1995 Cantabrian regional election

The 1995 Cantabrian regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th Regional Assembly of the autonomous community of Cantabria. All 39 seats in the Regional Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in 12 other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1995 Cantabrian regional election

28 May 1995
All 39 seats in the Regional Assembly of Cantabria 20 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	435,752 5.7%
Turnout	322,654 (74.0%) 1.7 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader José Joaquín Martínez Sieso Julio Neira Vicente de la Hera Party PP PSOE UPCA Leader since 1995 23 February 1995 13 December 1994 Last election 6 seats, 14.4% 16 seats, 34.8% 15 seats, 33.5% Seats won 13 10 7 Seat change 7 6 8 Popular vote 104,008 80,464 53,191 Percentage 32.5% 25.1% 16.6% Swing 18.1 pp 9.7 pp 16.9 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Miguel Ángel Revilla Ángel Agudo Party PRC IU Leader since 1983 1983 Last election 2 seats, 6.4% 0 seats, 4.4% Seats won 6 3 Seat change 4 3 Popular vote 46,587 23,563 Percentage 14.6% 7.4% Swing 8.2 pp 3.0 pp
President before election None (Juan Hormaechea as acting) Elected President José Joaquín Martínez Sieso PP

The People's Party won the election, recovering much of the vote it had lost in 1991 to Hormaechea's Union for the Progress of Cantabria (UPCA), which fell to third place and lost over half of its seats and votes. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which in 1991 had won the regional election, collapsed and obtained its worst result until that time. The Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) recovered and scored fourth with nearly 15% of the vote, while United Left (IU) entered the Assembly for the first time.

As a result of the election, José Joaquín Martínez Sieso from the People's Party was able to be elected as regional President thanks to a PP-PRC coalition agreement.

Overview

Electoral system

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

The 39 members of the Regional Assembly of Cantabria were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution.[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 Cantabria. 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 Regional Assembly of Cantabria expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Regional Assembly 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 Regional Assembly of Cantabria 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 Regional Assembly 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. 20 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Regional Assembly of Cantabria.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout				PRC		Lead
1995 regional election	28 May 1995	N/A	74.0	25.1 10	16.6 7	32.5 13	14.6 6	7.4 3	7.4
Eco Consulting/RTVE[p 1]	28 May 1995	?	?	22.8 9/10	14.6 5/7	35.3 15/16	12.6 5/6	8.6 3/4	12.5
Vox Pública–ODEC/Antena 3[p 1]	28 May 1995	?	?	? 9/10	? 6/7	? 14/15	? 6/7	? 2/3	?
Demoscopia/El País[p 2][p 3][p 4][p 5]	10–15 May 1995	500	?	22.0 9	19.4 8	32.7 13	12.5 5	11.3 4	10.7
CIS[p 6][p 7]	24 Apr–10 May 1995	500	67.6	31.3	22.0	29.7	10.8	5.5	1.6
1994 EP election	12 Jun 1994	N/A	61.9	32.2 13	–	49.5 21	–	12.3 5	17.3
1993 general election	6 Jun 1993	N/A	79.0	37.2 16	8.2 3	37.0 15	5.7 2	7.4 3	0.2
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	N/A	72.3	34.8 16	33.5 15	14.4 6	6.4 2	4.4 0	1.3

Results

← Summary of the 28 May 1995 Regional Assembly of Cantabria election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	104,008	32.50	+18.06	13	+7
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	80,464	25.14	–9.67	10	–6
	Union for the Progress of Cantabria (UPCA)	53,191	16.62	–16.91	7	–8
	Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC)	46,587	14.56	+8.21	6	+4
	United Left (IU)	23,563	7.36	+2.96	3	+3
	Independents of Cantabria (INCA)	3,182	0.99	New	0	±0
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	1,267	0.40	–2.28	0	±0
	Cantabria Renewal Coalition (CR–CA)	879	0.27	New	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	705	0.22	–0.08	0	±0
	Neighborhood Group of Cantabria (AAVV–C)	0	0.00	–0.49	0	±0
Blank ballots		6,186	1.93	+0.24
Total		320,032			39	±0
Valid votes		320,032	99.19	+0.04
Invalid votes		2,622	0.81	–0.04
Votes cast / turnout		322,654	74.05	+1.71
Abstentions		113,098	25.95	–1.71
Registered voters		435,752
Sources[5][6]

Popular vote PP   32.50% PSOE   25.14% UPCA   16.62% PRC   14.56% IU   7.36% Others   1.89% Blank ballots   1.93%

Seats PP   33.33% PSOE   25.64% UPCA   17.95% PRC   15.38% IU   7.69%

Aftermath

Investiture José Joaquín Martínez Sieso (PP)
Ballot →		11 July 1995	13 July 1995
Required majority →		20 out of 39 N	Simple Y
	Yes • PP (13) • UPCA (7) (on 13 Jul) • PRC (6)	19 / 39	26 / 39
	No • PSOE (10) • UPCA (7) (on 11 Jul) • IU (3) (on 11 Jul)	20 / 39	10 / 39
	Abstentions • IU (3) (on 13 Jul)	0 / 39	3 / 39
	Absentees	0 / 39	0 / 39
Sources[6]

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "El PP se impuso en diez comunidades". Diario de Navarra (in Spanish). 29 May 1995.
2. "El PP será la fuerza más votada en 12 comunidades". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
3. "Hormaechea y los socialistas pierden". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
4. "Mañana, previsiones para las municipales". El País (in Spanish). 20 May 1995.
5. "El PP gana en doce autonomías y el PSOE sólo en Extremadura, según un sondeo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 May 1995.
6. "Preelectoral Comunidad Autónoma de Cantabria (Estudio 2164. Abril-Mayo 1995)". CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.
7. "Estudio CIS nº 2164. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 10 May 1995.

Other

1. "Statute of Autonomy of Cantabria of 1981". Organic Law No. 8 of 30 December 1981. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 September 2017.
2. "Regional Assembly of Cantabria Elections Law of 1987". Law No. 5 of 27 March 1987. Official Gazette of Cantabria (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 September 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. "Regional election, 28 May 1995". parlamento-cantabria.es (in Spanish). Parliament of Cantabria. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
6. "Parliament of Cantabria elections since 1983". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Electoral History. Retrieved 28 September 2017.