Lleida (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Lleida is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is one of four electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Catalonia. Lleida is the largest municipality accounting for 97,000 voters out of the total of 313,000. The district has traditionally been one of the weakest for the national parties of the right and it was one of only two districts in the 2004 election (along with Girona) where the Popular Party failed to win a seat, though they regained the seat at the 2008 election.
Contents
Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution [1] the boundaries must be the same as the province of Lleida and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. 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 article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Electoral procedures
The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.[2]) Under this law, the elections in Lleida, as in other districts, are supervised by the Electoral Commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, polling stations are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.[3]
The format of the ballot paper is designed by the Spanish state, however, the law allows political parties to produce and distribute their own ballot papers, either by mailing them to voters or by other means such as street distribution, provided that they comply with the official model. The government then covers the cost of all printed ballot papers. These must then be marked by voters, either in the polling station or outside the polling station and placed inside sealed envelopes which are then placed inside ballot boxes in the polling station. Following the close of polls, the ballots are then counted in each individual polling station in the presence of representatives of the political parties and candidates. The ballots are then immediately destroyed, with the exception of those considered invalid or challenged by the candidates' representatives, which are retained for further scrutiny. The result is that full recounts are impossible.[4]
Eligibility
Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership 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.[1]
Number of members
From the 1977 onwards Lleida has returned four members.
Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population.[5] These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this law has been to overrepresent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces. In 2004 for example Spain had 34,571,831 voters giving an average of 98,777 voters per deputy.[6] In Lleida however the number of voters per deputy was only 78,090.[7]
Summary of seats won 1977–2011
| 1977 | 1979 | 1982 | 1986 | 1989 | 1993 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Democratic Centre Union (UCD) | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSC-PSOE) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| People's Party (PP) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) | 1 |
Note: Seats shown for the PP include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance and the Popular Coalition in 1982 and 1986.
PSOE has contested elections under the label Socialist Party of Catalonia (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya).
Seats shown for Convergence and Union include seats won in the 1977 election under the label Democratic Pact for Catalonia (Pacte Democràtic per Catalunya)
Republican Left of Catalonia contested the 1977 election as part of an electoral alliance called Catalan Left - Electoral Democratic Front (Esquerra de Catalunya-Front Electoral Democràtic) as openly republican parties were unable to contest the 1977 elections.[8]
Democratic Centre Union fought the 1979 election as part of an alliance called Catalan Centrists (Centristes de Catalunya.)
| 1977 | 1979 | 1982 | 1986 | 1989 | 1993 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) | 24.4 | ||||||||||
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 15.9 | 28.0 | 40.7 | 46.9 | 39.3 | 39.3 | 39.0 | 29.5 | 28.6 | 41.3 | |
| Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC) | 5.4 | ||||||||||
| Democratic Centre Union (UCD) | 24.3 | 31.7 | 5.7 | ||||||||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSC-PSOE) | 15.0 | 24.9 | 35.2 | 30.5 | 28.6 | 27.1 | 33.0 | 27.6 | 29.6 | 37.2 | 20.3 |
| United Left-Initiative for Catalonia Greens (IU-ICV) | 12.2 | 10.7 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 3.7 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.9 |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) | 7.6 | 7.8 | 5.9 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 7.5 | 5.6 | 7.2 | 21.5 | 12.9 | 8.6 |
| People's Party (PP) | 5.4 | 3.2 | 15.8 | 16.1 | 12.4 | 19.8 | 17.9 | 21.0 | 14.6 | 15.1 | 19.4 |
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 3.1 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Results
2011 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergence and Union (Convergència i Unió) | 79,511 | 41.3 | 2 | |
| Socialists' Party of Catalonia/Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 39,157 | 20.3 | 1 | |
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 37,401 | 19.4 | 1 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) | 16,529 | 8.6 | 0 | |
| Initiative for Catalonia Greens-United and Alternative Left | 7,487 | 3.9 | 0 | |
| Citizens for Blank Votes | 2,573 | 1.3 | 0 | |
| Others | 5,313 | 2.9 | 0 |
2008 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialists' Party of Catalonia/Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 79,500 | 37.23 | 2 | |
| Convergence and Union (Convergència i Unió) | 60,995 | 28.57 | 1 | |
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 32,129 | 15.05 | 1 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) | 27,511 | 12.88 | 0 | |
| Initiative for Catalonia Greens-United and Alternative Left | 5,489 | 2.57 | 0 | |
| Others | 4,155 | 2.00 | 0 |
The 2004 election produced a very close result. PSOE won the fourth seat but an increase of either 236 (0.2%) votes for Convergence and Union or 370 votes (0.3%) for the PP would have been enough to give either of those parties the fourth seat. Although the PSOE won a second seat for the first time since 1989, their vote increase here was their lowest in all 52 constituencies. Republican Left (ERC) won their first seat in the district since the restoration of democracy.
2004 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialists' Party of Catalonia/Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 68,971 | 29.57 | 2 | |
| Convergence and Union (Convergència i Unió) | 68,735 | 29.46 | 1 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) | 50,104 | 21.48 | 1 | |
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 34,116 | 14.62 | 0 | |
| Initiative for Catalonia Greens-United and Alternative Left | 6,910 | 2.96 | 0 | |
| Confederation of The Greens (Els Verds) | 1,171 | 0.50 | 0 | |
| Others | 1,402 | 0.60 | 0 |
2000 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergence and Union (Convergència i Unió) | 78,131 | 38.96 | 2 | |
| Socialists' Party of Catalonia/Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 55,374 | 27.61 | 1 | |
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 42,081 | 20.98 | 1 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) | 14,367 | 7.16 | 0 | |
| Initiative for Catalonia Greens | 3,581 | 1.79 | 0 | |
| United and Alternative Left | 1,931 | 0.96 | 0 | |
| Confederation of The Greens (Els Verds) | 864 | 0.43 | 0 | |
| Others | 1,357 | 0.70 | 0 |
Source:[9]
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Spanish Constitution
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ General features of Spanish electoral system
- ↑ 2004 Spanish election
- ↑ 2004 Lleida election
- ↑ http://www.esquerra.cat/web_nova/arxius/Hangles.pdf
- ↑ Interior ministry link to election results
