1995 Navarrese regional election

The 1995 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th 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.

1995 Navarrese regional election

28 May 1995
All 50 seats in the Parliament of Navarre 26 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	437,797 5.5%
Turnout	299,545 (68.4%) 1.7 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Miguel Sanz Javier Otano Juan Cruz Alli Party UPN PSN–PSOE CDN Leader since 17 January 1995 20 June 1994 10 April 1995 Last election 20 seats, 35.0% 19 seats, 33.4% Did not contest Seats won 17 11 10 Seat change 3 8 10 Popular vote 93,163 62,021 55,153 Percentage 31.3% 20.9% 18.6% Swing 3.6 pp 12.5 pp New party   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Félix Taberna Patxi Zabaleta Fermín Ciaurriz Party IU/EB HB EA Leader since 1991 1991 1991 Last election 2 seats, 4.1% 6 seats, 11.2% 3 seats, 5.5% Seats won 5 5 2 Seat change 3 1 1 Popular vote 27,773 27,404 13,568 Percentage 9.3% 9.2% 4.6% Swing 5.2 pp 2.0 pp 0.9 pp
President before election Juan Cruz Alli UPN Elected President Javier Otano PSN–PSOE

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. Elections to the Parliament were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 26 May 1991, setting the election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 28 May 1995.[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.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout								CDN	Lead
1995 regional election	28 May 1995	N/A	68.4	31.3 17	20.9 11	9.2 5	4.6 2	9.3 5	2.2 0	1.0 0	18.6 10	10.4
Eco Consulting/RTVE[p 1]	28 May 1995	?	?	33.8 18/20	19.1 10/11	10.0 4/5	–	11.8 6/7	–	–	14.0 7/8	14.7
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 2][p 3]	12–16 May 1995	1,502	70	33.6 17/19	20.1 10/12	9.3 4/5	3.6 1/2	11.0 5/6	1.9 0	1.7 0	15.7 8/9	13.5
Demoscopia/El País[p 4][p 5][p 6][p 7]	10–15 May 1995	600	?	33.5 19	17.2 9	8.3 4	4.9 2	13.1 7	–	0.8 0	15.5 9	16.3
CIS[p 8][p 9]	24 Apr–10 May 1995	500	67.9	29.5	20.9	10.4	3.6	14.3	–	0.6	14.2	8.6
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 10]	21–25 Apr 1995	1,201	65	31.8 17	19.7 11	8.8 4	3.6 2	11.5 6	1.9 0	1.5 0	18.9 10	12.1
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 11]	13 Mar 1995	?	?	43.7 24/25	23.4 12/13	8.8 4/5	3.2 1	14.1 7/8	–	–	–	20.3
CIES/Diario de Navarra[p 12]	9–13 Dec 1994	504	56	43.0 23	22.0 12	9.0 5	5.0 2	15.0 8	–	–	–	21.0
1994 EP election	12 Jun 1994	N/A	53.6	40.8 23	24.8 13	10.4 5	3.7 2	12.8 7	–	1.2 0	–	16.0
1993 general election	6 Jun 1993	N/A	73.6	36.1 20	34.9 19	10.4 5	3.7 2	8.7 4	–	1.1 0	–	1.2
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	N/A	66.7	35.0 20	33.4 19	11.2 6	5.5 3	4.1 2	2.4 0	1.1 0	–	1.6

Results

← Summary of the 28 May 1995 Parliament of Navarre election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	93,163	31.35	–3.60	17	–3
	Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)	62,021	20.87	–12.49	11	–8
	Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN)	55,153	18.56	New	10	+10
	United Left (IU/EB)	27,773	9.35	+5.28	5	+3
	Popular Unity (HB)	27,404	9.22	–1.98	5	–1
	Basque Solidarity (EA)	13,568	4.57	–0.95	2	–1
	Assembly (Batzarre)	6,509	2.19	–0.19	0	±0
	Nationalists of Navarre (NA)	2,943	0.99	–0.13	0	±0
	Platform of Independents of Spain (PIE)	2,041	0.69	New	0	±0
	Carlist Party (PC)	843	0.28	–0.21	0	±0
Blank ballots		5,761	1.94	+0.62
Total		297,179			50	±0
Valid votes		297,179	99.21	–0.03
Invalid votes		2,366	0.79	+0.03
Votes cast / turnout		299,545	68.42	+1.71
Abstentions		138,252	31.58	–1.71
Registered voters		437,797
Sources[5][6]

Popular vote UPN   31.35% PSN–PSOE   20.87% CDN   18.56% IU/EB   9.35% HB   9.22% EA   4.57% Batzarre   2.19% Others   1.96% Blank ballots   1.94%

Seats UPN   34.00% PSN–PSOE   22.00% CDN   20.00% IU/EB   10.00% HB   10.00% EA   4.00%

Aftermath

Government formation

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]

Investiture Javier Otano (PSN)
Ballot →		18 July 1995	20 July 1995	22 July 1995
Required majority →		26 out of 50 N	26 out of 50 N	Simple Y
	Yes • PSN (11) • CDN (10) • EA (2)	23 / 50	23 / 50	23 / 50
	No • UPN (17) (16 on 20 Jul) • HB (5)	22 / 50	21 / 50	22 / 50
	Abstentions • IU (5)	5 / 50	5 / 50	5 / 50
	Absentees • UPN (1) (on 20 Jul)	0 / 50	1 / 50	0 / 50
Sources[6]

1996 investiture

On 19 June 1996, Javier Otano resigned as President of Navarre after judicial investigations uncovered a Swiss bank account in his name and that of his wife, triggering a new investiture process in which Miguel Sanz from UPN was automatically elected on 18 September 1996, being the candidate from the party with the highest number of seats and with the investiture process having failed to elect a regional premier.

Investiture Miguel Sanz (UPN)
Ballot →		16 July 1996	18 July 1996	20 July 1996	22 July 1996
Required majority →		26 out of 50 N	26 out of 50 N	Simple N	Simple N
	Yes • UPN (17)	17 / 50	17 / 50	17 / 50	17 / 50
	No • PSN (11) (10 from 18 Jul) • CDN (10) • IU (5) • HB (5) (on 16 Jul) • EA (2)	33 / 50	27 / 50	27 / 50	27 / 50
	Abstentions	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50	0 / 50
	Absentees • HB (5) (from 18 Jul) • PSN (1) (from 18 Jul)	0 / 50	6 / 50	6 / 50	6 / 50
Sources[6]

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "El PP se impuso en diez comunidades". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 29 May 1995.
2. "UPN y PSOE se afianzan como las dos primeras fuerzas en el Parlamento". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 21 May 1995.
3. "Sondeos electorales CIES" (PDF). CIES (in Spanish). 22 May 2011.
4. "El PP será la fuerza más votada en 12 comunidades". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
5. "Caen PSOE, HB y EA". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
6. "Mañana, previsiones para las municipales". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
7. "El PP gana en doce autonomías y el PSOE sólo en Extremadura, según un sondeo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 May 1995.
8. "Preelectoral Autonómicas Navarra (Estudio nº 2170. Abril-Mayo 1995)". CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
9. "Estudio CIS nº 2170. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
10. "El partido de Alli irrumpe como tercera fuerza en el Parlamento tras UPN y PSOE". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 30 April 1995.
11. "UPN, al borde de la mayoría absoluta". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 13 March 1995.
12. "UPN sigue subiendo en la intención de voto". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 16 December 1994.

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. "IV Legislature (1995-1999)". 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.