1995 Aragonese regional election

The 1995 Aragonese regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th 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.

1995 Aragonese regional election
28 May 1995
All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon
34 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered993,975 3.6%
Turnout706,954 (71.1%)
6.7 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Santiago Lanzuela Marcelino Iglesias Emilio Eiroa
Party PP PSOE PAR
Leader since 24 September 1993 15 February 1995 12 July 1991
Leader's seat Zaragoza Huesca Zaragoza
Last election 17 seats, 20.7% 30 seats, 40.3% 17 seats, 24.7%
Seats won 27 19 14
Seat change 10 11 3
Popular vote 263,524 180,728 143,573
Percentage 37.5% 25.7% 20.4%
Swing 16.8 pp 14.6 pp 4.3 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Miguel Ángel Fustero Chesús Bernal
Party IU CHA
Leader since 1994 29 June 1986
Leader's seat Zaragoza Zaragoza
Last election 3 seats, 6.7% 0 seats, 2.3%
Seats won 5 2
Seat change 2 2
Popular vote 64,685 34,077
Percentage 9.2% 4.8%
Swing 2.5 pp 2.5 pp
Constituency results map for the Cortes of Aragon
President before election

Ramón Tejedor (acting)
PSOE

 Elected President

Santiago Lanzuela
PP

The election saw a marked increase for the People's Party (PP), which went on to win the election doubling its 1991 vote and gaining ten seats. Much of the increase came at the expense of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), at the moment beset by corruption scandals. The Aragonese Party (PAR) lost ground for the second consecutive election and was displaced to 3rd place. United Left (IU) improved its position while the left-wing regionalist Aragonese Union (CHA) won seats in the Cortes for the first time.

The new legislature elected Santiago Lanzuela as the first PP President of Aragon by 41 votes to 26. The PP and PAR deputies backed Lanzuela while PSOE, CHA and IU voted against. Lanzuela headed a PP administration with the initial support of the PAR.

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.[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]

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[3]

Election date

The term of the Cortes of Aragon expired four years after the date of their previous election. Elections to the Cortes were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 26 May 1991, setting the election date for the Cortes on Sunday, 28 May 1995.[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]

Background

The previous legislature had been tightly divided between the left and right blocs, with an independent, former PP deputy holding the balance of power. This had resulted in a coalition between the PP and PAR being replaced by a PSOE administration in 1993. However, legal difficulties had forced the resignation of the PSOE Aragonese president José Marco in January 1995, being replaced by party colleague Ramón Tejedor. The PSOE Federal Executive designated Marcelino Iglesias as candidate for president in the 1995 election, marginalizing Marco from the election of the regional candidate.[5]

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.[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
List
 Marcelino Iglesias Social democracy 40.34% 30 checkY
PAR
List
 Emilio Eiroa Regionalism
Centrism		 24.68% 17 ☒N
PP
List
 Santiago Lanzuela Conservatism
Christian democracy		 20.68% 17 ☒N
IU
List
 Miguel Ángel Fustero Socialism
Communism		 6.74% 3 ☒N
CHA
List
 Chesús Bernal Aragonese nationalism
Eco-socialism		 2.30% 0 ☒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.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Results

Overall
← Summary of the 28 May 1995 Cortes of Aragon election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes  % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP) 263,52437.50+16.82 27+10
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 180,72825.72–14.62 19–11
Aragonese Party (PAR) 143,57320.43–4.25 14–3
United Left of Aragon (IU) 64,6859.20+2.46 5+2
Aragonese Union (CHA) 34,0774.85+2.55 2+2
Platform of Independents of Spain (PIE) 2,3490.33New 0±0
Aragonese Unity (UA) 1,3420.19New 0±0
SOS Nature (SOS) 9230.13New 0±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) 4450.06New 0±0
Blank ballots 11,0981.58+0.28
Total 702,744 67±0
Valid votes 702,74499.40+0.10
Invalid votes 4,2100.60–0.10
Votes cast / turnout 706,95471.12+6.73
Abstentions 287,02128.88–6.73
Registered voters 993,975
Sources[6][7]
Popular vote
PP
 
 37.50%
PSOE
 
 25.72%
PAR
 
 20.43%
IU
 
 9.20%
CHA
 
 4.85%
Others
 
 0.72%
Blank ballots
 
 1.58%
Seats
PP
 
 40.30%
PSOE
 
 28.36%
PAR
 
 20.90%
IU
 
 7.46%
CHA
 
 2.99%

Distribution by constituency
Constituency PP PSOE PAR IU CHA
 % S  % S  % S  % S  % S
Huesca 33.2 7 31.7 6 21.4 4 6.8 1 4.1 −
Teruel 40.8 7 31.6 5 18.3 3 5.6 1 2.1 −
Zaragoza 38.0 13 23.1 8 20.6 7 10.5 3 5.5 2
Total 37.5 27 25.7 19 20.4 14 9.2 5 4.8 2
Sources[6][7]

Aftermath
Investiture
Santiago Lanzuela (PP)
Ballot → 7 July 1995
Required majority → 34 out of 67 checkY
Yes
  • • PP (27)
  • • PAR (13)
40 / 67
No
25 / 67
Abstentions
0 / 67
Absentees
2 / 67
Sources[7]

References
Opinion poll sources
  1. "El PP se impuso en diez comunidades". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 29 May 1995.
  2. "Los sondeos predicen una amplia victoria del PP en las autonómicas". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 22 May 1995.
  3. "El PP será la fuerza más votada en 12 comunidades". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
  4. "Descenso espectacular del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
  5. "Mañana, previsiones para las municipales". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
  6. "El PP gana en doce autonomías y el PSOE sólo en Extremadura, según un sondeo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 May 1995.
  7. "Preelectoral Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón (Estudio nº 2160. Abril-Mayo 1995)". CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
  8. "Estudio CIS nº 2160. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
Other
  1. "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)
  2. "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)
  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. "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)
  5. Torrontegui, Javier (16 February 1995). "El PSOE margina a Marco de la designación de los candidatos aragoneses". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. "Cortes of Aragon election results, 28 May 1995" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Aragon. 21 June 1995. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. "Elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2017.
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