1999 Navarrese regional election

Navarrese regional election, 1999

13 June 1999
All 50 seats in the Parliament of Navarre 26 seats needed for a majority
Registered	461,729 5.5%
Turnout	305,880 (66.2%) 2.2 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Miguel Sanz Juan José Lizarbe Pernando Barrena Party UPN PSOE EH Leader since 17 January 1995 18 December 1997 1998 Last election 17 seats, 31.3% 11 seats, 20.9% 5 seats, 11.4% Seats won 22 11 8 Seat change 5 0 3 Popular vote 125,497 61,531 47,271 Percentage 41.4% 20.3% 15.6% Swing 10.1 pp 0.6 pp 4.2 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Félix Taberna Juan Cruz Alli Begoña Errazti Party IU CDN EA Leader since 1991 10 April 1995 1995 Last election 5 seats, 9.3% 10 seats, 18.6% 2 seats, 5.6% Seats won 3 3 3 Seat change 2 7 1 Popular vote 20,879 20,821 16,512 Percentage 6.9% 6.9% 5.4% Swing 2.4 pp 11.7 pp 0.2 pp
President before election Miguel Sanz UPN Elected President Miguel Sanz UPN

The 1999 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Parliament of the Foral Community of Navarre. All 50 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Navarre was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Foral Community of Navarre, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Reintegration and Enhancement of the Foral Regime of Navarre Law, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Foral Deputation. Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Navarre and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 50 members of the Parliament of Navarre were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 3 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution.

The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in Navarre. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Navarre expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Parliament were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. Legal amendments introduced in 1998 allowed for these to be held together with European Parliament elections, provided that they were scheduled for within a four month-timespan. The previous election was held on 28 May 1995, setting the election date for the Parliament concurrently with a European Parliament election on Sunday, 13 June 1999.

The Parliament of Navarre could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the candidate from the party with the highest number of seats was to be deemed automatically elected.

Results

← Summary of the 13 June 1999 Parliament of Navarre election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
width="1" bgcolor="Template:Navarrese People's Union/meta/color"|	Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	125,497	41.37	+10.02	22	+5
bgcolor="Template:Socialist Party of Navarre/meta/color"|	Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)	61,531	20.28	–0.59	11	±0
bgcolor="Template:Euskal Herritarrok/meta/color"|	Basque Citizens (EH)1	47,271	15.58	+4.17	8	+3
bgcolor="Template:United Left of Navarre/meta/color"|	United Left (IU/EB)	20,879	6.88	–2.47	3	–2
bgcolor="Template:Convergence of Democrats of Navarre/meta/color"|	Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN)	20,821	6.86	–8.70	3	–7
bgcolor="Template:EA–PNV/meta/color"|	Basque Solidarity–Basque Nationalist Party (EA–PNV)2	16,512	5.44	–0.12	3	+1
	Independents of Navarre (IN)	2,835	0.93	New	0	±0
bgcolor="Template:Carlist Party (1970)/meta/color"|	Carlist Party (PC)	869	0.29	+0.01	0	±0
Blank ballots		7,126	2.35	+0.44
Total		303,341			50	±0
Valid votes		303,341	99.17	–0.04
Invalid votes		2,539	0.83	+0.04
Votes cast / turnout		305,880	66.25	–2.15
Abstentions		155,849	33.75	+2.15
Registered voters		461,729
Sources

Popular vote UPN   41.37% PSN–PSOE   20.28% EH   15.58% IU/EB   6.88% CDN   6.86% EA–PNV   5.44% Others   1.22% Blank ballots   2.35%

Seats UPN   44.00% PSN–PSOE   22.00% EH   16.00% IU/EB   6.00% CDN   6.00% EA–PNV   6.00%

Aftermath

Investiture processes to elect the President of Navarre required for an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 48 hours later under the same majority requirement, with successive votes requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If such majorities were not achieved, successive candidate proposals would be processed under the same procedure. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the candidate from the party with the highest number of seats was deemed to be automatically elected.

Investiture Miguel Sanz (UPN)
Ballot →		21 July 1999	23 July 1999	26 July 1999
Required majority →		26 out of 50 N	26 out of 50 N	Simple Y
	Yes • UPN (22)	22 / 50	22 / 50	22 / 50
	No • EH (7) • IU (3) • CDN (3) • EA–PNV (3)	16 / 50	16 / 50	16 / 50
	Abstentions • PSN (11) (10 on 21 Jul)	10 / 50	11 / 50	11 / 50
	Absentees • PSN (1) (on 21 Jul) • EH (1)	2 / 50	1 / 50	1 / 50
Sources