1991 Aragonese regional election

The 1991 Aragonese regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd 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.

1991 Aragonese regional election
26 May 1991
All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon
34 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered959,596 3.3%
Turnout617,848 (64.4%)
5.3 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader José Marco Hipólito Gómez de las Roces José Ignacio Senao
Party PSOE PAR PP
Leader since 1991 December 1977 1990
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza Zaragoza
Last election 27 seats, 35.7% 19 seats, 28.1% 13 seats, 16.7%[lower-alpha 1]
Seats won 30 17 17
Seat change 3 2 4
Popular vote 247,485 151,420 126,892
Percentage 40.3% 24.7% 20.7%
Swing 4.6 pp 3.4 pp 4.0 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Adolfo Burriel José Luis Merino
Party CAA–IU CDS
Leader since 1989 1983
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza (lost)
Last election 2 seats, 4.9% 6 seats, 10.2%
Seats won 3 0
Seat change 1 6
Popular vote 41,367 18,929
Percentage 6.7% 3.1%
Swing 1.8 pp 7.1 pp
Constituency results map for the Cortes of Aragon
President before election

Hipólito Gómez de las Roces
PAR

 Elected President

Emilio Eiroa
PAR

The main loser in the election was the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which lost all of its 6 seats. The Aragonese Party (PAR) also lost two seats. The main gainers were the main two national parties, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and the newly created People's Party (PP). United Left also gained 1 seat.

The new legislature elected Emilio Eiroa of the PAR as the new President of Aragon by 34 votes to 33, after Hipólito Gómez de las Roces' refusal to reach a new agreement with the PP.[1] All PAR and PP deputies supported Eiroa's election while the PSOE and IU deputies voted against. The tight arithmetic in the new legislature was further complicated in November 1992 when a PP deputy, Emilio Gomáriz, resigned from the PP, leaving him holding the balance of power between the PP-PAR bloc and the PSOE-IU bloc. In September 1993 the PSOE introduced a no-confidence motion against President Eiroa. In the subsequent vote Gomáriz appeared visibly nervous and claimed that he had received death threats against his children. He voted with the PSOE and IU deputies for Socialist José Marco as new President.[2]

Overview

Electoral system

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.[3]

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).[3][4]

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[5]

Election date

The term of the Cortes of Aragon expired four years after the date of their previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the Cortes 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 Cortes on Sunday, 26 May 1991.[3][4][6]

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.[3]

Parties and candidates

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.[4][6]

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
List
 José Marco Social democracy 35.68% 27 ☒N
PAR
List
 Hipólito Gómez de las Roces Regionalism
Centrism		 28.14% 19 checkY
PP
List
 José Ignacio Senao Conservatism
Christian democracy		 16.72%[lower-alpha 1] 13 checkY
CDS
List
 José Luis Merino Centrism
Liberalism		 10.23% 6 ☒N
CAA–IU
List
 Adolfo Burriel Socialism
Communism		 4.90% 2 ☒N

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

Results

Overall
← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Cortes of Aragon election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes  % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 247,48540.34+4.66 30+3
Aragonese Party (PAR) 151,42024.68–3.46 17–2
People's Party (PP)1 126,89220.68+3.96 17+4
Aragon Alternative Convergence–United Left (CAA–IU) 41,3676.74+1.84 3+1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 18,9293.09–7.14 0–6
Aragonese Union (CHA) 14,1162.30+1.34 0±0
Workers' Socialist Party (PST) 2,4410.40New 0±0
Independent Aragonese Party (PAI) 1,8820.31New 0±0
Social Aragonese Movement (MAS) 1,0320.17New 0±0
Blank ballots 7,9811.30–0.14
Total 613,545 67±0
Valid votes 613,54599.30+0.50
Invalid votes 4,3030.70–0.50
Votes cast / turnout 617,84864.39–5.31
Abstentions 341,74835.61+5.31
Registered voters 959,596
Sources[7][8][9]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PSOE
 
 40.34%
PAR
 
 24.68%
PP
 
 20.68%
CAA–IU
 
 6.74%
CDS
 
 3.09%
CHA
 
 2.30%
Others
 
 0.87%
Blank ballots
 
 1.30%
Seats
PSOE
 
 44.78%
PAR
 
 25.37%
PP
 
 25.37%
CAA–IU
 
 4.48%

Distribution by constituency
Constituency PSOE PAR PP CAA–IU
 % S  % S  % S  % S
Huesca 39.4 8 25.3 5 20.3 4 6.6 1
Teruel 37.9 7 19.7 3 31.3 6 3.0 −
Zaragoza 41.1 15 25.5 9 18.7 7 7.5 2
Total 40.3 30 24.7 17 20.7 17 6.7 3
Sources[7][8][9]

Aftermath

Government formation
Investiture
Emilio Eiroa (PAR)
Ballot → 10 July 1991
Required majority → 34 out of 67 checkY
Yes
  • • PAR (17)
  • • PP (17)
34 / 67
No
33 / 67
Abstentions
0 / 67
Absentees
0 / 67
Sources[9]

1993 motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
José Marco (PSOE)
Ballot → 15 September 1993
Required majority → 34 out of 67 checkY
Yes
34 / 67
No
  • • PAR (17)
  • • PP (16)
33 / 67
Abstentions
0 / 67
Absentees
0 / 67
Sources[9]

1994 motion of no confidence
Motion of no confidence
Emilio Eiroa (PAR)
Ballot → 21 December 1994
Required majority → 34 out of 67 ☒N
Yes
  • • PAR (16)
  • • PP (16)
32 / 67
No
30 / 67
Abstentions
4 / 67
Absentees
1 / 67
Sources[9]

1995 failed investiture attempt
Investiture
Ángela Abós (PSOE)
Ballot → 30 January 1995 31 January 1995
Required majority → 34 out of 67 ☒N Simple ☒N
Yes
31 / 67
31 / 67
No
  • • PAR (17)
  • • PP (16)
33 / 67
33 / 67
Abstentions
3 / 67
3 / 67
Absentees
0 / 67
0 / 67
Sources[9]

Notes
  1. Results for AP (15.49%, 13 seats) and PDP (1.23%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
  2. Within PP.

References
Opinion poll sources
  1. "PAR y PP están al borde de la mayoría absoluta en Zaragoza, Huesca y Teruel". ABC (in Spanish). 21 May 1991.
  2. "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
  3. "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
  4. "La subida del Par llega a Zaragoza". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
  5. "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
Other
  1. "Hipólito Gómez de las Roces renounces re-election as President of Aragon" (in Spanish). El País. 1991-06-26.
  2. "A PP defector's vote gives the government of Aragon to the PSOE" (in Spanish). El País. 1993-09-16.
  3. "Ley Orgánica 8/1982, de 10 de agosto, de Estatuto de Autonomía de Aragón". Organic Law No. 8 of 10 August 1982. Retrieved 17 September 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. "Ley 2/1987, de 16 de febrero, Electoral de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón". Law No. 2 of 12 February 1987. Retrieved 17 September 2017. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. 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.
  6. "Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  7. "Cortes of Aragon election results, 26 May 1991" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Aragon. 1 July 1991. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  8. "Number 156. Report-declaration of the Cortes of Aragon election of 26 May 1991" (PDF). tcu.es (in Spanish). Court of Auditors. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  9. "Elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2017.
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