1987 Asturian regional election

The 1987 Asturian regional election was held on Wednesday, 10 June 1987, to elect the 2nd General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. All 45 seats in the General Junta 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 1987 European Parliament election.

1987 Asturian regional election

10 June 1987
All 45 seats in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias 23 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	874,310 0.1%
Turnout	582,077 (66.6%) 1.6 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Pedro de Silva Isidro Fernández Rozada Adolfo Barthe Aza Party PSOE AP CDS Leader since 15 March 1983 1983 1987 Leader's seat Central Central Central Last election 26 seats, 52.0% 14 seats, 30.2%[lower-alpha 1] 0 seats, 3.5% Seats won 20 13 8 Seat change 6 1 8 Popular vote 223,307 144,541 106,266 Percentage 38.9% 25.2% 18.5% Swing 13.1 pp 5.0 pp 15.0 pp   Fourth party   Leader Francisco Javier Suárez Party IU Leader since 1983 Leader's seat Central Last election 5 seats, 11.1%[lower-alpha 2] Seats won 4 Seat change 1 Popular vote 69,413 Percentage 12.1% Swing 1.0 pp
Constituency results map for the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
President before election Pedro de Silva PSOE Elected President Pedro de Silva PSOE

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) of incumbent President Pedro de Silva remained the most-voted party, but lost 13 percentage points as well as the absolute majority it had enjoyed in the previous legislature. The internal crisis within the People's Coalition after the breakup of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) from the alliance resulted in the People's Alliance (AP) standing alone in the election, losing 25,000 votes and 5 percentage points.

Disenchanted voters with the Socialist government that did not see AP as a credible opposition alternative went on to centrist Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which saw a significant increase of its vote share and entered the General Junta with 8 seats. United Left (IU), the new incarnation of the Communist Party of Spain and its allies, lost 1 seat despite achieving more votes than in 1983.

Overview

Electoral system

The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Asturias, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Asturian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Principality.[1] Voting for the General Junta was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Asturias and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 45 members of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 3 percent of valid votes[lower-alpha 3]—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, depending on the district magnitude.[2] Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established by law as follows:

• Central District (comprising the municipalities of Aller, Avilés, Bimenes, Carreño, Caso, Castrillón, Corvera de Asturias, Gijón, Gozón, Illas, Las Regueras, Langreo, Laviana, Lena, Llanera, Mieres, Morcín, Noreña, Oviedo, Proaza, Quirós, Ribera de Arriba, Riosa, San Martín del Rey Aurelio, Santo Adriano, Sariego, Siero, Sobrescobio and Soto del Barco).
• Eastern District (comprising the municipalities of Amieva, Cabrales, Cabranes, Cangas de Onís, Caravia, Colunga, Llanes, Nava, Onís, Parres, Peñamellera Alta, Peñamellera Baja, Piloña, Ponga, Ribadedeva, Ribadesella and Villaviciosa).
• Western District (comprising the municipalities of Allande, Belmonte de Miranda, Boal, Candamo, Cangas del Narcea, Castropol, Coaña, Cudillero, Degaña, El Franco, Grado, Grandas de Salime, Ibias, Illano, Muros de Nalón, Navia, Pesoz, Pravia, Salas, San Martín de Oscos, Santa Eulalia de Oscos, San Tirso de Abres, Somiedo, Tapia de Casariego, Taramundi, Teverga, Tineo, Valdés, Vegadeo, Villanueva de Oscos, Villayón and Yernes y Tameza).

Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 39 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations.[3]

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.[3][4][5]

Election date

The term of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias 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 Principality of Asturias, with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication and set so as to make it coincide with elections to the regional assemblies of other autonomous communities. 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 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 General Junta on Saturday, 13 June 1987.[1][3][4][5]

The General Junta 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 two-month period from the first ballot. In such a case, the General Junta 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 given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout							Lead
1987 regional election	10 Jun 1987	N/A	66.6	38.9 20	–	12.1 4	18.5 8	25.2 13	0.6 0	13.7
Demoscopia/El País[p 1]	22–26 May 1987	?	64	36.7 19/20	–	11.6 5/6	17.0 8/9	24.0 11	2.5 0	12.7
Sofemasa/AP[p 2][p 3]	16 Apr 1987	?	?	39.2	–	12.9	18.5	24.0	1.0	15.2
1986 general election	22 Jun 1986	N/A	67.8	46.0	27.2	9.2	13.2	[lower-alpha 4]	[lower-alpha 4]	18.8
1983 regional election	8 May 1983	N/A	65.0	52.0 26	30.2 14	11.1[lower-alpha 5] 5	3.5 0	[lower-alpha 4]	[lower-alpha 4]	21.8

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 10 June 1987 General Junta of the Principality of Asturias election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	223,307	38.91	–13.05	20	–6
	People's Alliance (AP)^1	144,541	25.18	–5.05	13	–1
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	106,266	18.52	+15.07	8	+8
	United Left (IU)^2	69,413	12.09	+0.96	4	–1
	Asturianist Party (PAS)	7,348	1.28	New	0	±0
	Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity (PTE–UC)	4,875	0.85	New	0	±0
	People's Democratic Party (PDP)	3,606	0.63	New	0	±0
	Asturian Nationalist Ensame (ENA)	2,809	0.49	+0.05	0	±0
	Workers' Socialist Party (PST)	2,493	0.43	–0.40	0	±0
	Humanist Platform (PH)	1,251	0.22	New	0	±0
	Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	957	0.17	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		7,076	1.23	+0.82
Total		573,942			45	±0
Valid votes		573,942	98.60	–0.74
Invalid votes		8,135	1.40	+0.74
Votes cast / turnout		582,077	66.58	+1.54
Abstentions		292,233	33.42	–1.54
Registered voters		874,310
Sources[6][7][8]

Popular vote PSOE   38.91% AP   25.18% CDS   18.52% IU   12.09% PAS   1.28% Others   2.79% Blank ballots   1.23%

Seats PSOE   44.44% AP   28.89% CDS   17.78% IU   8.89%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PSOE		AP		CDS		IU
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Central	37.0	13	23.6	8	19.9	7	13.6	4
Eastern	44.3	3	35.3	2	13.6	−	3.7	−
Western	45.9	4	27.8	3	13.8	1	8.7	−
Total	38.9	20	25.2	13	18.5	8	12.1	4
Sources[6][7][8]

Aftermath

Investiture Pedro de Silva (PSOE)
Ballot →		22 June 1987	24 June 1987
Required majority →		23 out of 45 N	Simple Y
	Yes • PSOE (20)	20 / 45	20 / 45
	No	0 / 45	0 / 45
	Abstentions • AP (13) • CDS (8) • IU (4)	25 / 45	25 / 45
	Absentees	0 / 45	0 / 45
Sources[8][9]

Notes

1. Data for AP–PDP–UL in the 1983 election.
2. Data for PCA–PCE in the 1983 election.
3. The 1986 electoral law lowered the electoral threshold from five percent regionally to three percent by constituency.
4. Within CP.
5. Result for PCA–PCE.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Los suaristas irrumpen con fuerza en el Parlamento regional" (PDF). El País (in Spanish). 4 June 1987.
2. "Una encuesta de AP pronostica un fuerte descenso del PSOE en las municipales". ABC (in Spanish). 17 April 1987.
3. "Notable descenso del PSOE en los próximos comicios, según una encuesta encargada por AP". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 17 April 1987.

Other

1. "Statute of Autonomy for Asturias of 1981". Organic Law No. 7 of 30 December 1981. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2017.
2. Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
3. "General Junta of the Principality of Asturias Elections System Law of 1986". Law No. 14 of 26 December 1986. Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 March 2017.
4. "General Electoral System Organic Law of 1985". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
5. "Representation of the people Institutional Act". www.juntaelectoralcentral.es. Central Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
6. "General Junta of the Principality of Asturias election results, 10 June 1987". www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Asturias. 28 November 1987. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
7. "Number 75. Audit report on the regularity of electoral accounting derived from the elections held on June 10, 1987" (PDF). tcu.es (in Spanish). Court of Auditors. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
8. "General Junta of the Principality of Asturias elections since 1983". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Electoral History. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
9. "Elegidos los presidentes autonómicos de La Rioja, Asturias y Cantabria". El País (in Spanish). 25 July 1987. Retrieved 9 December 2019.