Elections to the Corts Valencianes, 1995
Encyclopedia
The Elections to the Corts Valencianes, 1995 were the fourth democratic elections to the Corts Valencianes
, the Valencian regional parliament, since the Spanish transition to democracy
and were held on 28 May of that year. For the first time, the elections were won by the People's Party
, bringing to an end 12 years of socialist rule by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSPV-PSOE).
proportional representation
in three electoral districts corresponding to each of the three Provinces of the Valencian Community. With a total number of 89 seats, Valencia elected 37 members, Alicante 30 and Castellon 22. Only lists which polled 5% or more in the entire Valencian Community were eligible for seats. Seats were then allocated on a Provincial basis using the D'Hondt method
of allocation.
, PP had increased their vote share from 23% in 1989 to 40.7% and had overtaken the PSOE for the first time. The PP vote had seen a similar 17% rise in the 1994 Euro election
. United Left
(IU) had gained ground on the PSOE and in both the 1993 General Election and 1994 Euro election had polled more than 10% for the first time since the 1970s. After peaking in the 1991 Corts and local elections, the right wing regional party Unió Valenciana
(UV) had lost ground in the 1993 and 1994 elections.
The regional leader of each party was the candidate for President. These were:-
The PP candidate Zaplana received the backing of UV members and was elected Valencian President. PP and UV formed a coalition for the next four years.
Additionally 24,864 votes (1.1%) were cast "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above."
Corts Valencianes
The Corts Valencianes are the main legislative body of the Generalitat Valenciana and therefore of the Valencian Community. The main location of the Corts is in the Palace of Benicarló in Valencia; however it can meet at any location in Valencian territory. The Corts has its origins in bodies...
, the Valencian regional parliament, since the Spanish transition to democracy
Spanish transition to democracy
The Spanish transition to democracy was the era when Spain moved from the dictatorship of Francisco Franco to a liberal democratic state. The transition is usually said to have begun with Franco’s death on 20 November 1975, while its completion has been variously said to be marked by the Spanish...
and were held on 28 May of that year. For the first time, the elections were won by the People's Party
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
, bringing to an end 12 years of socialist rule by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSPV-PSOE).
Electoral system
The elections were held using closed listClosed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected...
proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
in three electoral districts corresponding to each of the three Provinces of the Valencian Community. With a total number of 89 seats, Valencia elected 37 members, Alicante 30 and Castellon 22. Only lists which polled 5% or more in the entire Valencian Community were eligible for seats. Seats were then allocated on a Provincial basis using the D'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
of allocation.
Background
The results would continue the trends which had been seen in the early 1990s in the Valencian Community. PP had greatly increased their support in this period. In the Spanish general election, 1993Spanish general election, 1993
-Results:-External links:*...
, PP had increased their vote share from 23% in 1989 to 40.7% and had overtaken the PSOE for the first time. The PP vote had seen a similar 17% rise in the 1994 Euro election
European Parliament election, 1994 (Spain)
The European Parliament election of 1994 in Spain was the election of the delegation from Spain to the European Parliament in 1994.-References:...
. United Left
United Left (Spain)
The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain...
(IU) had gained ground on the PSOE and in both the 1993 General Election and 1994 Euro election had polled more than 10% for the first time since the 1970s. After peaking in the 1991 Corts and local elections, the right wing regional party Unió Valenciana
Unió Valenciana
Valencian Union was a nationalist political party in the Valencian Community, Spain....
(UV) had lost ground in the 1993 and 1994 elections.
Results
Out of a total of 3,131,187 voters, the turnout was 2,380,610 (76.0%). The PP increased their vote share by 15% relative to the 1991 Corts elections, became the first party to poll more than one million votes and gained eleven seats, three short of an absolute majority. Most of the gains came from PSOE, who lost thirteen seats in the elections. UV also lost a seat, while IU gained four seats to overtake UV as the third largest party.Election of President of the Valencian Community
One of the first tasks of the newly elected deputies was to elect the President of the Valencian Community.The regional leader of each party was the candidate for President. These were:-
- for PP, Eduardo ZaplanaEduardo ZaplanaEduardo Andrés Julio Zaplana Hernández-Soro is a Spanish politician who served as the Partido Popular spokesman in the Spanish Congress of Deputies from 2004 to 2008.-Biography:...
. - for PSOE-PSPV, Joan LermaJoan LermaJoan Lerma i Blasco is a Spanish politician for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party , who served as the first democratically elected President of the Valencian Community since the restoration of democracy in the 1970s....
. - for IU, Albert Taberner.
- for UV, Vicente González LizondoVicente González LizondoVicente González Lizondo was a Spanish politician and co-founder of the regional party Valencian Union -Early life:...
.
The PP candidate Zaplana received the backing of UV members and was elected Valencian President. PP and UV formed a coalition for the next four years.
Results
| ← |
|||
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
| People's Party (Spain) People's Party (Spain) The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship... |
1,013,859 | 43.3 | 42 |
| PSPV-PSOE | 804,463 | 34.3 | 32 |
| United Left United Left (Spain) The United Left is a political coalition that was organized in 1986 bringing together several political organisations opposed to Spain joining NATO. It was formed by a number of groups of leftists, greens, left-wing socialists and republicans, but was dominated by the Communist Party of Spain... |
273,030 | 11.7 | 10 |
| Unió Valenciana Unió Valenciana Valencian Union was a nationalist political party in the Valencian Community, Spain.... |
165,956 | 7.1 | 5 |
| Unitat del Poble Valencià | 64,257 | 2.7 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre | 5,411 | 0.2 | |
| Others | 15,085 | 0.7 | |
Additionally 24,864 votes (1.1%) were cast "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above."