2001 Basque regional election

The 2001 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 13 May 2001, to elect the 7th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

2001 Basque regional election

13 May 2001
All 75 seats in the Basque Parliament 38 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	1,813,356 0.5%
Turnout	1,431,996 (79.0%) 9.0 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Juan José Ibarretxe Jaime Mayor Oreja Nicolás Redondo Party PNV–EA PP PSE–EE (PSOE) Leader since 31 January 1998 26 February 2001 20 October 1997 Leader's seat Álava Biscay Biscay Last election 27 seats, 36.2%[lower-alpha 1] 18 seats, 21.1%[lower-alpha 2] 14 seats, 17.4% Seats won 33 19 13 Seat change 6 1 1 Popular vote 604,222 326,933 253,195 Percentage 42.4% 22.9% 17.8% Swing 6.2 pp 1.8 pp 0.4 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Arnaldo Otegi Javier Madrazo Party EH IU/EB Leader since 14 February 1998 14 May 1994 Leader's seat Guipúzcoa Biscay Last election 14 seats, 17.7% 2 seats, 5.6% Seats won 7 3 Seat change 7 1 Popular vote 143,139 78,862 Percentage 10.0% 5.5% Swing 7.7 pp 0.1 pp
Constituency results map for the Basque Parliament
Lehendakari before election Juan José Ibarretxe EAJ/PNV Elected Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe EAJ/PNV

The electoral coalition Basque Nationalist Party–Basque Solidarity (PNV–EA) won 33 seats, the People's Party (PP) came second with 19 seats, the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE) came in third with 13 seats. The Basque Citizens (EH) coalition obtained 7 seats.

Overview

Electoral system

The Basque Parliament was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the regional Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a lehendakari.[1]

Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in the Basque Country and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 75 members of the Basque Parliament were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of three 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. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Álava, Biscay and Guipúzcoa, being allocated a fixed number of 25 seats each to provide for an equal representation of the three provinces in parliament as required under the regional statute of autonomy.[1][2] This meant that Álava was allocated the same number of seats as Biscay and Gipuzkoa, despite their populations being, as of 1 January 2001: 285,198, 1,124,445 and 673,328, respectively.[3]

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[4]

Election date

The term of the Basque Parliament 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 Gazette of the Basque Country, with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 25 October 1998, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 25 October 2002. The election decree was required to be published in the BOPV no later than 1 October 2002, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 24 November 2002.[1][2]

The lehendakari had the prerogative to dissolve the Basque Parliament at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a lehendakari within a sixty-day period from the Parliament re-assembly, the Parliament was to be dissolved and a fresh election called.[5]

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][6]

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
	PNV–EA	List Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) Basque Solidarity (EA)		Juan José Ibarretxe	Basque nationalism Christian democracy Conservative liberalism	36.19%[lower-alpha 1]	27	Y
	PP	List People's Party (PP) Alavese Unity (UA)		Jaime Mayor Oreja	Conservatism Christian democracy	21.09%[lower-alpha 2]	18	N
	EH	List Popular Unity (HB) – Basque Nationalist Action (EAE/ANV)		Arnaldo Otegi	Basque independence Left-wing nationalism Revolutionary socialism	17.66%	14	N
	PSE–EE (PSOE)	List Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE))		Nicolás Redondo	Social democracy	17.35%	14	N
	IU/EB	List United Left (IU/EB)		Javier Madrazo	Socialism Communism	5.60%	2	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 given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout	PNV							Lead
2001 regional election	13 May 2001	N/A	79.0	42.4 33	22.9 19	10.0 7	17.8 13	[lower-alpha 4]	5.5 3	[lower-alpha 5]	19.5
Eco Consulting/EiTB[p 1][p 2]	13 May 2001	?	?	? 29/30	? 20/21	? 9/10	? 13/14	[lower-alpha 4]	? 3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Opitel/Tele 5[p 2]	13 May 2001	?	?	? 30/31	? 19/20	? 9/10	? 12/13	[lower-alpha 4]	? 3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
COPE[p 2]	13 May 2001	?	?	? 30	? 20	? 9	? 14	[lower-alpha 4]	? 2	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Sigma Dos/Antena 3[p 1][p 2]	13 May 2001	?	?	? 29/31	? 20/24	? 7/9	? 13/15	[lower-alpha 4]	? 2/3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Gallup/RTVE[p 1][p 2]	13 May 2001	?	?	? 29/31	? 19/22	? 10/11	? 13/14	[lower-alpha 4]	? 3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Ibecom/La Razón[p 3][p 4]	6 May 2001	?	?	? 24	? 22	? 11	? 15	[lower-alpha 4]	? 3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Ipsos–Eco/ABC[p 5][p 6]	2–3 May 2001	900	73–74	34.5 25/28	24.3 20/22	14.9 10/11	19.1 14/15	[lower-alpha 4]	4.9 2/3	[lower-alpha 5]	10.2
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 7]	27 Apr–3 May 2001	1,400	?	38.2 27/30	24.7 20/23	11.5 7/8	19.0 14/16	[lower-alpha 4]	4.4 1/3	[lower-alpha 5]	13.5
Demoscopia/El País[p 8][p 9]	25 Apr–3 May 2001	1,814	75	39.6 30	23.9 21/22	10.0 7/8	20.0 15	[lower-alpha 4]	4.2 1/2	[lower-alpha 5]	15.7
Sondaxe/Diario 16[p 3][p 10][p 11]	25 Apr–3 May 2001	1,800	?	? 30	? 19	? 9	? 14	[lower-alpha 4]	? 3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Bergareche/El Correo[p 3]	26–29 Apr 2001	3,600	?	? 28	? 20	? 10	? 14	[lower-alpha 4]	? 3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Sondaxe/La Voz de Galicia[p 12]	25–28 Apr 2001	900	?	41.0 30/33	22.9 19/21	? 7/9	17.7 12/14	[lower-alpha 4]	4.4 2/3	[lower-alpha 5]	18.1
CIS[p 13][p 14]	17–25 Apr 2001	2,487	73.5	38.7 28/31	24.7 21/23	11.6 8/9	18.6 14/16	[lower-alpha 4]	4.2 1/2	[lower-alpha 5]	14.0
Opina/La Vanguardia[p 15][p 16][p 17]	19–20 Apr 2001	1,500	?	37.0 27/28	22.5 20/21	15.5 10/12	18.5 14	[lower-alpha 4]	4.0 2	[lower-alpha 5]	14.5
Ikertalde/GPS[p 18][p 19]	14–28 Mar 2001	2,996	72.5	37.5 27/29	23.3 19/20	13.2 9/10	19.5 14/16	[lower-alpha 4]	4.4 3	[lower-alpha 5]	14.2
Opina/Cadena SER[p 20][p 21][p 22][p 23]	19–20 Mar 2001	1,500	?	38.6 29	23.4 18/19	13.5 10/11	18.0 13/15	[lower-alpha 4]	4.5 3	[lower-alpha 5]	15.2
PSOE[p 24]	9–12 Mar 2001	1,800	?	? 29/30	? 18/19	? 9/10	? 14/15	[lower-alpha 4]	? 2/3	[lower-alpha 5]	?
Opitel/Tele 5[p 25]	4 Mar 2001	?	?	? 26	? 18	? 9	? 15	? 4	? 2	? 1	?
Ipsos–Eco/ABC[p 26][p 27]	21–22 Feb 2001	900	?	31.7 22/23	21.4 19/20	15.7 10/11	18.9 14/16	6.5 4	4.3 3	0.8 1	10.3
CIS[p 28][p 29]	31 Jan–18 Feb 2001	2,482	72.0	31.3 22/24	21.6 18/20	14.4 10/11	18.4 14/15	7.0 5	4.5 2/3	0.7 0/1	9.7
PP[p 30][p 31][p 32]	17 Feb 2001	2,300	?	? 21/23	? 21/24	? 9/12	? 14/16	? 2/4	? 1/3	–	Tie
Ikertalde/GPS[p 33][p 34]	27 Nov–15 Dec 2000	2,016	70.0	29.4 21/23	21.7 18/20	14.6 10/11	19.2 16	7.6 5	4.9 3	0.3 0	7.7
CPS/EHU[p 35][p 36][p 37]	2–17 Nov 2000	1,800	?	28.3 22	23.4 22	14.5 9	17.8 14	8.1 5	5.0 3	[lower-alpha 5]	4.9
			?	28.3 22	22.8 20	14.5 10	17.8 14	8.1 5	5.0 3	0.6 1	5.5
Bergareche/El Correo[lower-roman 1][p 38][p 39]	26–29 Oct 2000	750	75.2	32.4 24	20.8 18	14.8 12	16.4 12	7.1 5	5.1 3	1.0 1	11.6
CPS/EHU[p 40][p 41]	5–16 Jun 2000	1,800	?	27.2 21	22.5 20	15.0 11	17.0 14	7.5 5	5.1 3	0.7 1	4.7
2000 general election	12 Mar 2000	N/A	63.8	30.4 24	28.3 25	–	23.3 19	7.6 5	5.4 2	–	2.1
1999 EP election	13 Jun 1999	N/A	64.5	33.9 26	19.8 18	19.5 14	19.5 17	[lower-alpha 4]	3.9 0	–	14.1
1999 foral elections	13 Jun 1999	N/A	64.8	34.7 27	19.1 17	19.7 15	18.3 14	[lower-alpha 4]	4.6 1	0.8 1	15.0
1999 local elections	13 Jun 1999	N/A	64.8	34.2	17.5	19.6	18.9	[lower-alpha 4]	4.4	0.8	14.6
1998 regional election	25 Oct 1998	N/A	70.0	27.6 21	19.9 16	17.7 14	17.4 14	8.6 6	5.6 2	1.2 2	7.7
Undecided and/or abstentionists excluded.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 13 May 2001 Basque Parliament election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Basque Nationalist Party–Basque Solidarity (PNV–EA)^1	604,222	42.38	+6.19	33	+6
	People's Party (PP)^2	326,933	22.93	+1.84	19	+1
	Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE))	253,195	17.76	+0.41	13	–1
	Basque Citizens (EH)	143,139	10.04	–7.62	7	–7
	United Left (IU/EB)	78,862	5.53	–0.07	3	+1
	Humanist Party (PH)	3,708	0.26	±0.00	0	±0
	Party of the Democratic Karma (PKD)	2,000	0.14	New	0	±0
	Workers for Democracy Coalition (TD)	1,017	0.07	New	0	±0
	Freedom (Askatasuna)	663	0.05	New	0	±0
	Carlist Party (EKA/PC)	530	0.04	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		11,508	0.81	–0.58
Total		1,425,777			75	±0
Valid votes		1,425,777	99.57	+0.10
Invalid votes		6,219	0.43	–0.10
Votes cast / turnout		1,431,996	78.97	+8.98
Abstentions		381,360	21.03	–8.98
Registered voters		1,813,356
Sources[7][8]

Popular vote PNV–EA   42.38% PP   22.93% PSE–EE (PSOE)   17.76% EH   10.04% IU/EB   5.53% Others   0.56% Blank ballots   0.81%

Seats PNV–EA   44.00% PP   25.33% PSE–EE (PSOE)   17.33% EH   9.33% IU/EB   4.00%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PNV–EA		PP		PSE–EE		EH		IU/EB
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Álava	33.6	9	32.5	9	20.4	5	6.1	1	5.9	1
Biscay	43.4	12	23.4	6	18.1	4	8.0	2	5.6	1
Guipúzcoa	44.3	12	18.0	4	16.1	4	15.1	4	5.2	1
Total	42.4	33	22.9	19	17.8	13	10.0	7	5.5	3
Sources[7][8]

Aftermath

Investiture
Ballot →		11 July 2001[lower-alpha 6]		12 July 2001[lower-alpha 6]
Required majority →		38 out of 75		Simple
	Juan José Ibarretxe (PNV) • PNV (26) • EA (7) (6 on 12 Jul) • IU/EB (3) (on 12 Jul)	33 / 75	N	35 / 75	Y
	Blank ballots • PP (19) • PSE–EE (13) • IU/EB (3) (on 11 Jul)	35 / 75		32 / 75
	Absentees • EA (1) (on 12 Jul)	0 / 75		1 / 75
Sources[7]

Notes

1. Results data for Basque Nationalist Party (27.62%, 21 seats) and Basque Solidarity (8.57%, 6 seats) in the 1998 election.
2. Results for People's Party (19.85%, 16 seats) and Alavese Unity (1.24%, 2 seats) in the 1998 election.
3. A 2000 legal amendment had seen the electoral threshold being lowered from five to three percent.
4. Within PNV.
5. Within PP.
6. The 7 EH MPs did not cast any ballot in the 11 and 12 July votes.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Los sondeos dan más crecimiento a PNV-EA que a PP-UA y PSE". El Mundo (in Spanish). 13 May 2001.
2. "La coalició PNB-EA guanya clarament els comicis a Euskadi". Racó Català (in Catalan). 13 May 2001.
3. "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco de 13 de mayo de 2001: ¿Unas elecciones sorprendentes?". Revista de Derecho Político (in Spanish). 2001.
4. "Encuestas y previsiones". La Razón (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
5. "PP y PSE podrían quedarse a un solo escaño de la mayoría absoluta en el País Vasco". ABC (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
6. "Encuesta de Ipsos-Eco Consulting para ABC". ABC (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
7. "PP y PSOE se acercan a la mayoría absoluta pese al alza de PNV-EA". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 4 May 2001. Archived from the original on 30 June 2001.
8. "Portada: PP y PSE rozan la mayoría suficiente para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
9. "PP y PSE rozan la mayoría suficiente para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
10. "Un tercio de los votantes del PP apuesta por un diálogo con ETA para lograr la paz". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 5 May 2001.
11. "Los sondeos colocan una alianza entre PP y PSE al borde de la mayoría absoluta". Última Hora (in Spanish). 7 May 2001.
12. "Los nacionalistas rozarían la mayoría mientras que PP-PSOE necesitarían a IU". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 1 May 2001.
13. "Preelectoral del País Vasco elecciones autonómicas, 2001 (Estudio nº 2414. Abril 2001)". CIS (in Spanish). 9 May 2001.
14. "El PNV no hace ascos al voto de Otegi". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 May 2001.
15. "PP y PSE se acercan a su objetivo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
16. "Los populares confían en los más de 45.000 votos por correo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
17. "El PNV gana, pero sólo podría gobernar con EH". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
18. "Previsiones de voto para Elecciones Autonómicas (Abril 2001)" (PDF). Eusko Jaurlaritza (in Spanish). 11 April 2001.
19. "Un sondeo del Gobierno vasco coloca al PP y al PSOE a dos escaños de la mayoría absoluta". El País (in Spanish). 12 April 2001.
20. "Elecciones en el País Vasco". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 6 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
21. "Intención de voto". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
22. "Ficha técnica". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
23. "El PNV y EA parten en la precampaña como ganadores, seguidos del Partido Popular". El País (in Spanish). 23 March 2001.
24. "IU, posible llave para un Gobierno no nacionalista, según un sondeo del PSOE". ABC (in Spanish). 7 April 2001.
25. "Aznar: 'Mayor ha renunciado a estar en el Gobierno para jugársela'". El País (in Spanish). 5 March 2001.
26. "El frente nacionalista pierde entre tres y cinco diputados y PP-PSE ganan hasta seis". ABC (in Spanish). 25 February 2001.
27. "Encuesta de Ipsos-Eco Consulting sobre las Elecciones Vascas". ABC (in Spanish). 25 February 2001.
28. "Situación social y política del País Vasco, XIII (Estudio nº 2407. Enero-Febrero 2001)". CIS (in Spanish). 20 March 2001.
29. "El CIS pronostica que el cambio de mayoría en el País Vasco es difícil pero no imposible". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 March 2001.
30. "El PP se ve en condiciones de ganar las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 February 2001.
31. "Mayor, Alonso y San Gil, cabezas de candidatura del PP a las vascas". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 1 March 2001.
32. "Arenas afirma que el PP está en posición de ganar en Euskadi, según los sondeos". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 17 February 2001.
33. "Previsiones de voto para Elecciones Autonómicas (Diciembre 2000)" (PDF). Eusko Jaurlaritza (in Spanish). 28 December 2000.
34. "Atutxa no ve más salida que las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 December 2000.
35. "La alianza de PP y UA podría igualar al PNV en las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 16 December 2000.
36. "Empate técnico en intención de voto entre nacionalistas y no nacionalistas". El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 December 2000.
37. "El Euskobarómetro augura un empate entre nacionalistas y constitucionalistas". El País (in Spanish). 16 December 2000.
38. "Euskal Etxeak. Nº 49 Año 2001. El Lehendakari convoca elecciones en Euskadi para el día 13 de mayo" (PDF). Eusko Jaurlaritza (in Spanish). 2001.
39. "El PNV volvería a ganar las elecciones, según una encuesta". El País (in Spanish). 15 November 2000.
40. "Un sondeo pone al PP a un solo escaño del PNV y deja a los nacionalistas sin mayoría". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 July 2000.
41. "Ibarretxe admite que la apuesta por el diálogo ha fracasado y se impone una nueva etapa". El País (in Spanish). 29 July 2000.

Other

1. "Ley Orgánica 3/1979, de 18 de diciembre, de Estatuto de Autonomía para el País Vasco". Organic Law No. 3 of 18 December 1979. Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
2. "Ley 5/1990, de 15 de junio, de Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco". Law No. 5 of 15 June 1990. Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
3. "Principales series desde 1971. Resultados por Provincias. Población residente por fecha, sexo y edad". ine.es (in Spanish). National Institute of Statistics. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
4. Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
5. "Ley 7/1981, de 30 de junio, sobre Ley de Gobierno". Law No. 7 of 30 June 1981. Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
6. "Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985. Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
7. "Basque Parliament elections since 1980". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Electoral History. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
8. "Election Results Archive". euskadi.eus (in Spanish). Basque Government. Retrieved 24 September 2017.