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1979 Spanish general election

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Spanish general election, 1979
← 1977 1 March 1979 1982 →
All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 208 (of 218) seats in the Senate
176 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Registered26,836,490 Increase13.8%
Turnout18,259,192 (68.0%)
Decrease10.8 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Adolfo Suárez Felipe González Santiago Carrillo
Party UCD PSOE PCE
Leader since 3 May 1977 13 October 1974 3 July 1960
Leader's seat Madrid Madrid Madrid
Last election 165 seats, 34.4% 124 seats, 33.8%[a] 20 seats, 9.3%
Seats won 168 121 23
Seat change Increase3 Decrease3 Increase3
Popular vote 6,268,593 5,469,813 1,938,487
Percentage 34.8% 30.4% 10.8%
Swing Increase0.4 pp Decrease3.4 pp Increase1.5 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Manuel Fraga Jordi Pujol Blas Piñar
Party CD CiU UN
Leader since 9 October 1976 17 November 1974 1979
Leader's seat Madrid Barcelona Madrid
Last election 16 seats, 8.4%[b] 13 seats, 3.8%[c] 0 seats, 0.4%
Seats won 9 8 1
Seat change Decrease7 Decrease5 Increase1
Popular vote 1,094,438 483,353 378,964
Percentage 6.1% 2.7% 2.1%
Swing Decrease2.3 pp Decrease1.1 pp Increase1.7 pp
Most voted party by autonomous community and province.

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Prime Minister before election

Adolfo Suárez
UCD

Elected Prime Minister

Adolfo Suárez
UCD

The 1979 Spanish general election was held on Thursday, 1 March 1979, to elect the 1st Cortes Generales of the Kingdom of Spain. All 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 208 of 218 seats in the Senate.[1]

The Union of the Democratic Centre remained the largest party, winning 168 of the 350 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 119 of the 218 seats in the Senate, as such they continued in minority government.

Overview

Electoral system

Congress of Deputies

The 350 members of the Congress of Deputies were elected in 50 multi-member districts using the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation. Ceuta and Melilla elected 1 member each using plurality voting. Each district was entitled to an initial minimum of 2 seats, with the remaining 248 seats being allocated among the 50 provinces in proportion to their populations. Only lists polling above 3% of the total vote in each district (which includes blank ballots—for none of the above) were entitled to enter the seat distribution.

Senate

For the Senate, each of the 47 peninsular provinces was assigned 4 seats. For insular provinces, such as Baleares and Canaries, districts are the islands themselves, with the larger — Mallorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife — being assigned 3 seats each, and the smaller — Menorca, Ibiza-Formentera, Fuerteventura, Gomera, Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma — 1 each. Ceuta and Melilla were assigned 2 seats each, for a total of 208 directly elected seats. In districts electing 4 seats, electors could vote for up to 3 candidates; in those with 2 or 3 seats, for up to 2 candidates; and for 1 candidate in single member constituencies. Electors would vote for individual candidates: those attaining the largest number of votes in each district would be elected for a 4-year term of office.

In addition, the legislative assemblies of the autonomous communities are entitled to appoint at least 1 senator each, as well as 1 senator for every million inhabitants, adding up a variable number of appointed seats to the directly-elected 208 senators.[2] This appointment usually did not take place at the same time that the general election, but when the autonomous communities held their elections.

Eligibility

Dual membership of both chambers of the Cortes or of the Cortes and regional assemblies was prohibited. Active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals were also ineligible.[3][4]

Parties and coalitions of different parties which had registered with the Electoral Commission could present lists of candidates.[4]

Opinion polls

Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. The lead column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. When a specific poll does not show a data figure for a party, the party's cell corresponding to that poll is shown empty.

Polling firm/Link Last date
of polling 		UCD PSOE PCE CD CiU PNV UN Margin
of error 		Sample
size 		Lead
style="background:Template:Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain)/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Communist Party of Spain/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Democratic Coalition (Spain)/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Convergence and Union/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:Basque Nationalist Party/meta/color;"| style="background:Template:National Union (Spain)/meta/color;"|
General Election March 1, 1979 34.8 30.4 10.7 5.9 2.7 1.6 2.1 style="background:Template:Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain)/meta/color; color:white;"| 4.4
Sofemasa February 21, 1979 32.9 35.0 11.0 6.3 1.8 1.7 2.3 style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color; color:white;"| 2.1
RNC February 6, 1979 34 36 14 13 style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color; color:white;"| 2
Gallup February 6, 1979 30 46 10 13 style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color; color:white;"| 16
El Imparcial February 5, 1979 25.6 26.1 17.5 11.6 style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color; color:white;"| 0.5
Cambio 16 February 1, 1979 31.0 39.5 8.3 3.4 style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color; color:white;"| 8.5
Sofemasa January 31, 1979 32.2 35.4 9.9 3.9 style="background:Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color; color:white;"| 3.2
General Election June 15, 1977 34.4 29.3 9.3 8.2 2.8 1.6 0.4 style="background:Template:Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain)/meta/color; color:white;"| 5.1

Results

Congress of Deputies

Overall

← Summary of the 1 March 1979 Congress of Deputies election results →
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
width="1" bgcolor="Template:Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain)/meta/color"| Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 6,268,593 34.84 +0.40 168 +3
bgcolor="Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color"| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)[a] 5,469,813 30.40 –3.38 121 –3
bgcolor="Template:Communist Party of Spain/meta/color"| Communist Party of Spain (PCE) 1,938,487 10.77 +1.44 23 +3
width="1" bgcolor="Template:Convergence and Union/meta/color"| Convergence and Union (CiU)[c] 483,353 2.69 –1.06 8 –5
bgcolor="Template:National Union (Spain)/meta/color"| National Union (UN)[f] 378,964 2.11 +1.53 1 +1
bgcolor="Template:Andalusian Party/meta/color"| Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) 325,842 1.81 New 5 +5
bgcolor="Template:Basque Nationalist Party/meta/color"| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 296,597 1.65 +0.03 7 –1
bgcolor="Template:Party of Labour of Spain/meta/color"| Party of Labour of Spain (PTE)[g] 192,798 1.07 +0.40 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Herri Batasuna/meta/color"| Popular Unity (HB)[h] 172,110 0.96 +0.72 3 +3
width="1" bgcolor="Template:Socialist Action Party (Spain)/meta/color"| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (historical) (PSOEh)[j] 133,869 0.74 +0.05 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Republican Left of Catalonia/meta/color"| Republican Left of Catalonia–National Front (ERC–FN) 123,452 0.69 –0.10 1 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Euskadiko Ezkerra/meta/color"| Basque Country Left (EE) 85,677 0.48 +0.14 1 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Communist Movement (Spain)/meta/color"| Communist Movement–Communist Left Organization (MC–OIC) 84,856 0.47 New 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Galician National-Popular Bloc/meta/color"| Galician National-Popular Bloc (BNPG) 60,889 0.34 +0.22 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Canarian People's Union/meta/color"| Canarian People's Union (UPC) 58,953 0.33 New 1 +1
bgcolor="Template:Left Bloc for National Liberation/meta/color"| Left Bloc for National Liberation (BEAN) 56,582 0.31 New 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Galician Unity/meta/color"| Galician Unity (PG–POG–PSG)[k] 55,555 0.31 +0.16 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Republican Left (Spain, 1977)/meta/color"| Republican Left (IR) 55,384 0.31 New 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Carlist Party (1970)/meta/color"| Carlist Party (PC) 50,552 0.28 +0.23 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Communist Organization of Spain (Red Flag)/meta/color"| Communist Organization–Communist Unification (OCEBR–UCE) 47,937 0.27 New 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Workers' Communist Party (Spain)/meta/color"| Workers' Communist Party (PCT) 47,896 0.27 New 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Aragonese Party/meta/color"| Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) 38,042 0.21 +0.01 1 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Revolutionary Communist League (Spain)/meta/color"| Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) 36,662 0.20 –0.02 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Spanish Falange of the JONS/meta/color"| Authentic Spanish Falange of the JONS (FE–JONS(A)) 30,252 0.17 –0.08 0 ±0
bgcolor="Template:Navarrese People's Union/meta/color"| Navarrese People's Union (UPN) 28,248 0.16 New 1 +1
Coalition for Aragon (PSAr–PSDA) 19,220 0.11 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 57,267 0.32 +0.07
Total 17,990,915 100.00 350 ±0
Valid votes 17,990,915 98.53 –0.04
Invalid votes 268,277 1.47 +0.04
Votes cast / turnout 18,259,192 68.04 –10.79
Abstentions 8,577,298 31.96 +10.79
Registered voters 26,836,490
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. ^ a b Spanish Socialist Workers' Party results are compared to the combined totals of the PSOE and PSP–US in the 1977 election.
  2. ^ a b Democratic Coalition results are compared to the combined totals of AP and DIV in the 1977 election.
  3. ^ a b Convergence and Union results are compared to the combined totals of PDC and UC–DCC in the 1977 election.
  4. ^ Democratic Coalition results are compared to People's Alliance totals in the 1977 election, excluding Basque Country results.
  5. ^ Basque Country Foral Union results are compared to the combined totals of AP in the Basque Country and DIV in the 1977 election.
  6. ^ National Union results are compared to National Alliance July 18 totals in the 1977 election.
  7. ^ Party of Labour of Spain results are compared to Democratic Left Front totals in the 1977 election.
  8. ^ Herri Batasuna results are compared to the combined totals of the ESB/PSV and EAE/ANV in the 1977 election.
  9. ^ Workers' Revolutionary Organization results are compared to the combined totals of AET and UNAI in the 1977 election.
  10. ^ Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (historical) results are compared to Democratic Socialist Alliance totals in the 1977 election.
  11. ^ Galician Unity results are compared to Galician Socialist Party totals in the 1977 election.
Vote share
UCD
 
 34.84%
PSOE
 
 30.40%
PCE
 
 10.77%
CD
 
 6.08%
CiU
 
 2.69%
UN
 
 2.11%
PSA–PA
 
 1.81%
EAJ/PNV
 
 1.65%
PTE
 
 1.07%
HB
 
 0.96%
ERC–FN
 
 0.69%
EE
 
 0.48%
UPC
 
 0.33%
PAR
 
 0.21%
UPN
 
 0.16%
Others
 
 5.43%
Blank ballots
 
 0.32%
Parliamentary seats
UCD
 
 48.00%
PSOE
 
 34.57%
PCE
 
 6.57%
CD
 
 2.57%
CiU
 
 2.29%
EAJ/PNV
 
 2.00%
PSA–PA
 
 1.43%
HB
 
 0.86%
UN
 
 0.29%
ERC–FN
 
 0.29%
EE
 
 0.29%
UPC
 
 0.29%
PAR
 
 0.29%
UPN
 
 0.29%

District summary

Senate

← Summary of the 1 March 1979 Senate of Spain election results →
Party Seats
Won +/− Not up Total seats
width="1" bgcolor="Template:Union of the Democratic Centre (Spain)/meta/color"| Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 119 +13 — 119
bgcolor="Template:Spanish Socialist Workers' Party/meta/color"| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)[a] 70 +11 — 70
bgcolor="Template:Communist Party of Spain/meta/color"| Communist Party of Spain (PCE) 0 –1 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Democratic Coalition (Spain)/meta/color"| Democratic Coalition (CD)[b] 3 +1 — 3
bgcolor="Template:Per l'Entesa/meta/color"| For the Agreement (PSUC–PTC)[c] 1 –3 — 1
bgcolor="Template:Convergence and Union/meta/color"| Convergence and Union (CiU)[d] 1 –1 — 1
bgcolor="Template:Basque Nationalist Party/meta/color"| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 8 +2 — 8
bgcolor="Template:Herri Batasuna/meta/color"| Popular Unity (HB) 1 +1 — 1
bgcolor="Template:Euskadiko Ezkerra/meta/color"| Basque Country Left (EE) 0 –1 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Aragonese Party/meta/color"| Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) 0 –1 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color"| Independent Electors' Group (ADEI)[e] 3 –1 — 3
bgcolor="Template:Minorca Socialist Party/meta/color"| Minorcan Progressive Candidacy (CPMen) 1 +1 — 1
bgcolor="Template:Majorera Assembly/meta/color"| Majorera Assembly (AM) 0 –1 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Liberal Alliance (Spain)/meta/color"| Liberal Alliance (AL) 0 –1 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Galician Democratic Candidacy/meta/color"| Galician Democratic Candidacy (CDG) 0 –2 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Democratic Left (Spain)/meta/color"| Democratic Left (ID) 0 –5 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Euskal Sozialistak Elkartzeko Indarra/meta/color"| Force for Basque Socialists' Unity (ESEI) 0 –1 — 0
bgcolor="Template:Independent (politician)/meta/color"| Independents 1 –10 — 1
Total 208 +1 — 208
Source(s):
  1. ^ Spanish Socialist Workers' Party results are compared to the combined totals of the PSOE, PSP–US, FSC, PSC–C and ERC
    in the 1977 election.
  2. ^ Democratic Coalition results are compared to People's Alliance totals in the 1977 election.
  3. ^ For the Agreement results are compared to PSUC totals in the 1977 election.
  4. ^ CiU results are compared to Democracy and Catalonia totals in the 1977 election.
  5. ^ ADEI results are compared to Independents of Soria totals in the 1977 election.
Parliamentary seats
UCD
 
 57.21%
PSOE
 
 33.65%
EAJ/PNV
 
 3.85%
CD
 
 1.44%
ADEI
 
 1.44%
PSUC–PTC
 
 0.48%
CiU
 
 0.48%
HB
 
 0.48%
CPMen
 
 0.48%
Independents
 
 0.48%

References

  1. ^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1817 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ "General Aspects of the Electoral System".
  3. ^ "The Spanish Constitution of 1978".
  4. ^ a b "Law-Decree governing electoral procedures". Retrieved 2014-12-30.
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