1987 Aragonese regional election

The 1987 Aragonese regional election was held on Wednesday, 10 June 1987, to elect the 2nd Cortes of the autonomous community of Aragon. All 67 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in 12 other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1987 European Parliament election.

1987 Aragonese regional election

← 1983 10 June 1987 1991 →

All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon
34 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered928,584 Green arrow up1.0%
Turnout647,257 (69.7%)
Green arrow up3.0 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Santiago Marraco Hipólito Gómez de las Roces Ángel Cristóbal
Party PSOE PAR AP
Leader since November 1979 December 1977 1987
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza Zaragoza
Last election 33 seats, 46.8% 13 seats, 20.5% 18 seats, 22.6%[a]
Seats won 27 19 13
Seat change Red arrow down6 Green arrow up6 Red arrow down5
Popular vote 228,170 179,922 99,082
Percentage 35.7% 28.1% 15.5%
Swing Red arrow down11.1 pp Green arrow up7.6 pp Red arrow down7.1 pp

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader José Luis Merino Antonio de las Casas
Party CDS CAA–IU
Leader since 1983 1987
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza
Last election 1 seat, 3.3% 1 seat, 4.0%[b]
Seats won 6 2
Seat change Green arrow up5 Green arrow up1
Popular vote 65,406 31,352
Percentage 10.2% 4.9%
Swing Green arrow up6.9 pp Green arrow up0.9 pp

Constituency results map for the Cortes of Aragon

President before election

Santiago Marraco
PSOE

Elected President

Hipólito Gómez de las Roces
PAR

Affected by their national trends, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the People's Alliance (AP) lost support compared to the previous election, falling from 46.8% and 22.6% to 35.7% and 15.5%, and from 33 and 18 seats to 27 and 13, respectively. The latter had suffered from an internal crisis and the breakup of the People's Coalition in 1986, losing 30% of its 1983 vote and finishing third as a result, with the Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) scoring a strong second place with 28.1% and 19 seats. The centrist Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), a party led by the former Spanish prime minister Adolfo Suarez, saw sizeable gains and achieved a kingmaker position with 10.2% and 6 seats. United Left (IU) made a small advance of 0.9 percentage points and 1 seat, but was not able to capitalize on the PSOE's losses.

The two main centre-right parties, the PAR and AP, were able to muster 32 seats in the Cortes compared to the PSOE's 27. As a result, PAR leader Hipólito Gómez de las Roces was elected as new president of Aragon, replacing Santiago Marraco at the helm of a minority administration with AP's support and the CDS's abstention. In March 1989, AP, now refounded as the People's Party (PP), entered the government and formed a coalition with the PAR for the remainder of the legislature.

Overview

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Electoral system

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

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. The 67 members of the Cortes of Aragon were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to 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).[1][2]

In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.[3]

Election date

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The term of the Cortes of Aragon expired four years after the date of their previous election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 8 May 1983, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 8 May 1987. The election decree was required to be published in the BOA no later than 14 April 1987, with the election taking place no later than the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes on Saturday, 13 June 1987.[1][2][4]

The Cortes of Aragon 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 deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[1]

Parties and candidates

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The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition 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.[2][4]

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.
Votes (%) Seats
PSOE   Santiago Marraco Social democracy 46.83% 33  Y
AP
List
  Ángel Cristóbal Conservatism
National conservatism
22.63%[a] 18  N
PDP   Mariano Alierta Christian democracy  N
PAR
List
  Hipólito Gómez de las Roces Regionalism
Centrism
20.51% 13  N
CAA–IU   Antonio de las Casas Socialism
Communism
3.96%[b] 1  N
CDS   José Luis Merino Centrism
Liberalism
3.29% 1  N

Opinion polls

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

Results

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Overall

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Summary of the 10 June 1987 Cortes of Aragon election results
 
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 228,170 35.68 –11.15 27 –6
Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) 179,922 28.14 +7.63 19 +6
People's Alliance (AP)1 99,082 15.49 –7.14 13 –5
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 65,406 10.23 +6.94 6 +5
Aragon Alternative Convergence–United Left (CAA–IU)2 31,352 4.90 +0.94 2 +1
Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity (PTE–UC) 8,435 1.32 New 0 ±0
People's Democratic Party–Centrists of Aragon (PDP) 7,887 1.23 New 0 ±0
Aragonese Union (UA/CHA) 6,154 0.96 New 0 ±0
Humanist Platform (PH) 2,439 0.38 New 0 ±0
Republican Popular Unity (UPR) 1,435 0.22 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 9,186 1.44 +0.79
Total 639,468 67 +1
Valid votes 639,468 98.80 +0.22
Invalid votes 7,789 1.20 –0.22
Votes cast / turnout 647,257 69.70 +2.96
Abstentions 281,327 30.30 –2.96
Registered voters 928,584
Sources[5][6][7]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PSOE
35.68%
PAR
28.14%
AP
15.49%
CDS
10.23%
CAA–IU
4.90%
PTE–UC
1.32%
PDP
1.23%
Others
1.57%
Blank ballots
1.44%
Seats
PSOE
40.30%
PAR
28.36%
AP
19.40%
CDS
8.96%
CAA–IU
2.99%

Distribution by constituency

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Constituency PSOE PAR AP CDS CAA–IU
% S % S % S % S % S
Huesca 36.1 7 25.2 5 15.2 3 11.9 2 5.2 1
Teruel 35.8 7 17.7 3 27.3 5 10.2 1 2.9
Zaragoza 35.5 13 30.9 11 13.3 5 9.8 3 5.2 1
Total 35.7 27 28.1 19 15.5 13 10.2 6 4.9 2
Sources[5][6][7]

Aftermath

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Investiture
Hipólito Gómez de las Roces (PAR)
Ballot → 21 July 1987 23 July 1987
Required majority → 34 out of 67  N Simple  Y
Yes
  • PAR (19)
  • AP (13)
32 / 67
32 / 67
No
29 / 67
29 / 67
Abstentions
6 / 67
6 / 67
Absentees
0 / 67
0 / 67
Sources[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Results for AP–PDP–UL in the 1983 election.
  2. ^ a b Results for PCE in the 1983 election.
  3. ^ a b c d Within AP–PDP–UL.

References

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Opinion poll sources
  1. ^ "Las disputas socialistas pueden cambiar el panorama regional y municipal" (PDF). El País (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
Other
  1. ^ a b c d Ley Orgánica 8/1982, de 10 de agosto, de Estatuto de Autonomía de Aragón. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Organic Law 8) (in Spanish). 10 August 1982. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Ley 2/1987, de 16 de febrero, Electoral de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Law 2) (in Spanish). 12 February 1987. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  3. ^ Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Organic Law 5) (in Spanish). 19 June 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Cortes of Aragon election results, 10 June 1987" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Aragon. 5 August 1987. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Number 75. Audit report on the regularity of electoral accounting derived from the elections held on June 10, 1987" (PDF). tcu.es (in Spanish). Court of Auditors. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "Elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2017.