The governing party People's Alliance (AP), in alliance with Liberal Party (PL), increased support compared to the previous election. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) received fewer votes than in 1983, but obtained the same seats due to the increase of total parliamentary seats. The third force in the 1983 election, Majorcan Union (UM), lost support in part due to the important increase of Democratic and Social Centre (CDS). Because of this, UM could not repeat their previous support to AP–PL, and instead both parties formed an alliance in the Government, thanks to the abstention of CDS in the investiture vote. This meant that Gabriel Cañellas was invested as President of the Balearic Islands for a second term. Finally, the Nationalist Left (EN), that obtained the same 4 seats presenting candidates in Mallorca and Menorca, lost overall popular support but gained votes in Menorca thanks to the alliance with United Left (EU) in this district.
Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Balearic Islands and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 59 members of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed listproportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats: 33 for Mallorca, 13 for Menorca, 12 for Ibiza and 1 for Formentera.[1][2]
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 the constituency for which they sought election. 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.[2][3]
Election date
The term of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands expired four years after the date of its previous election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 8 May 1983, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 8 May 1987. The election decree was required to be published in the BOIB no later than 14 April 1987, with the election taking place no later than the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Saturday, 13 June 1987.[1][2][3]
The Parliament of the Balearic Islands could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament except in the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a sixty-day period from the first ballot. In such a case, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[1]
Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 30 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of the Balearic Islands.
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