Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1983
Encyclopedia
The 1983 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the first elections to the Madrid Assembly
, the unicameral
regional legislature of the Spanish autonomous community
of Madrid. The elections were held on 8 May 1983 to elect the 94 members of the Assembly.
Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage
in a secret ballot
. The electoral system used was closed list
proportional representation
with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method
. Only lists which polled at least 5% of the total votes (including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above") were eligible for seats.
The elections were won by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE), who won an absolute majority of seats and votes, the only occasion on which the party has achieved this in a Madrid Assembly election. In total the PSOE won 51 seats.
The Popular Coalition, an electoral alliance led by the Popular Alliance
(AP), which also included the Democratic Popular Party
(PDP) and Liberal Party, emerged as the second largest grouping in the Assembly. However the coalition broke up in 1986 and the AP and PDP fought the 1987 elections
separately.
The Communist Party of Spain
was the only other party to win seats in the Assembly. In 1986, the party joined with other left wing movements to form the current United Left
.
One of the first tasks of the Assembly was to elect the President of Madrid from among their number. With the PSOE having a majority of seats, Joaquín Leguina, their lead candidate, became President.
Madrid Assembly
The Madrid Assembly is the unicameral regional legislature of the Autonomous Community of Madrid since the approval of the Madrid Charter of Autonomy in 1983....
, the unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
regional legislature of the Spanish autonomous community
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
of Madrid. The elections were held on 8 May 1983 to elect the 94 members of the Assembly.
Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
in a secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. The electoral system used was closed list
Closed 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...
with seats allocated 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...
. Only lists which polled at least 5% of the total votes (including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above") were eligible for seats.
The elections were won 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...
(PSOE), who won an absolute majority of seats and votes, the only occasion on which the party has achieved this in a Madrid Assembly election. In total the PSOE won 51 seats.
The Popular Coalition, an electoral alliance led by the Popular Alliance
Popular Alliance (Spain)
The People's Alliance was a electoral coalition, and later a political party, founded in 1976 by Manuel Fraga along with six other former Francoist ministers.- History :...
(AP), which also included the Democratic Popular Party
Democratic Popular Party (Spain)
The People's Democratic Party was a christian-democratic Spanish political party.It was part of the Democratic Centre Union until 1982, when it entered into alliance with the Popular Alliance , which received the second largest number of votes in 1982 and 1986 elections.In 1989 the party, along...
(PDP) and Liberal Party, emerged as the second largest grouping in the Assembly. However the coalition broke up in 1986 and the AP and PDP fought the 1987 elections
Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1987
The 1987 elections to the Madrid Assembly were the second elections to the Madrid Assembly, the unicameral regional legislature of the autonomous community of Madrid, since the Spanish transition to democracy...
separately.
The Communist Party of Spain
Communist Party of Spain
The Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party in Spain. It is the largest member organization of the United Left electoral coalition and has influence in the largest trade union in Spain, Workers' Commissions ....
was the only other party to win seats in the Assembly. In 1986, the party joined with other left wing movements to form the current 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...
.
One of the first tasks of the Assembly was to elect the President of Madrid from among their number. With the PSOE having a majority of seats, Joaquín Leguina, their lead candidate, became President.
Results
| Elections to the Madrid Assembly, 1983 → |
||||||
| President and government | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Spanish Socialist Party of Madrid 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... (PSOE) |
Joaquín Leguina | 1,181,277 | 50.77 | 51 | |
| Federation of parties AP Popular Alliance (Spain) The People's Alliance was a electoral coalition, and later a political party, founded in 1976 by Manuel Fraga along with six other former Francoist ministers.- History :... -PDP Democratic Popular Party (Spain) The People's Democratic Party was a christian-democratic Spanish political party.It was part of the Democratic Centre Union until 1982, when it entered into alliance with the Popular Alliance , which received the second largest number of votes in 1982 and 1986 elections.In 1989 the party, along... -UL |
Luis Guillermo Perinat | 798,853 | 34.33 | 34 | ||
| Communist Party of Spain Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party in Spain. It is the largest member organization of the United Left electoral coalition and has influence in the largest trade union in Spain, Workers' Commissions .... (PCE) |
Lorenzo Hernández | 207,058 | 8.90 | 9 | ||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | Carlos Revilla | 73,124 | 3.14 | 0 | ||
| Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) | 43,309 | 1.86 | 0 | |||
| Independent Electoral Grouping (ADEI) | 10,327 | 0.44 | 0 | |||
| Revolutionary Communist League (LC (AO)) | 6,301 | 0.27 | 0 | |||
| Spanish Communist Workers' Party Spanish Communist Workers' Party Partido Comunista Obrero Español is a minor communist political party in Spain. It was founded in 1973, when Enrique Líster revolted against the Eurocommunist line of Communist Party of Spain general secretary Santiago Carrillo... -United Communist Party |
4,473 | 0.19 | 0 | |||
| Popular Struggle Coalition (CLP) | 2,168 | 0.09 | 0 | |||
| None of the above | N/A | 13,735 | 0.5 | N/A | N/A | |
| Void | N/A | 16,800 | 0.7 | N/A | N/A |