Murcia (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Encyclopedia
Murcia is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...

 - the lower chamber of the Spanish
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...

 Parliament, the Cortes Generales
Cortes Generales
The Cortes Generales is the legislature of Spain. It is a bicameral parliament, composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate . The Cortes has power to enact any law and to amend the constitution...

. It was first contested in modern times in the 1977 General Election
Spanish general election, 1977
The Spanish general election of 1977 took place on 15 June 1977. It was the first election since the death of Francisco Franco.Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The elections were held using closed list proportional representation in 52 electoral districts...

. Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

 and Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...

 are the largest towns and together account for almost half of the electorate. Lorca
Lorca
Lorca is a municipality and town in the autonomous community of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 36 miles southwest of the city of Murcia. It had a population of 92,694 in 2010, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second-largest surface area in Spain with...

 is the only other municipality with more than 50,000 voters. The district has produced some of the strongest performances for 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...

 in recent years and in the 2008 election it produced their highest vote share of all 52 districts.

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution
the boundaries must be the same as the autonomous community of Murcia
Region of Murcia
The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeast of the country, between Andalusia and Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast....

 and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is 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 is 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 poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

At the time of the 2008 election, Murcia was the largest municipality with 296,000 voters out of the district's total electorate of 950,000. This was followed by Cartagena with 146,000, Lorca (57,000), Alacantarilla (28,000), Yecla
Yecla
Yecla is a town and municipality in eastern Spain, in the extreme north of the autonomous community of Murcia, located 96 km from the capital of the region, Murcia....

 (23,000) and Águilas
Águilas
Águilas is a municipality and seaport of southeastern Spain, in the province of Murcia. It is situated at the southern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastline, otherwise known as the Costa Cálida, near the border with the Province of Almería....

 (22,000.)

Electoral procedures

The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.) Under this law, the elections in Murcia, as in other districts, are supervised by the Electoral Commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...

s are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.

The format of the ballot paper is designed by the Spanish state, however, the law allows political parties to produce and distribute their own ballot papers, either by mailing them to voters or by other means such as street distribution, provided that they comply with the official model. The government then covers the cost of all printed ballot papers. These must then be marked by voters, either in the polling station or outside the polling station and placed inside sealed envelopes which are then placed inside ballot box
Ballot box
A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a ballot paper in an election but which prevents anyone from accessing the votes cast until the close of the voting period...

es in the polling station. Following the close of polls, the ballots are then counted in each individual polling station in the presence of representatives of the political parties and candidates. The ballots are then immediately destroyed, with the exception of those considered invalid or challenged by the candidates' representatives, which are retained for further scrutiny. The result is that full recounts are impossible.

Eligibility

Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from Regional Assemblies if elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible.

Number of members

From the 1977 General Election
Spanish general election, 1977
The Spanish general election of 1977 took place on 15 June 1977. It was the first election since the death of Francisco Franco.Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The elections were held using closed list proportional representation in 52 electoral districts...

 onwards Murcia returned eight members. It gained a ninth seat for the 1989 General Election
Spanish general election, 1989
-Results:-External links:**...

 and has elected ten members since the 2008 election.

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population. These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this law has been to overrepresent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces.

In 2004 Spain had 34,571,831 voters giving an average of 98,777 voters per deputy 2004 Spanish election. In Murcia the ratio was 104,572.

Summary of seats won 1977-2008

1977 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1996 2000 2004 2008
Democratic Centre Union (UCD) 4 4
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)
4 4 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3
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...

 (PP)
3 3 3 4 5 6 6 7
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)
1 1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 1
Seats 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 10


Seats shown for the People's Party include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance and the Popular Coalition before 1989.

Vote share summary 1977-2008

1977 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1996 2000 2004 2008
Democratic Centre Union (UCD) 40.7 39.1 6.5
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)
34.9 39.2 50.8 48.9 46.1 38.6 38.0 32.4 35.0 32.9
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...

 (PP)
6.8 5.7 35.6 34.3 30.0 47.3 49.9 58.1 57.4 61.2
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)
6.7 7.9 3.8 4.5 9.2 9.7 10.5 6.2 4.3 2.9
Popular Socialist Party
Popular Socialist Party (Spain)
The People's Socialist Party was a Spanish political party.The origins of the party dated back to 1954 when the University professor, Enrique Tierno Galván published various academic studies of a Marxist character. In 1965, working together with Raúl Morodo, he formed the Castillian Socialist...

 (PSP)
5.1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 1.9 8.3 10.4 2.2 0.3 0.1 0.2

Results

Murcia has been one of the best districts for the PP in recent years. In the 2004 election it produced their third best result in percentage terms after Ávila
Ávila (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Ávila is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is one of the nine electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Castile and León. Ávila is the largest town with only 43,000...

 and Ceuta
Ceuta (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
Ceuta is one of the 52 electoral districts used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales...

. Overall, in the 2004 election, the PP vote dropped by 7.8% and the PSOE vote increased by 8.4% , in Murcia the PP vote dropped by only 0.7% and the PSOE vote grew by just 2.6% .

In 2004 in the largest municipalities, Cartagena produced a result close to the average. PP did better in Murcia municipality where they led PSOE by 30%. Lorca produced a better result for PSOE as they were only 7% behind the PP.

Prior to the 2008 election, opinion polls had pointed to the prospect of the PSOE gaining the tenth, additional seat which had been granted to the district. However in the actual election, Murcia produced the PP's highest vote share of all districts allowing them to gain the tenth seat. In the wake of the 2008 election result, the Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...

, highlighted Murcia as one of five areas where the PSOE needed to improve its results.

2008 General Election
Spanish general election, 2008
Legislative elections for the Spanish Cortes Generales were held on March 9, 2008. The elections were for 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies, and the 208 directly elected seats in the upper house, the Senate, determining the Prime Minister of Spain...

Summary of the 11 March 2008 Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...

 election results in Murcia.
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Parties and alliances
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Members elected
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Popular)
|align="right" |469,380
|align="right" |61.24
|align="right" |7
|align="left" | María Barreiro Álvarez, Vicente Martínez-Pujalte
Vicente Martínez-Pujalte
Vicente Martínez-Pujalte López is a Spanish politician who is currently a People's Party deputy for Murcia region. A former University Professor of economic sciences at the University of Valencia he is also a technical officer in the Official Chamber of Commerce for the Valencia region...

, Andrés Ayala Sánchez, Jaime García-Legaz Ponce, Lourdes Méndez Monasterio, Alberto Garre López, Arsenio Pacheco Atienza
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Socialista Obrero Español)
|align="right" |251,822
|align="right" |32.85
|align="right" |3
|align="left" | Mariano Fernández Bermejo, José Marmol Peñalver, Sara García Ruiz
|-
|align=left| 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...

 (Izquierda Unida)
|align="right" |22,512
|align="right" |2.94
|align="right" |0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Union, Progress and Democracy
Union, Progress and Democracy
Union, Progress and Democracy is a Spanish political party founded in September 2007.It is a progressivist party, between social democracy and social liberalism. One of its goals is to build a federal system for Spain and European Union, with clear responsibilities distributed among local...


|align="right" valign=top|7,172
|align="right" valign=top|0.94
|align="right" valign=top|0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Los Verdes
Confederation of The Greens
The Confederation of the Greens is a green political party in Spain....


|align="right" valign=top|3,496
|align="right" valign=top|0.46
|align="right" valign=top|0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Others
|align="right" |7,393
|align="right" |0.90
|align="right" |0
|align="right" |
|-
|}

2004 General Election

Summary of the 14 March 2004 Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...

 election results
Spanish legislative election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in Spain on 14 March 2004. At stake were all 350 seats in the lower house of the Cortes Generales, the Congress of Deputies, and 208 seats in upper house, the Senate. The governing People's Party was led into the campaign by Mariano Rajoy, successor to outgoing...

 in Murcia.
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Parties and alliances
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Members elected
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Popular)
|align="right" |413,902
|align="right" |57.42
|align="right" |6
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Socialista Obrero Español)
|align="right" |252,246
|align="right" |35.00
|align="right" |3
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left| 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...

 (Izquierda Unida)
|align="right" |30,787
|align="right" |4.27
|align="right" |0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Los Verdes
Confederation of The Greens
The Confederation of the Greens is a green political party in Spain....


|align="right" valign=top|7,074
|align="right" valign=top|0.98
|align="right" valign=top|0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Others
|align="right" |6,435
|align="right" |0.90
|align="right" |0
|align="right" |
|-
|}

2000 General Election
Spanish general election, 2000
Legislative elections were held in Spain on 12 March 2000. The incumbent People's Party of Prime Minister José María Aznar was elected to a second term in office, converting its plurality of seats in the Congress of Deputies into a majority, and increasing its lead over the opposition Spanish...

Summary of the 12 March 2000 Congress of Deputies
Spanish Congress of Deputies
The Spanish Congress of Deputies is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. It has 350 members, elected by popular vote on block lists by proportional representation in constituencies matching the Spanish provinces using the D'Hondt method. Deputies serve four-year terms...

 election results in Murcia.
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Parties and alliances
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Members elected
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Popular)
|align="right" |389,564
|align="right" |58.08
|align="right" |6
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Socialista Obrero Español)
|align="right" |217,179
|align="right" |32.38
|align="right" |3
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left| 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...


|align="right" |41,842
|align="right" |6.24
|align="right" |0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Los Verdes
Confederation of The Greens
The Confederation of the Greens is a green political party in Spain....


|align="right" valign=top|6,555
|align="right" valign=top|0.98
|align="right" valign=top|0
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Others
|align="right" |8,359
|align="right" |1.20
|align="right" |0
|align="right" |
|-
|}

1996 General Election
Spanish general election, 1996
General elections were held in Spain on March 3, 1996. The Prime Minister Felipe González of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party lost the elections to Partido Popular and their leader José María Aznar....

Summary of the 3 March 1996 Congress of Deputies election results in Murcia.
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Parties and alliances
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|%
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Seats
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|Members elected
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Popular)
|align="right" |350,337
|align="right" |49.89
|align="right" |5
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|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...

 (Partido Socialista Obrero Español)
|align="right" |266,738
|align="right" |37.99
|align="right" |3
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|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...


|align="right" |73,961
|align="right" |10.53
|align="right" |1
|align="left" |
|-
|align=left|Others
|align="right" |5,640
|align="right" |0.80
|align="right" |0
|align="right" |
|-
|}

Source:

External links

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