1997 Galician regional election

1997 Galician regional election

19 October 1997
All 75 seats in the Parliament of Galicia 38 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	2,565,369 11.9%
Turnout	1,603,731 (62.5%) 1.7 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Manuel Fraga Xosé Manuel Beiras Abel Caballero Party PP BNG PSdeG–PSOE/ EU–EG/OV Leader since 1989 1982 26 October 1996 Leader's seat Lugo La Coruña Pontevedra Last election 43 seats, 52.1% 13 seats, 18.4% 19 seats, 27.1%[a] Seats won 42 18 15 Seat change 1 5 4 Popular vote 832,751 395,435 310,508 Percentage 52.2% 24.8% 19.5% Swing 0.1 pp 6.4 pp 7.6 pp
Constituency results map for the Parliament of Galicia
President before election Manuel Fraga PP Elected President Manuel Fraga PP

The 1997 Galician regional election was held on Sunday, 19 October 1997, to elect the 5th Parliament of the autonomous community of Galicia. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Galicia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Galicia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Galician Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.^[1] Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Galicia and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 75 members of the Parliament of Galicia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional 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 provinces of La Coruña, Lugo, Orense and Pontevedra, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 10 seats and the remaining 35 being distributed in proportion to their populations.^[1][2]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Parliament constituency was entitled the following seats:

Seats	Constituencies
24	La Coruña
22	Pontevedra^(+1)
15	Lugo
14	Orense^(–1)

In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.^[3]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Galicia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. 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 Journal of Galicia (DOG), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 17 October 1993, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 17 October 1997. The election decree was required to be published in the DOG no later than 23 September 1997, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Saturday, 22 November 1997.^[1][2]

The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Galicia and call a snap election, provided that it did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.^[4]

Parties and candidates

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[2][5]

Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy		Parties and alliances	Leading candidate		Ideology	Previous result		Gov.	Ref.
						Votes (%)	Seats
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Manuel Fraga	Conservatism Christian democracy	52.14%	43	Y
	PSdeG– PSOE/EU– EG/OV	List Socialists' Party of Galicia (PSdeG–PSOE) United Left–Galician Left (EU–EG) The Greens of Galicia (OVG)		Abel Caballero	Social democracy	27.07%[a]	19	N	[6] [7]
	BNG	List Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG) – Galician People's Union (UPG) – Socialist Collective (CS) – Galician Nationalist Party–Galicianist Party (PNG–PG) – Nationalist Left (EN) – Inzar (Inzar) – Galician Unity (UG)		Xosé Manuel Beiras	Galician nationalism Left-wing nationalism Socialism	18.38%	13	N

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; 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Galicia.

Color key:

  Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout			BNG		Lead
1997 regional election	19 Oct 1997	—	62.5	52.2 42	19.5 15	24.8 18	0.9 0	27.4
PP[p 1]	17 Oct 1997	?	?	? 42/43	? 14/15	? 18	–	?
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 2]	6–9 Oct 1997	1,000	?	50.0– 52.0 40/42	22.0– 24.0 16/19	20.0– 22.0 15/18	2.0– 3.0 0	28.0
Demoscopia/El País[p 3]	3–8 Oct 1997	2,500	63–64	51.5 41/42	23.1 16/18	22.8 16/18	1.1 0	28.4
PP[p 4]	7 Oct 1997	?	?	52.3 41/42	24.5 17/19	20.5 15/16	–	27.8
Opina/La Vanguardia[p 5]	3–4 Oct 1997	1,000	65	50.7 39/40	25.1 21/22	21.5 14/15	1.2 0	25.6
PP[p 6]	29 Sep 1997	?	?	? 40/41	? 18/19	? 16/17	–	?
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia[p 7]	28 Sep 1997	?	?	? 39	? 19	? 17	–	?
DECO/PSOE[p 4][p 8]	23–28 Sep 1997	2,265	?	46.1 37/38	31.6 23/25	19.3 13/14	–	14.5
CIS[p 9][p 10]	19–26 Sep 1997	2,196	69.3	51.5 41/42	25.2 19/20	20.5 14	1.4 0	26.3
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia[p 11][p 12]	26 Jul 1997	2,904	?	50.0 40	24.0 20	19.0 15	–	26.0
Infortécnica[p 13]	20 Jun–8 Jul 1997	3,091	?	? 37/41	? 19/23	? 15/16	–	?
DECO/PSOE[p 14]	10–20 Apr 1997	2,000	?	? 36/37	? 25/26	? 12/13	–	?
Obradoiro de Socioloxía/PP[p 14]	1–4 Apr 1997	1,400	?	48.0 40	20.0 18	20.0 17	–	28.0
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia[p 15][p 16]	22 Nov 1996	3,200	?	? 37	? 23	? 15	–	?
1996 general election	3 Mar 1996	—	71.4	48.3 (40)	33.5 (27)	12.9 (8)	3.6 (0)	14.8
1995 local elections	28 May 1995	—	67.9	47.9	26.7	13.1	2.8	21.2
1994 EP election	12 Jun 1994	—	50.3	54.6 (47)	24.8 (19)	11.4 (7)	5.1 (2)	29.8
1993 regional election	17 Oct 1993	—	64.2	52.1 43	23.7 19	18.4 13	3.0 0	28.4

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 19 October 1997 Parliament of Galicia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	832,751	52.19	+0.05	42	–1
	Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)	395,435	24.78	+6.40	18	+5
	Socialists' Party–Galician Left–The Greens (PSdeG–PSOE/EU–EG/Os Verdes)^1	310,508	19.46	–7.61	15	–4
	United Left (IU)	13,964	0.88	New	0	±0
	Galician Democracy (DG)	11,538	0.72	New	0	±0
	Galician People's Front (FPG)	3,395	0.21	New	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	2,543	0.16	–0.01	0	±0
	Party of Self-employed and Professionals (AUTONOMO)	2,136	0.13	New	0	±0
	Social Democratic Party of Law (SDD)	1,129	0.07	New	0	±0
	The Move (Movida)	939	0.06	New	0	±0
	Galician Phalanx of the CNSO (FG–JONS)	392	0.02	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		20,937	1.31	+0.40
Total		1,595,667			75	±0
Valid votes		1,595,667	99.50	–0.02
Invalid votes		8,064	0.50	+0.02
Votes cast / turnout		1,603,731	62.51	–1.68
Abstentions		961,638	37.49	+1.68
Registered voters		2,565,369
Sources[8][9]
Footnotes: ^1 Socialists' Party–Galician Left–The Greens results are compared to the combined totals of the Socialists' Party of Galicia, United Left–Galician Unity and The Greens of Galicia in the 1993 election.

Popular vote PP   52.19% BNG   24.78% PSdeG/EG/OV   19.46% Others   2.26% Blank ballots   1.31%

Seats PP   56.00% BNG   24.00% PSdeG/EG/OV   20.00%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PP		BNG		PSdeG
	%	S	%	S	%	S
La Coruña	49.8	13	26.3	6	20.1	5
Lugo	57.7	9	19.8	3	18.9	3
Orense	56.7	8	21.3	3	19.6	3
Pontevedra	50.8	12	26.7	6	18.8	4
Total	52.2	42	24.8	18	19.5	15
Sources[8][9]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture Manuel Fraga (PP)
Ballot →		3 December 1997
Required majority →		38 out of 75 Y
	Yes • PP (42)	42 / 75
	No • BNG (18) • PSdeG (13) • EU–EG (2)	33 / 75
	Abstentions	0 / 75
	Absentees	0 / 75
Sources[8]

2001 motion of no confidence

Motion of no confidence Xosé Manuel Beiras (BNG)
Ballot →		29 January 2001
Required majority →		38 out of 75 N
	Yes • BNG (18)	18 / 75
	No • PP (41)	41 / 75
	Abstentions • PSdeG (13) • EU–EG (2)	15 / 75
	Absentees • PP (1)	0 / 75
Sources[8]

Notes

1. Results for PSdeG–PSOE (23.68%, 19 seats), EU–UG (3.07%, 0 seats) and Os Verdes (0.32%, 0 seats) in the 1993 election.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "El PP teme que el BNG pase a ser la segunda fuerza política gallega". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 17 October 1997.
2. "Fraga, sin rival en la oposición, seguirá "reinando" en Galicia". El Mundo (in Spanish). 12 October 1997. Archived from the original on 22 November 2001.
3. "Fraga revalidará la mayoría absoluta en Galicia". El País (in Spanish). 12 October 1997.
4. "Una encuesta del PP revalida la mayoría absoluta". ABC (in Spanish). 7 October 1997.
5. "Fraga retiene la mayoría absoluta". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 12 October 1997.
6. "El riesgo a perder la Xunta forzó a Fraga a repetir como candidato". El País (in Spanish). 29 September 1997.
7. "Bloque se aproxima a los socialistas según un sondeo". El País (in Spanish). 29 September 1997.
8. "La mayoría absoluta del PP seguirá, según el sondeo del CIS". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 11 October 1997.
9. "Fraga repetiría mayoría absoluta, según el CIS". ABC (in Spanish). 11 October 1997.
10. "El PP mantendrá su mayoría, según un sondeo del CIS". El País (in Spanish). 11 October 1997.
11. "Los partidos aprovechan el día de Galicia para abrir la campaña de las autonómicas". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 26 July 1997.
12. "Fraga perderá tres escaños, pero renovará la mayoría absoluta, según un sondeo". El País (in Spanish). 26 July 1997.
13. "Galicia: Un nuevo sondeo pone al PP al borde de la mayoría absoluta". ABC (in Spanish). 28 July 1997.
14. "PSOE y PP se enzarzan en Galicia en una guerra de encuestas". El País (in Spanish). 9 May 1997.
15. "Un sondeo vaticina por primera vez que Fraga perderá la mayoría absoluta". El País (in Spanish). 23 November 1996.
16. "Fraga reconcilia al PSOE gallego". El País (in Spanish). 15 December 1996.

Other

1. Ley Orgánica 1/1981, de 6 de abril, de Estatuto de Autonomía para Galicia (Organic Law 1) (in Spanish). 6 April 1981. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
2. Ley 8/1985, de 13 de agosto, de elecciones al Parlamento de Galicia (Law 2) (in Spanish). 13 August 1985. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
3. Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 2017-07-30. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
4. Ley 1/1983, de 22 de febrero, de normas reguladoras de la Xunta y su Presidencia (Law 1) (in Spanish). 22 February 1983. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
5. Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (Organic Law 5) (in Spanish). 19 June 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
6. "Esquerda Unida respalda por abrumadora mayoría el pacto con el PSOE en Galicia". El País (in Spanish). 25 May 1997. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
7. "Un 'olivo' en Galicia". El País (in Spanish). 15 October 1997. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
8. "Elecciones al Parlamento de Galicia (1981 - 2020)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 September 2017.
9. "Parliament of Galicia election results, 19 October 1997" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Central Electoral Commission. 11 November 1997. Retrieved 25 September 2017.