9. ^ "IU baja entre dos y cuatro escaños, y los andalucistas mantienen su presencia en el Parlamento". El País (in Spanish). 10 February 1996.
  10. ^ "El PSOE pierde Andalucía". El Mundo (in Spanish). 29 January 1996.
  11. ^ "El PP ganaría por primera vez las elecciones autonómicas andaluzas, según una encuesta". ABC (in Spanish). 9 January 1996.
  12. ^ "El PP ganaría por primera vez las elecciones andaluzas, con 4 escaños más que el PSOE, según Sigma 2". ABC (in Spanish). 9 January 1996.
  13. ^ "Una encuesta del PSOE le sitúa como vencedor en las autonómicas, mientras que la oposición replica que los datos son "absolutamente falsos" y que el sondeo no tiene "ninguna credibilidad"". ABC (in Spanish). 9 December 1995.
  14. ^ "El PSOE volvería a ganar las elecciones autonómicas andaluzas". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 9 December 1995.
  15. ^ "El PP obtendría ahora en Andalucía ocho escaños más que los socialistas, según una encuesta del propio PSOE". ABC (in Spanish). 27 November 1995.
  16. ^ "Felipe González decidirá finalmente la fecha de las autonómicas". ABC (in Spanish). 23 November 1995.
  17. ^ "Situación social y política en Andalucía. Elecciones Autonómicas. Octubre-noviembre 1995 (Estudio nº 2196)". CIS (in Spanish). 18 October 1995.
  18. ^ "Estudio CIS nº 2196. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 18 October 1995.
  19. ^ "Esperando a González". ABC (in Spanish). 3 December 1995.

Other

  1. ^ "Chaves anuncia elecciones anticipadas en Andalucía al ser rechazados los presupuestos". El País (in Spanish). 23 November 1995. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  2. ^ "La "pinza" acabó en veinte meses con el único gobierno en minoría de Andalucía". ABC (in Spanish). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Chaves logra el quinto triunfo consecutivo del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). 4 March 1996. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Los socialistas conservan su feudo andaluz". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 4 March 1996. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  5. ^ "El estrepitoso final de la "pinza"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 March 1996. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Los socialistas andaluces se decantan por un pacto con el PA". El País (in Spanish). 5 March 1996. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Chaves incorpora a dos andalucistas a su Gobierno". El País (in Spanish). 14 April 1996. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  8. ^ Statute (1981), arts. 25 & 30.
  9. ^ a b c Statute (1981), arts. 26 & 28.
  10. ^ LEAn (1986), art. 2.
  11. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3.
  12. ^ LEAn (1986), arts. 16–18.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ a b Decreto del Presidente 1/1996, de 8 de enero, de disolución del Parlamento de Andalucía y de convocatoria de elecciones (PDF) (Decree 1/1996). Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia (in Spanish). 8 January 1996. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  15. ^ LEAn (1986), art. 19.
  16. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 46 & 48.
  17. ^ a b LEAn (1986), art. 14.
  18. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 42.
  19. ^ LGAn (1994), arts. 14 & 55–56.
  20. ^ "Chaves y Arenas se enredan en mutuas acusaciones en su único 'duelo'". El País (in Spanish). 29 February 1996. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Chaves da marcha atrás y acepta finalmente celebrar el jueves en Canal Sur el debate a cuatro que rechazó ayer". ABC (in Spanish). 27 February 1996. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  22. ^ "Unos 454.000 espectadores, audiencia media del debate entre los candidatos a la Presidencia". ABC (in Spanish). 2 March 1996. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  23. ^ a b c "Elecciones al Parlamento de Andalucía (1982 - 2018)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Electoral Results Consultation. Parliament of Andalusia. March 1996. Andalusia totals". juntadeandalucia.es (in Spanish). Regional Government of Andalusia. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  25. ^ a b "Parliament of Andalusia election results, 3 March 1996" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Central Electoral Commission. 26 March 1996. Retrieved 25 September 2017.

Bibliography

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