Basque regional election, 1984

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 and the Basque 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 5 percent of valid votes—which, unlike other electoral legislation in Spain, did not include 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 Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Guipúzcoa. Each constituency was 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 1984: 264,410, 1,189,417 and 694,822, respectively.^[3]

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 at least the signature of 500 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 fifteen days of the election being called.^[2][4]

Election date

The term of the Basque Parliament expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. An election was required to take place within from thirty-six and forty-five days from the date of expiry of parliament. The previous election was held on 9 March 1980, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 9 March 1984. The election was required to be held no later than the forty-fifth day from dissolution, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Monday, 23 April 1984.^[1][2]

After legal amendments in 1981, the Lehendakari was granted 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]

Overall

← Summary of the 26 February 1984 Basque Parliament election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	451,178	41.81	+3.86	32	+7
	Socialist Party of the Basque Country (PSE–PSOE)	247,786	22.96	+8.80	19	+10
	Popular Unity (HB)	157,389	14.59	–1.89	11	±0
	People's Coalition (AP–PDP–UL)1	100,581	9.32	+4.56	7	+5
	Basque Country Left (EE)	85,671	7.94	–1.84	6	±0
	Communist Party of the Basque Country (PCE/EPK)	14,985	1.39	–2.62	0	–1
	Neighborhood Labor (Auzolan)2	10,714	0.99	–0.76	0	±0
	Left Socialist Candidacy (CSI)	2,507	0.23	New	0	±0
	Workers' Socialist Party (PST)	2,173	0.20	–0.03	0	±0
	Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist) (PCE (m–l))	1,044	0.10	New	0	±0
	Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)	n/a	n/a	–8.49	0	–6
Blank ballots3		5,029	0.47	+0.08
Total		1,079,057			75	+15
Valid votes		1,079,057	99.42	+0.41
Invalid votes		6,247	0.58	–0.41
Votes cast / turnout		1,085,304	68.49	+8.73
Abstentions		499,236	31.51	–8.73
Registered voters		1,584,540
Sources[6][7]
Footnotes: 1 People's Coalition results are compared to People's Alliance totals in the 1980 election. 2 Auzolan results are compared to the combined totals of Communist Movement of the Basque Country and Revolutionary Communist League in the 1980 election. 3 The 1983 electoral law provided that blank ballots would not count as valid votes for the application of the 5 percent threshold in each district. However, this rule was not determinant in excluding any party from seat distribution during its time of application (the 1984 and 1986 elections). As a result, and for comparison purposes, blank ballots are shown here included within valid votes.

Distribution by constituency

Investiture vote

First round: 11 April 1984
Absolute majority (38/75) required

Choice		Vote
		Parties	Votes
	NCarlos Garaikoetxea	PNV (32)	32 / 75
	Blank ballots	PSE (19), AP–PDP–UL (7), EE (6)	32 / 75
Absences: HB (11)
Source: historiaelectoral.com

Second round: 12 April 1984
Simple majority required

Choice		Vote
		Parties	Votes
	YCarlos Garaikoetxea	PNV (32)	32 / 75
	Blank ballots	PSE (19), AP–PDP–UL (7), EE (6)	32 / 75
Absences: HB (11)
Source: historiaelectoral.com