1991 Valencian regional election

The 1991 Valencian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Corts of the Valencian Community. All 89 seats in the Corts were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1991 Valencian regional election

26 May 1991
All 89 seats in the Corts Valencianes 45 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	2,916,465 6.9%
Turnout	2,019,411 (69.2%) 5.3 pp
Leader Joan Lerma Pedro Agramunt Héctor Villalba Party PSOE PP UV Leader since 31 July 1979 15 December 1990 1991 Leader's seat Valencia Valencia Valencia Last election 42 seats, 41.3% 25 seats, 24.7%[lower-alpha 1] 6 seats, 9.1% Seats won 45 31 7 Seat change 3 6 1 Popular vote 860,429 558,617 208,126 Percentage 42.8% 27.8% 10.4% Swing 1.5 pp 3.1 pp 1.3 pp   Leader Albert Taberner Alejandro Font de Mora Pere Mayor Party EU CDS UPV Leader since 1986 1991 1986 Leader's seat Valencia Castellón (lost) Valencia (lost) Last election 4 seats (IU–UPV)[lower-alpha 2] 10 seats, 11.2% 2 seats (IU–UPV)[lower-alpha 2] Seats won 6 0 0 Seat change 2 10 2 Popular vote 151,242 76,433 73,813 Percentage 7.5% 3.8% 3.7% Swing n/a 7.4 pp n/a
Constituency results map for the Corts Valencianes
President before election Joan Lerma PSOE Elected President Joan Lerma PSOE

For the third and final time to date, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won a regional election in the Valencian Community, regaining the overall majority of seats it had lost in the 1987 election. This was the last time the PSOE was able to access the Valencian government on its own, and the last until the 2015 election in which it went on to form the regional government of the Valencian Community.

As in other Spanish communities, the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) saw a substantial drop in its vote share, causing it to fall below the 5% threshold and lose all its 10 seats. The party's poor results across Spain led to the resignation of party leader and former Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez and to the eventual demise of the CDS as a relevant actor in Spanish politics.

The main right of centre parties, both the newly founded People's Party (PP) (a merger of the People's Alliance (AP) and other right-wing parties) and the regionalist Valencian Union (UV), came out reinforced from the election, mainly at the cost of the declining CDS. However, they were left unable to command an overall majority of seats, unlike what happened in the city of Valencia in the same year's election, in which a post-election agreement between both parties managed to oust the PSOE from the city's government and elect 1987 AP regional candidate Rita Barberá as city mayor.

United Left (IU) maintained the results obtained by the IU-UPV alliance in the 1987 election. Valencian People's Unity (UPV) had broken its alliance with IU in 1988 and was left out of the Courts as a result, being unable to surpass the 5% regional threshold to win seats.

Overview

Electoral system

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

The 89 members of the Corts Valencianes 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. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Alicante, Castellón and Valencia. Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of 20 seats, with the remaining 29 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations on the condition that the seat to population ratio in any given province did not exceed three times that of any other.[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 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.[2][3][4]

Election date

The term of the Corts Valencianes expired four years after the date of their previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the Corts 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 Corts on Sunday, 26 May 1991.[1][2][3][4]

The Corts Valencianes could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament.[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. 45 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Corts Valencianes.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout							LV			Lead
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	N/A	69.2	42.8 45	[lower-alpha 3]	3.8 0	10.4 7	7.5 6	3.7 0	1.8 0	[lower-alpha 3]	27.8 31	15.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 1][p 2]	18 May 1991	?	?	40.0 41/43	[lower-alpha 3]	5.1 4/5	10.9 8/9	9.1 7/9	3.2 0	3.4 0	[lower-alpha 3]	23.0 25/27	17.0
Metra Seis/El Independiente[p 1][p 2]	12 May 1991	?	?	40.4 42/44	[lower-alpha 3]	7.0 7	10.2 7/8	7.8 6	3.1 0	1.0 0	[lower-alpha 3]	23.6 25/27	16.8
Demoscopia/El País[p 1][p 2][p 3][p 4]	4–7 May 1991	650	?	39.4 44	[lower-alpha 3]	4.5 0	10.8 7	8.3 8	–	3.8 0	[lower-alpha 3]	28.3 30	11.1
1989 general election	29 Oct 1989	N/A	74.8	41.5 42	[lower-alpha 3]	7.8 7	6.8 4	9.1 8	1.9 0	1.7 0	[lower-alpha 3]	27.0 28	14.5
1989 EP election	15 Jun 1989	N/A	61.7	42.7 46	[lower-alpha 3]	7.5 7	6.8 5	5.9 6	2.6 0	1.0 0	[lower-alpha 3]	22.7 25	20.0
1987 regional election	10 Jun 1987	N/A	74.5	41.3 42	23.7 25	11.2 10	9.1 6	7.9 6		1.1 0	1.0 0	–	17.6

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Corts Valencianes election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	860,429	42.85	+1.57	45	+3
	People's Party (PP)^1	558,617	27.82	+3.11	31	+6
	Valencian Union (UV)	208,126	10.36	+1.22	7	+1
	United Left of the Valencian Country (EU)^2	151,242	7.53	n/a	6	+2
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	76,433	3.81	–7.43	0	–10
	Valencian People's Union (UPV)^2	73,813	3.68	n/a	0	–2
	The Greens (LV)	35,375	1.76	+0.65	0	±0
	The Greens of Alicante–Green Union (LVA–UVE)	5,569	0.28	New	0	±0
	Socialist Democracy (DS)	5,207	0.26	New	0	±0
	Cantonalist Party of the Alicantine Country (Alicantón)	4,119	0.21	New	0	±0
	Left Platform (PCE (m–l)–CRPE)^3	2,758	0.14	–0.02	0	±0
	Valencian Nationalist Union (UNV)^4	2,248	0.11	–0.10	0	±0
	National Front (FN)	2,184	0.11	New	0	±0
	Alliance for the Republic (AxR)^5	1,383	0.07	–0.02	0	±0
Blank ballots		20,606	1.03	–0.04
Total		2,008,109			89	±0
Valid votes		2,008,109	99.44	+0.56
Invalid votes		11,302	0.56	–0.56
Votes cast / turnout		2,019,411	69.24	–5.21
Abstentions		897,054	30.76	+5.21
Registered voters		2,916,465
Sources[5][6][7]

Popular vote PSOE   42.85% PP   27.82% UV   10.36% EU   7.53% CDS   3.81% UPV   3.68% LV   1.76% Others   1.17% Blank ballots   1.03%

Seats PSOE   50.56% PP   34.83% UV   7.87% EU   6.74%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PSOE		PP		UV		EU
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Alicante	44.6	16	33.1	12	1.7	−	7.3	2
Castellón	41.4	11	35.3	9	5.2	1	4.8	1
Valencia	42.2	18	23.3	10	16.3	6	8.3	3
Total	42.8	45	27.8	31	10.4	7	7.5	6
Sources[6][7]

Aftermath

Investiture
Candidate		Ballot →		9 July 1991
		Required majority →		45 out of 89
	Joan Lerma (PSOE)		Yes • PSOE (45)	45 / 89
			No • PP (31) • UV (7) • EU (6)	44 / 89
			Abstentions	0 / 89
			Absentees	0 / 89
	Pedro Agramunt (PP)		Yes • PP (31)	31 / 89
			No • PSOE (45) • UV (7) • EU (6)	58 / 89
			Abstentions	0 / 89
			Absentees	0 / 89
	Héctor Villalba (UV)		Yes • UV (7)	7 / 89
			No • PSOE (45) • PP (31) • EU (6)	82 / 89
			Abstentions	0 / 89
			Absentees	0 / 89
	Albert Taberner (EU)		Yes • EU (6)	6 / 89
			No • PSOE (45) • PP (31) • UV (7)	83 / 89
			Abstentions	0 / 89
			Absentees	0 / 89
Sources[7]

Notes

1. Aggregated data for AP and PDP–CV in the 1987 election.
2. Within the IU–UPV alliance in the 1987 election.
3. Within PP.

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. "El 'caso Naseiro' no deja huellas". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
4. "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.

Other

1. "Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community of 1982". Organic Law No. 1 of 1 July 1982. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2017.
2. "Valencian Electoral Law of 1987". Law No. 2 of 31 March 1987. Official Journal of the Valencian Community (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 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. "Electoral Results. Electoral Data - Regional Election: 1991". www.cortsvalencianes.es (in Spanish). Valencian Government. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
6. "Corts Valencianes election results, 26 May 1991" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of the Valencian Community. 18 July 1991. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
7. "Eleccions a les Corts Valencianes (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 September 2017.