1991 Valencian regional election

The 1991 Valencian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Corts of the Valencian Community. All 89 seats in the Corts were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1991 Valencian regional election
26 May 1991
All 89 seats in the Corts Valencianes
45 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered2,916,465 6.9%
Turnout2,019,411 (69.2%)
5.3 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Joan Lerma Pedro Agramunt Héctor Villalba
Party PSOE PP UV
Leader since 31 July 1979 15 December 1990 1991
Leader's seat Valencia Valencia Valencia
Last election 42 seats, 41.3% 25 seats, 24.7%[lower-alpha 1] 6 seats, 9.1%
Seats won 45 31 7
Seat change 3 6 1
Popular vote 860,429 558,617 208,126
Percentage 42.8% 27.8% 10.4%
Swing 1.5 pp 3.1 pp 1.3 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Albert Taberner Alejandro Font de Mora Pere Mayor
Party EU CDS UPV
Leader since 1986 1991 1986
Leader's seat Valencia Castellón (lost) Valencia (lost)
Last election 4 seats (IU–UPV)[lower-alpha 2] 10 seats, 11.2% 2 seats (IU–UPV)[lower-alpha 2]
Seats won 6 0 0
Seat change 2 10 2
Popular vote 151,242 76,433 73,813
Percentage 7.5% 3.8% 3.7%
Swing n/a 7.4 pp n/a
Constituency results map for the Corts Valencianes
President before election

Joan Lerma
PSOE

 Elected President

Joan Lerma
PSOE

For the third and final time to date, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won a regional election in the Valencian Community, regaining the overall majority of seats it had lost in the 1987 election. This was the last time the PSOE was able to access the Valencian government on its own, and the last until the 2015 election in which it went on to form the regional government of the Valencian Community.

As in other Spanish communities, the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) saw a substantial drop in its vote share, causing it to fall below the 5% threshold and lose all its 10 seats. The party's poor results across Spain led to the resignation of party leader and former Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez and to the eventual demise of the CDS as a relevant actor in Spanish politics.

The main right of centre parties, both the newly founded People's Party (PP) (a merger of the People's Alliance (AP) and other right-wing parties) and the regionalist Valencian Union (UV), came out reinforced from the election, mainly at the cost of the declining CDS. However, they were left unable to command an overall majority of seats, unlike what happened in the city of Valencia in the same year's election, in which a post-election agreement between both parties managed to oust the PSOE from the city's government and elect 1987 AP regional candidate Rita Barberá as city mayor.

United Left (IU) maintained the results obtained by the IU-UPV alliance in the 1987 election. Valencian People's Unity (UPV) had broken its alliance with IU in 1988 and was left out of the Courts as a result, being unable to surpass the 5% regional threshold to win seats.

Overview

Electoral system

The Corts Valencianes were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Valencian autonomous community, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[1]

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. The 89 members of the Corts Valencianes were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Seats were allocated to 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).[1][2]

The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.[2][3]

Election date

The term of the Corts Valencianes expired four years after the date of their previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the Corts were to be fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 10 June 1987, setting the election date for the Corts on Sunday, 26 May 1991.[1][2][3]

The Corts Valencianes could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament.[1]

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; 45 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Corts Valencianes.

Results

Overall
← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Corts Valencianes election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes  % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 860,42942.85+1.57 45+3
People's Party (PP)1 558,61727.82+3.11 31+6
Valencian Union (UV) 208,12610.36+1.22 7+1
United Left of the Valencian Country (EU)2 151,2427.53n/a 6+2
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 76,4333.81–7.43 0–10
Valencian People's Union (UPV)2 73,8133.68n/a 0–2
The Greens (LV) 35,3751.76+0.65 0±0
The Greens of Alicante–Green Union (LVA–UVE) 5,5690.28New 0±0
Socialist Democracy (DS) 5,2070.26New 0±0
Cantonalist Party of the Alicantine Country (Alicantón) 4,1190.21New 0±0
Left Platform (PCE (m–l)–CRPE)3 2,7580.14–0.02 0±0
Valencian Nationalist Union (UNV)4 2,2480.11–0.10 0±0
National Front (FN) 2,1840.11New 0±0
Alliance for the Republic (AxR)5 1,3830.07–0.02 0±0
Blank ballots 20,6061.03–0.04
Total 2,008,109 89±0
Valid votes 2,008,10999.44+0.56
Invalid votes 11,3020.56–0.56
Votes cast / turnout 2,019,41169.24–5.21
Abstentions 897,05430.76+5.21
Registered voters 2,916,465
Sources[4][5][6]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PSOE
 
 42.85%
PP
 
 27.82%
UV
 
 10.36%
EU
 
 7.53%
CDS
 
 3.81%
UPV
 
 3.68%
LV
 
 1.76%
Others
 
 1.17%
Blank ballots
 
 1.03%
Seats
PSOE
 
 50.56%
PP
 
 34.83%
UV
 
 7.87%
EU
 
 6.74%

Distribution by constituency
Constituency PSOE PP UV EU
 % S  % S  % S  % S
Alicante 44.6 16 33.1 12 1.7 − 7.3 2
Castellón 41.4 11 35.3 9 5.2 1 4.8 1
Valencia 42.2 18 23.3 10 16.3 6 8.3 3
Total 42.8 45 27.8 31 10.4 7 7.5 6
Sources[5][6]

Aftermath
Investiture
Candidate Ballot → 9 July 1991
Required majority → 45 out of 89
Joan Lerma (PSOE)
Yes
45 / 89
 checkY
No
  • • PP (31)
  • • UV (7)
  • • EU (6)
44 / 89
Abstentions
0 / 89
Absentees
0 / 89
Pedro Agramunt (PP)
Yes
  • • PP (31)
31 / 89
 ☒N
No
58 / 89
Abstentions
0 / 89
Absentees
0 / 89
Héctor Villalba (UV)
Yes
  • • UV (7)
7 / 89
 ☒N
No
82 / 89
Abstentions
0 / 89
Absentees
0 / 89
Albert Taberner (EU)
Yes
  • • EU (6)
6 / 89
 ☒N
No
83 / 89
Abstentions
0 / 89
Absentees
0 / 89
Sources[6]

Notes
  1. Results for AP (23.71%, 25 seats) and PDP–CV (1.00%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
  2. Within the IU–UPV alliance in the 1987 election.
  3. Within PP.

References
Opinion poll sources
  1. "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
  2. "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
  3. "El 'caso Naseiro' no deja huellas". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
  4. "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
Other
  1. "Ley Orgánica 5/1982, de 1 de julio, de Estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad Valenciana". Organic Law No. 1 of 1 July 1982 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  2. "Ley 1/1987, de 31 de marzo, Electoral Valenciana". Law No. 2 of 31 March 1987 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  3. "Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985 (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  4. "Electoral Results. Electoral Data - Regional Election: 1991". www.cortsvalencianes.es (in Spanish). Valencian Government. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  5. "Corts Valencianes election results, 26 May 1991" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of the Valencian Community. 18 July 1991. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  6. "Eleccions a les Corts Valencianes (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 September 2017.
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