1991 Navarrese regional election

The 1991 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Parliament of the Chartered 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.

1991 Navarrese regional election

26 May 1991
All 50 seats in the Parliament of Navarre 26 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	414,913 5.5%
Turnout	276,773 (66.7%) 6.2 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Juan Cruz Alli Gabriel Urralburu Patxi Zabaleta Party UPN PSN–PSOE HB Leader since 1987 15 June 1982 1991 Last election 19 seats, 35.0%[lower-alpha 1] 15 seats, 27.7% 7 seats, 13.5% Seats won 20 19 6 Seat change 1 4 1 Popular vote 96,005 91,645 30,762 Percentage 35.0% 33.4% 11.2% Swing 0.0 pp 5.7 pp 2.3 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Fermín Ciaurriz Félix Taberna Party EA IU Leader since 1991 1991 Last election 4 seats, 7.0% 0 seats, 1.3% Seats won 3 2 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 15,170 11,167 Percentage 5.5% 4.1% Swing 1.5 pp 2.8 pp
President before election Gabriel Urralburu PSN–PSOE Elected President Juan Cruz Alli UPN

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Navarre was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Chartered 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.[1] 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.[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 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.[2][3][4]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Navarre expired four years after the date of its previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the Parliament were to be fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 10 June 1987, setting the election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 26 May 1991.[1][2][3][4]

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.[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. 26 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Navarre.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout						UDF		EE			Lead
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	N/A	66.7	33.4 19	35.0 20	11.2 6	2.1 0	5.5 3	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	2.1 0	4.1 2	1.1 0	1.6
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 1][p 2]	18 May 1991	?	?	29.9 17	32.3 17/18	12.0 7/8	–	6.0 3	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	3.9 1	5.3 2/3	–	2.4
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 3][p 4]	9–16 May 1991	1,447	68–70	30.0– 32.0 17/18	33.0– 35.0 19/21	11.0– 12.0 6/7	2.5– 3.5 0/1	5.5– 6.5 3/4	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	2.5– 3.5 0/1	5.0– 6.0 2/3	2.0– 3.0 0/1	3.0
Metra Seis/El Independiente[p 1][p 2]	12 May 1991	?	?	26.8 15	33.5 19	12.4 7	4.2 2	6.4 3	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	3.2 1	4.7 2	3.3 1	6.7
Demoscopia/El País[p 1][p 2][p 5][p 6]	4–7 May 1991	500	?	27.5 15	40.4 22	11.7 6	4.6 2	4.4 2	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	1.9 0	6.0 3	1.8 0	12.9
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 7]	22–29 Apr 1991	1,005	68	32.0 18	34.2 19/20	11.0 6	4.0 1/2	5.0 3	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	3.5 0/1	4.8 2/3	–	2.2
1989 general election	29 Oct 1989	N/A	68.5	31.2 17	33.2 18	11.0 6	7.0 4	4.8 2	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	2.9 0	5.7 3	0.9 0	2.0
1989 EP election	15 Jun 1989	N/A	57.3	28.6 17	27.1 16	13.8 8	5.4 3	6.2 3	[lower-alpha 2]	[lower-alpha 2]	3.7 2	3.1 1	1.1 0	1.5
1987 regional election	10 Jun 1987	N/A	72.9	27.7 15	24.5 14	13.5 7	7.4 4	7.0 4	6.2 3	4.2 2	3.4 1	1.3 0	0.9 0	3.2

Results

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Parliament of Navarre election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Navarrese People's Union (UPN)^1	96,005	34.95	–0.01	20	+1
	Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)	91,645	33.36	+5.68	19	+4
	Popular Unity (HB)	30,762	11.20	–2.26	6	–1
	Basque Solidarity (EA)	15,170	5.52	–1.48	3	–1
	United Left (IU)	11,167	4.07	+2.73	2	+2
	Assembly (B)	6,543	2.38	+0.31	0	±0
	Basque Country Left (EE)	5,824	2.12	–1.27	0	–1
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	5,650	2.06	–5.36	0	–4
	Livestock Agricultural Party (PAG)	3,855	1.40	New	0	±0
	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	3,071	1.12	+0.18	0	±0
	Carlist Party (PC)	1,353	0.49	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		3,637	1.32	–0.07
Total		274,682			50	±0
Valid votes		274,682	99.24	+0.40
Invalid votes		2,091	0.76	–0.40
Votes cast / turnout		276,773	66.71	–6.19
Abstentions		138,140	33.29	+6.19
Registered voters		414,913
Sources[5][6]

Popular vote UPN   34.95% PSN–PSOE   33.36% HB   11.20% EA   5.52% IU   4.07% B   2.38% EE   2.12% CDS   2.06% PAG   1.40% EAJ/PNV   1.12% PC   0.49% Blank ballots   1.32%

Seats UPN   40.00% PSN–PSOE   38.00% HB   12.00% EA   6.00% IU   4.00%

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.[1]

As a result of the investiture process failing to provide a regional President within two months from the first ballot, Juan Cruz Alli was automatically elected on 18 September 1991 and officially sworn into office on 23 September.

Investiture Juan Cruz Alli (UPN)
Ballot →		18 July 1991[lower-alpha 3]	20 July 1991[lower-alpha 3]	22 July 1991	24 July 1991
Required majority →		26 out of 50 N	26 out of 50 N	Simple N	Simple N
	Yes • UPN (20)	20 / 50	20 / 50	20 / 50	20 / 50
	No • PSN (19) • HB (6) (from 22 Jul) • EA (3) • IU (2)	24 / 50	24 / 50	30 / 50	30 / 50
	Abstentions	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50
	Absentees	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50
Sources[6]

Investiture Gabriel Urralburu (PSN)
Ballot →		8 August 1991	10 August 1991	12 August 1991	14 August 1991
Required majority →		26 out of 50 N	26 out of 50 N	Simple N	Simple N
	Yes • PSN (19) (18 on 14 Aug) • EA (3) • IU (1) (on 14 Aug)	22 / 50	22 / 50	22 / 50	22 / 50
	No • UPN (20) • HB (6)	26 / 50	26 / 50	26 / 50	26 / 50
	Abstentions • IU (2) (1 on 14 Aug)	2 / 50	2 / 50	2 / 50	1 / 50
	Absentees • PSN (1) (on 14 Aug)	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50	1 / 50
Sources[6]

Notes

1. Aggregated data for UPN, UDF and AP in the 1987 election.
2. Within UPN.
3. The 6 HB MPs did not cast a vote in the 18 and 20 July ballots.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
2. "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
3. "UPN será el partido más votado y PSOE el segundo, pese a su fuerte subida". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
4. "Sondeos electorales CIES" (PDF). CIES (in Spanish). 22 May 2011.
5. "Una fusión con buenos dividendos". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
6. "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
7. "Suben UPN y PSOE, y el partido regionalista será la lista más votada". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 5 May 1991.

Other

1. "Reintegration and Enhancement of the Foral Regime of Navarre Law of 1982". Organic Law No. 13 of 10 August 1982. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2017.
2. "Parliament of Navarre Elections Foral Law of 1986". Law No. 16 of 17 December 1986. Official Gazette of Navarre (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2017.
3. "General Electoral System Organic Law of 1985". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
4. "Representation of the people Institutional Act". www.juntaelectoralcentral.es. Central Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
5. "III Legislature (1991-1995)". parlamentodenavarra.es (in Spanish). Parliament of Navarre. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
6. "Parliament of Navarre elections since 1979". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Electoral History. Retrieved 29 September 2017.