1984 Catalan regional election

A regional election was held in Catalonia on Sunday, 29 April 1984, to elect the 2nd Parliament of the autonomous community. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

1984 Catalan regional election

← 1980 29 April 1984 1988 →
All 135 seats in the Parliament of Catalonia 68 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	4,494,340 1.4%
Turnout	2,892,486 (64.4%) 3.0 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jordi Pujol Raimon Obiols Eduard Bueno Party CiU PSC–PSOE AP–PDP–UL Leader since 17 November 1974 12 July 1983 10 November 1983 Leader's seat Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona Last election 43 seats, 27.8% 33 seats, 22.4% 0 seats, 2.4%[a] Seats won 72 41 11 Seat change 29 8 11 Popular vote 1,346,729 866,281 221,601 Percentage 46.8% 30.1% 7.7% Swing 19.0 pp 7.7 pp 5.3 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Antoni Gutiérrez Heribert Barrera Party PSUC ERC Leader since 1982 1980 Leader's seat Barcelona Barcelona Last election 25 seats, 18.8% 14 seats, 8.9% Seats won 6 5 Seat change 19 9 Popular vote 160,581 126,943 Percentage 5.6% 4.4% Swing 13.2 pp 4.5 pp
Vote winner strength by constituency Election results by constituency
President before election Jordi Pujol CDC (CiU) Elected President Jordi Pujol CDC (CiU)

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Catalonia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.^[1] Transitory Provision Fourth of the Statute established a specific electoral procedure for elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, of application for as long as a regional electoral law was not approved, to be supplemented by the provisions within the national electoral law. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Catalonia and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 135 members of the Parliament of Catalonia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Barcelona, Gerona, Lérida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats:^[1][2]

Seats	Constituencies
85	Barcelona
18	Tarragona
17	Gerona
15	Lérida

In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.^[3]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Catalonia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The President of the Government was required to call an election fifteen days prior to the date of expiry of parliament, with election day taking place within sixty days after the call. The previous election was held on 20 March 1980, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 20 March 1984. The election was required to be called no later than 5 March 1984, with it taking place on the sixtieth day from the call, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Friday, 4 May 1984.^[1]

The Parliament of Catalonia 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 Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called.^[4]

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 fifteen days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one-thousandth of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election—with a compulsory minimum of 500 signatures—disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[5]

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.
						Vote %	Seats
	CiU	List Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC)		Jordi Pujol	Catalan nationalism Centrism	27.8%	43
	PSC–PSOE	List Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC–PSOE)		Raimon Obiols	Social democracy	22.4%	33
	PSUC	List Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC)		Antoni Gutiérrez	Communism Catalanism	18.8%	25
	ERC	List Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)		Heribert Barrera	Catalan nationalism Left-wing nationalism Social democracy	8.9%	14
	AP–PDP–UL	List People's Alliance (AP) People's Democratic Party (PDP) Liberal Union (UL)		Eduard Bueno	Conservatism Christian democracy	2.4% [a]	0

Opinion polls

The tables below lists opinion polling results 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 poll.

Voting intention estimates

The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. Refusals are generally excluded from the party vote percentages, while question wording and the treatment of "don't know" responses and those not intending to vote may vary between polling organisations. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 68 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout								EEC		Lead
1984 regional election	29 Apr 1984	—	64.4	46.8 72	30.1 41	5.6 6	–	4.4 5	–	7.7 11	1.2 0	–	16.7
Iope–Etmar/El Periódico[p 1]	12–17 Apr 1984	2,300	66–72	42.3 64	30.6 42	5.3 5	–	6.0 8	–	11.3 16	–	–	11.7
Sofemasa/La Vanguardia[b][p 2][p 3][p 4]	11–13 Apr 1984	2,400	70	44.6 66/68	32.1 44/46	6.4 7/8	–	4.6 6	–	7.2 9/10	2.1 0/1	–	12.5
Metra Seis/El País[p 4][p 5][p 6]	9–12 Apr 1984	2,700	64	36.9 56/58	32.0 43/45	8.6 9/11	–	7.3 9/10	–	9.9 13/14	–	–	4.9
Avui[p 7]	3 Apr 1984	?	?	40.2	23.6	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16.6
Aresco/ABC[p 8][p 9]	9–12 Mar 1984	2,200	?	41.0 61	29.1 42	6.9 6	–	6.3 6	–	13.9 20	–	–	11.9
Sofemasa/La Vanguardia[b][p 4][p 10][p 11]	21–23 Mar 1984	2,400	?	33.7 51/54	38.8 49/52	8.2 9/11	–	6.2 8/10	–	8.8 12/13	–	–	5.1
1983 local elections	8 May 1983	—	67.4	25.5	40.4	11.5	–	2.9	–	9.5	0.1	0.7	14.9
1982 general election	28 Oct 1982	—	80.8	22.5 (35)	45.8 (68)	4.6 (5)	2.0 (1)	4.0 (5)	0.2 (0)	14.7 (21)	0.9 (0)	2.0 (0)	23.3
1980 regional election	20 Mar 1980	—	61.3	27.8 43	22.4 33	18.8 25	10.6 18	8.9 14	2.7 2	2.4* 0	1.7 0	–	5.4
(*) Results for Catalan Solidarity.

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size								EEC		?	N	Lead
1984 regional election	29 Apr 1984	—	30.0	19.3	3.6	–	2.8	–	4.9	0.8	–	—	35.6	10.7
CIS[p 12]	23–25 Apr 1984	2,281	38.2	19.7	3.7	–	4.0	–	4.7	–	–	16.0	10.6	18.5
CIS[p 13]	15 Apr 1984	2,385	28.0	22.4	2.8	–	3.6	–	3.2	–	–	29.2	9.0	5.6
Sofemasa/La Vanguardia[p 3][p 14]	11–13 Apr 1984	2,400	27.9	20.1	4.0	–	2.9	–	4.5	1.3	–	24.8	10.6	7.8
CIS[p 15]	10 Apr 1984	1,044	28.0	26.0	5.0	–	3.0	–	6.0	–	–	24.0	6.0	2.0
DYM/CIS[p 16]	1 Apr 1984	2,271	26.5	20.9	3.6	–	2.9	–	3.6	–	–	35.9	4.6	5.6
Sofemasa/La Vanguardia[p 10][p 11]	21–23 Mar 1984	2,400	20.2	23.3	4.9	–	3.7	–	5.3	–	–	31.1	8.9	3.1
CIS[p 17]	1 Mar 1984	2,466	25.2	22.4	3.9	–	2.7	–	4.2	–	–	33.2	6.5	2.8
Metra Seis/CIS[p 18]	1 Jan 1984	2,101	27.0	22.0	5.0	–	2.0	–	4.0	–	–	31.0	7.0	5.0
CIS[p 19]	1 Nov 1983	1,680	24.0	27.0	5.0	–	4.0	–	6.0	1.0	–	26.0	7.0	3.0
DYM/CIS[p 20]	1 Sep 1983	2,198	19.3	35.7	5.0	–	3.4	–	3.2	0.6	–	22.8	8.7	16.4
1983 local elections	8 May 1983	—	17.0	26.9	7.6	–	1.9	–	6.3	0.1	0.4	—	32.6	9.9
1982 general election	28 Oct 1982	—	17.9	36.5	3.7	1.6	3.2	0.2	11.7	0.7	1.6	—	19.2	18.6
1980 regional election	20 Mar 1980	—	17.0	13.7	11.5	6.5	5.4	1.6	1.4*	1.0	–	—	38.7	3.3
(*) Results for Catalan Solidarity.

Victory likelihood

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None	?	Lead
CIS[p 12]	23–25 Apr 1984	2,281	70.0	14.1	0.3	0.8	1.0	0.4	13.3	55.9
CIS[p 13]	15 Apr 1984	2,385	41.4	22.0	1.0	0.7	1.9	0.2	32.7	19.4
CIS[p 15]	10 Apr 1984	1,044	42.0	27.0	1.0	1.0	4.0	–	25.0	15.0
DYM/CIS[p 16]	1 Apr 1984	2,271	42.1	22.7	2.2	0.8	2.3	0.2	29.7	19.4
CIS[p 17]	1 Mar 1984	2,466	41.3	19.3	0.9	0.9	2.6	–	35.0	22.0
Metra Seis/CIS[p 18]	1 Jan 1984	2,101	38.0	23.0	2.0	1.0	4.0	–	31.0	15.0
CIS[p 19]	1 Nov 1983	1,680	33.0	33.0	–	–	–	6.0	28.0	Tie
DYM/CIS[p 20]	1 Sep 1983	2,198	28.9	43.9	–	–	–	7.9	19.3	15.0

Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Government of Catalonia.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Pujol CiU	Obiols PSC	Gutiérrez PSUC	Barrera ERC	Bueno CP
CIS[p 12]	23–25 Apr 1984	2,281	51.1	21.1	4.2	6.2	3.3	6.3	7.8	30.0
CIS[p 13]	15 Apr 1984	2,385	40.9	20.5	3.4	4.7	2.5	–	28.1	20.4
Sofemasa/La Vanguardia[p 14]	11–13 Apr 1984	2,400	36.9	25.5	9.1	10.3	6.3	11.9		11.4
Metra Seis/El País[p 6][p 21]	9–12 Apr 1984	2,700	36.1	22.1	7.8	7.8	4.3	21.9		14.0
CIS[p 15]	10 Apr 1984	1,044	37.0	26.0	7.0	4.0	5.0	–	21.0	11.0
DYM/CIS[p 16]	1 Apr 1984	2,271	37.4	18.2	5.0	5.4	3.0	3.6	27.4	19.2
Sofemasa/La Vanguardia[p 11]	21–23 Mar 1984	2,400	30.8	22.0	9.3	8.5	6.5	22.9		8.8
CIS[p 17]	1 Mar 1984	2,466	34.8	16.2	3.2	4.4	3.5	–	37.9	18.6
Metra Seis/CIS[p 18]	1 Jan 1984	2,101	50.0	26.0	–	–	–	–	23.0	24.0
CIS[p 19]	1 Nov 1983	1,680	34.0	19.0	5.0	7.0	3.0	–	32.0	15.0
DYM/CIS[p 20]	1 Sep 1983	2,198	32.1	16.5	6.1	8.7	–	1.5	35.1	15.6

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 29 April 1984 Parliament of Catalonia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Convergence and Union (CiU)	1,346,729	46.80	+18.97	72	+29
	Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC–PSOE)	866,281	30.11	+7.68	41	+8
	People's Coalition (AP–PDP–UL)1	221,601	7.70	+5.33	11	+11
	Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC)	160,581	5.58	–13.19	6	–19
	Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)	126,943	4.41	–4.49	5	–9
	Party of the Communists of Catalonia (PCC)2	68,836	2.39	+2.09	0	±0
	Agreement of the Catalan Left (EEC)3	35,937	1.25	–0.41	0	±0
	Spanish Vertex Ecological Development Revindication (VERDE)	8,714	0.30	New	0	±0
	Social Democratic Party of Catalonia (PSDC)	6,768	0.24	New	0	±0
	Workers' Socialist Party (PST)	5,381	0.19	New	0	±0
	Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI)	3,533	0.12	New	0	±0
	Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE)	2,694	0.09	New	0	±0
	Communist Workers' Party of Catalonia (PCOC)	2,593	0.09	–0.39	0	±0
	Revolutionary Communist League (LCR)	1,861	0.06	New	0	±0
	Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist) (PCE (m–l))	1,834	0.06	New	0	±0
	Spanish Democratic Party (PDE)	1,110	0.04	New	0	±0
	Party of Lleida (PLL)	856	0.03	New	0	±0
	Unity of Aran–Aranese Nationalist Party (UA–PNA)	787	0.03	New	0	±0
	Communist Movement of Catalonia (MCC)4	164	0.01	–1.21	0	±0
	Centrists of Catalonia (CC–UCD)	n/a	n/a	–10.61	0	–18
	Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA)	n/a	n/a	–2.66	0	–2
Blank ballots		14,313	0.49	–0.17
Total		2,877,516			135	±0
Valid votes		2,877,516	99.48	–0.02
Invalid votes		14,970	0.52	+0.02
Votes cast / turnout		2,892,486	64.36	+3.02
Abstentions		1,601,854	35.64	–3.02
Registered voters		4,494,340
Sources[6][7]
Footnotes: 1 People's Coalition results are compared to Catalan Solidarity totals in the 1980 election. 2 Party of the Communists of Catalonia results are compared to Communist Unity totals in the 1980 election. 3 Agreement of the Catalan Left results are compared to Left Nationalists totals in the 1980 election. 4 Communist Movement of Catalonia results are compared to Unity for Socialism totals in the 1980 election.

Popular vote CiU   46.80% PSC–PSOE   30.11% AP–PDP–UL   7.70% PSUC   5.58% ERC   4.41% PCC   2.39% EEC   1.25% Others   1.34% Blank ballots   0.49%

Seats CiU   53.33% PSC–PSOE   30.37% AP–PDP–UL   8.15% PSUC   4.44% ERC   3.70%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	CiU		PSC		CP		PSUC		ERC
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Barcelona	44.3	41	32.3	29	7.6	7	6.1	5	4.1	3
Girona	59.6	11	21.5	4	5.6	1	3.2	−	6.1	1
Lleida	57.7	10	19.9	3	8.8	1	2.8	−	5.7	1
Tarragona	48.1	10	26.7	5	10.2	2	5.3	1	4.6	−
Total	46.8	72	30.1	41	7.7	11	5.6	6	4.4	5
Sources[8][9][10][11][7]

Aftermath

Investiture Jordi Pujol (CDC)
Ballot →		30 May 1984
Required majority →		68 out of 135 Y
	Yes • CiU (72) • AP–PDP–UL (11) • ERC (4)	87 / 135
	No • PSC (38) • PSUC (6)	44 / 135
	Abstentions • PSC (3) • ERC (1)	4 / 135
	Absentees	0 / 135
Sources[7]

Notes

1. Results for SC in the 1980 election.
2. Undecided and/or abstentionists excluded.