Catalan constitutional referendum, 2006
Encyclopedia
A referendum on the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
was held in Catalonia
, Spain
, on June 18, 2006. The referendum was successful and the new statute came into effect on August 9, 2006.
From the total votes, 73.24% were in favour of the new Statute, while 20.57% were against.
Still, this referendum was noted for its unprecedently high abstention
, with a voter turnout
of 48.85%. The fact that, all in all, roughly 1/3 of the electorate voted for it —the rest either did not vote or voted against— is mentioned by its critics.
As for the politic analysis, neither supporters nor opponents came really satisfied out of this referendum: opponents saw the new Statute passed while those supportive were disappointed by the widespread indifference towards this voting.
Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia
The Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia provides Catalonia's basic institutional regulations. It defines the rights and obligations of the citizens of Catalonia , the political institutions of the Catalan nationality, their competences and relations with the rest of Spain, and the financing of the...
was held in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, on June 18, 2006. The referendum was successful and the new statute came into effect on August 9, 2006.
From the total votes, 73.24% were in favour of the new Statute, while 20.57% were against.
Still, this referendum was noted for its unprecedently high abstention
Abstention
Abstention is a term in election procedure for when a participant in a vote either does not go to vote or, in parliamentary procedure, is present during the vote, but does not cast a ballot. Abstention must be contrasted with "blank vote", in which a voter casts a ballot willfully made invalid by...
, with a voter turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
of 48.85%. The fact that, all in all, roughly 1/3 of the electorate voted for it —the rest either did not vote or voted against— is mentioned by its critics.
As for the politic analysis, neither supporters nor opponents came really satisfied out of this referendum: opponents saw the new Statute passed while those supportive were disappointed by the widespread indifference towards this voting.
Results
| Answer | Number of votes | % of votes |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 1,882,650 | 73.90% |
| No | 528,721 | 20.76% |
| Blank ballots | 136,061 | 5.34% |
| Void ballots | 23,046 | 0.90% |
| Turnout | 2,570,478 | (49.41%) |
External links
- Catalonia endorses autonomy plan BBC News. 19 June 2006.