1999 Aragonese regional election

1999 Aragonese regional election
13 June 1999
All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon
34 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered1,017,735 2.4%
Turnout657,464 (64.6%)
6.5 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Santiago Lanzuela Marcelino Iglesias José María Mur
Party PP PSOE PAR
Leader since 24 September 1993 15 February 1995 1995
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza Zaragoza
Last election 27 seats, 37.5% 19 seats, 25.7% 14 seats, 20.4%
Seats won 28 23 10
Seat change 1 4 4
Popular vote 249,458 201,117 86,519
Percentage 38.2% 30.8% 13.3%
Swing 0.7 pp 5.1 pp 7.1 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Chesús Bernal Jesús Lacasa
Party CHA IU
Leader since 29 June 1986 1998
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza
Last election 2 seats, 4.8% 5 seats, 9.2%
Seats won 5 1
Seat change 3 4
Popular vote 72,101 25,040
Percentage 11.0% 3.9%
Swing 6.2 pp 5.3 pp
Constituency results map for the Cortes of Aragon
President before election

Santiago Lanzuela
PP

Elected President

Marcelino Iglesias
PSOE

A regional election was held in Aragon on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Cortes of the autonomous community. All 67 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, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

The election saw increases in both vote share and seats for the People's Party (PP), which had formed the Government of Aragon since 1995, and the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The Aragonese Party (PAR) continued its long-term decline from its peak at the 1987 election while on the left, Chunta Aragonesista (CHA) gained most of United Left (IU) former support, which lost 4 of its 5 seats.

Despite winning the election and gaining one seat from 1995, the PP went into opposition as incumbent President of Aragon Santiago Lanzuela was unable to gather the support from his former coalition partner the PAR. Instead, the PAR supported Socialist Marcelino Iglesias as new regional president, entering into a coalition administration with the PSOE.

Overview

Under the 1982 Statute of Autonomy, the Cortes of Aragon 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 Aragon 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 Aragon were entitled to a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 75 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 67. All members were elected in three multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 13 seats and the remaining 28 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in the most populated province did not exceed 2.75 times that of the least populated one)—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 an 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
34 Zaragoza(+1)
18 Huesca
15 Teruel(–1)

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 Aragon expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years, but a legal amendment introduced in 1998 allowed for regional elections held in May 1995 to be held concurrently with European Parliament elections, provided that they were scheduled for within a four month-timespan. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the fifty-fifth day prior to the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA).[2][10][11] The previous election was held on 28 May 1995, setting the date for election day concurrently with that year's European Parliament election on Sunday, 13 June 1999.

The regional president had the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Aragon at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the parliament's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution.[12][13] In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the Cortes's reconvening, the chamber was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their original four-year term.[13][14]

The election to the Cortes of Aragon was officially called on 20 April 1999 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOA, setting election day for 13 June and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 7 July.[7]

Outgoing parliament

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of the election call.[15][16]

Parliamentary composition in April 1999
Groups Parties Legislators
Seats Total
People's Parliamentary Group in the Cortes of Aragon PP 27 27
Socialist Parliamentary Group PSOE 19 19
Aragonese Party Parliamentary Group PAR 14 14
United Left of Aragon Parliamentary Group IU 5 5
Mixed Parliamentary Group CHA 2 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.[17][18]

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
 Santiago Lanzuela Conservatism
Christian democracy 		37.5% 27
PSOE
List
 Marcelino Iglesias Social democracy 25.7% 19 [19]
[20]
PAR
List
 José María Mur Regionalism
Centrism 		20.4% 14
IU
List
 Jesús Lacasa Socialism
Communism 		9.2% 5
CHA
List
 Chesús Bernal Aragonese nationalism
Eco-socialism 		4.8% 2

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; 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.

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.

Victory likelihood

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

Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Government of Aragon.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 13 June 1999 Cortes of Aragon election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP) 249,458 38.21 +0.71 28 +1
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 201,117 30.81 +5.09 23 +4
Aragonese Party (PAR) 86,519 13.25 −7.18 10 −4
Aragonese Union (CHA) 72,101 11.04 +6.19 5 +3
United Left of Aragon (IU) 25,040 3.86 −5.36 1 −4
SOS Nature (SOS) 3,621 0.55 +0.42 0 ±0
Humanist Party (PH) 982 0.15 New 0 ±0
Upper Aragonese Territory Regenerationist Group (ARTA) 373 0.06 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 13,599 2.08 +0.50
Total 652,810 67 ±0
Valid votes 652,810 99.29 −0.11
Invalid votes 4,654 0.71 +0.11
Votes cast / turnout 657,464 64.60 −6.52
Abstentions 360,271 35.40 +6.52
Registered voters 1,017,735
Sources[15][21][22][23]
Popular vote
PP
 
 38.21%
PSOE
 
 30.81%
PAR
 
 13.25%
CHA
 
 11.04%
IU
 
 3.84%
Others
 
 0.76%
Blank ballots
 
 2.08%
Seats
PP
 
 41.79%
PSOE
 
 34.33%
PAR
 
 14.93%
CHA
 
 7.46%
IU
 
 1.49%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PP PSOE PAR CHA IU
% S % S % S % S % S
Huesca 33.8 7 34.2 7 16.1 3 9.0 1 3.4 −
Teruel 40.2 7 31.6 5 17.7 3 4.3 − 4.1 −
Zaragoza 39.0 14 29.8 11 11.7 4 12.8 4 3.9 1
Total 38.2 28 30.8 23 13.3 10 11.0 5 3.9 1
Sources[15][21][22][23]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Nomination of Marcelino Iglesias (PSOE)
Ballot → 29 July 1999
Required majority → 34 out of 67 Y
Yes
34 / 67
No
  • • PP (28)
28 / 67
Abstentions
5 / 67
Absentees
0 / 67
Sources[15][24]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Within PP.
  2. ^ a b c Does not include non-resident citizens.

References

Opinion poll sources

  1. ^ "El PP volverá a necesitar a los regionalistas del PA para gobernar". ABC (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
  2. ^ "Los populares necesitarán pactar de nuevo". El País (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
  3. ^ "Aragón: PP y PAR, obligados a entenderse". El Mundo (in Spanish). 1 June 1999.
  4. ^ "ELECCIONES 13-J /BALANCE DE LAS ENCUESTAS". El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 June 1999.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas y municipales, 1999. Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón (Estudio nº 2326. Mayo 1999)". CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
  6. ^ "Estudio CIS nº 2326. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
  7. ^ "Bono e Ibarra repiten y el PSOE recuperará Asturias". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 June 1999.

Other

  1. ^ Statute (1982), arts. 12–17.
  2. ^ a b c Statute (1982), arts. 18–19.
  3. ^ LEAr (1987), art. 2.
  4. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3.
  5. ^ LEAr (1987), arts. 12–14.
  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 de 19 de abril de 1999, de la Presidencia del Gobierno de Aragón, por el que se convocan elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón (Decree). Official Gazette of Aragon (in Spanish). 19 April 1999. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  8. ^ LEAr (1987), art. 15.
  9. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 46 & 48.
  10. ^ LEAr (1987), art. 11.
  11. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 42 & add. prov. 5.
  12. ^ Statute (1996), art. 23.
  13. ^ a b LPGA (1995), art. 11.
  14. ^ Statute (1982), art. 22.
  15. ^ a b c d Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón (desde 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  16. ^ "Grupos parlamentarios. IV Legislatura" (in Spanish). Cortes of Aragon. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  17. ^ LEAr (1987), arts. 18–19.
  18. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 44.
  19. ^ Giner, Juan (22 December 1997). "Ciscar impone una candidatura única en el PSOE aragonés". El Mundo (in Spanish). Zaragoza. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
  20. ^ Montserrat, Concha (9 July 1998). "Marcelino Iglesias, proclamado vencedor de las primarias socialistas en Aragón". El País (in Spanish). Zaragoza. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Elecciones a Cortes de Aragón. Resultados del año 1999 en Aragón" (in Spanish). Cortes of Aragon. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Archivo Electoral de Aragón. Cortes de Aragón 1999. Resultados. Aragón" (in Spanish). Government of Aragon. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Resolución del Presidente de la Junta Electoral de Aragón, de 25 de junio de 1999, por la que se procede a la publicación del resumen de los resultados de las elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón convocadas por Decreto de 19 de abril de 1999, según los datos que figuran en las actas de proclamación remitidas por las Juntas Electorales Provinciales de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón" (PDF). Official Gazette of Aragon (in Spanish) (83): 4102–4104. 2 July 1999. ISSN 9941-3256. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
  24. ^ "Los votos del Par e IU dan al socialista Iglesias la presidencia de Aragón". El País (in Spanish). Zaragoza. 30 July 1999. Retrieved 23 November 2025.

Bibliography

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