1991 Asturian regional election

The 1991 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. All 45 seats in the General Junta were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1991 Asturian regional election

← 1987 26 May 1991 1995 →
All 45 seats in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias 23 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	913,215 4.4%
Turnout	535,967 (58.7%) 6.9 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil Isidro Fernández Rozada Laura González Party PSOE PP IU Leader since 20 March 1991 1983 1991 Leader's seat Central Central Central Last election 20 seats, 38.9% 13 seats, 25.8%[a] 4 seats, 12.1% Seats won 21 15 6 Seat change 1 2 2 Popular vote 218,193 161,703 78,982 Percentage 41.0% 30.4% 14.8% Swing 2.1 pp 4.6 pp 2.7 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Adolfo Barthe Aza Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente Party CDS PAS–UNA Leader since 1987 1985 Leader's seat Central Central Last election 8 seats, 18.5% 0 seats, 1.3%[b] Seats won 2 1 Seat change 6 1 Popular vote 35,884 14,569 Percentage 6.7% 2.7% Swing 11.8 pp 1.4 pp
Constituency results map for the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
President before election Pedro de Silva PSOE Elected President Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil PSOE

The Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) suffered a significant drop of its vote share, losing 6 out of the 8 seats it had held previous to the 1991 election and around 2/3 of its votes. On the other hand, all three Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), newly founded People's Party (PP) (successor party to the late People's Alliance) and United Left (IU) won seats. Additionally, the Asturianist Party (PAS) was able to overcome the 3% threshold in the Central District and entered the General Junta with 1 seat.

After the election, Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil was elected President of Asturias, succeeding Pedro de Silva who did not stand for re-election to a third term in office.

Overview

Electoral system

The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Asturias, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Asturian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.^[1]

Voting for the General Junta was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Asturias and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 45 members of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias 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, which were established by law as follows:

• Central District, comprising the municipalities of Aller, Avilés, Bimenes, Carreño, Caso, Castrillón, Corvera de Asturias, Gijón, Gozón, Illas, Las Regueras, Langreo, Laviana, Lena, Llanera, Mieres, Morcín, Noreña, Oviedo, Proaza, Quirós, Ribera de Arriba, Riosa, San Martín del Rey Aurelio, Santo Adriano, Sariego, Siero, Sobrescobio and Soto del Barco.
• Eastern District, comprising the municipalities of Amieva, Cabrales, Cabranes, Cangas de Onís, Caravia, Colunga, Llanes, Nava, Onís, Parres, Peñamellera Alta, Peñamellera Baja, Piloña, Ponga, Ribadedeva, Ribadesella and Villaviciosa.
• Western District, comprising the municipalities of Allande, Belmonte de Miranda, Boal, Candamo, Cangas del Narcea, Castropol, Coaña, Cudillero, Degaña, El Franco, Grado, Grandas de Salime, Ibias, Illano, Muros de Nalón, Navia, Pesoz, Pravia, Salas, San Martín de Oscos, Santa Eulalia de Oscos, San Tirso de Abres, Somiedo, Tapia de Casariego, Taramundi, Teverga, Tineo, Valdés, Vegadeo, Villanueva de Oscos, Villayón and Yernes y Tameza.

Each constituency was allocated an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 39 being distributed in proportion to their populations.^[2]

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]

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][4]

Election date

The term of the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias expired four years after the date of its previous election. Legal amendments earlier in 1991 established that elections to the General Junta 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 General Junta on Sunday, 26 May 1991.^[1][2][4]

The General Junta 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 General Junta 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 poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout					PAS		LV		Lead
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	—	58.7	41.0 21	[c]	6.7 2	14.8 6	2.7 1	[c]	1.4 0	30.4 15	10.6
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 1][p 2]	18 May 1991	?	?	39.8 19/21	[c]	12.5 4/5	16.2 6/7	–	[c]	–	26.1 13/14	13.7
Metra Seis/El Independiente[p 1][p 2]	12 May 1991	?	?	38.1 20	[c]	9.4 3	16.1 7	–	[c]	4.4 1	26.9 14	11.2
Demoscopia/El País[p 1][p 2][p 3][p 4]	4–7 May 1991	600	?	39.6 20/21	[c]	6.8 2/3	15.6 6	–	[c]	4.2 0	32.2 16/17	7.4
1989 general election	29 Oct 1989	—	68.9	40.6	[c]	12.5	15.6	0.6	[c]	0.7	26.5	14.1
1989 EP election	15 Jun 1989	—	54.4	41.5	[c]	11.3	11.7	1.1	[c]	0.9	22.5	19.0
1987 regional election	10 Jun 1987	—	66.6	38.9 20	25.2 13	18.5 8	12.1 4	1.3 0	0.6 0	–	–	13.7

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 General Junta of the Principality of Asturias election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	218,193	41.02	+2.11	21	+1
	People's Party (PP)1	161,703	30.40	+4.59	15	+2
	United Left (IU)	78,982	14.85	+2.76	6	+2
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	35,884	6.75	−11.77	2	−6
	Asturian Coalition (PAS–UNA)2	14,569	2.74	+1.46	1	+1
	The Greens (LV)	7,299	1.37	New	0	±0
	Gijonese Garments Workers (TGC)	2,678	0.50	New	0	±0
	Independent Council of Asturias (Conceyu)	1,938	0.36	New	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	1,768	0.33	New	0	±0
	Asturian People's Union (UPA)	1,263	0.24	New	0	±0
	Andecha Astur (AA)	1,137	0.21	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		6,533	1.23	±0.00
Total		531,947			45	±0
Valid votes		531,947	99.25	+0.65
Invalid votes		4,020	0.75	−0.65
Votes cast / turnout		535,967	58.69	−7.89
Abstentions		377,248	41.31	+7.89
Registered voters		913,215
Sources[5][6][7]
Footnotes: 1 People's Party results are compared to the combined totals of People's Alliance and People's Democratic Party in the 1987 election. 2 Asturian Coalition results are compared to Asturianist Party totals in the 1987 election.

Popular vote PSOE   41.02% PP   30.40% IU   14.85% CDS   6.75% PAS–UNA   2.74% LV   1.37% Others   1.65% Blank ballots   1.23%

Seats PSOE   46.67% PP   33.33% IU   13.33% CDS   4.44% PAS–UNA   2.22%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PSOE		PP		IU		CDS		PAS–UNA
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Central	39.1	13	29.4	10	17.1	6	6.4	2	3.1	1
Eastern	45.0	3	37.5	2	5.0	−	7.5	−	2.3	−
Western	48.1	5	31.3	3	9.3	−	7.8	−	1.0	−
Total	41.0	21	30.4	15	14.8	6	6.7	2	2.7	1
Sources[5][6][7]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot →		22 June 1991
Required majority →		23 out of 45
	Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil (PSOE) • PSOE (20) • IU (6)	26 / 45	Y
	Abstentions • PP (15) • CDS (2) • PAS (1)	18 / 45
	Absentees • PSOE (1)	1 / 45
Sources[7]

1993 investiture

Investiture
Ballot →		15 June 1993		17 June 1993
Required majority →		23 out of 45		Simple
	Antonio Trevín (PSOE) • PSOE (20)	20 / 45	N	20 / 45	Y
	Abstentions • PP (15) • IU (6) • CDS (2) • PAS (1)	24 / 45		24 / 45
	Absentees • PSOE (1)	1 / 45		1 / 45
Sources[7]

Notes

1. Results for AP (25.18%, 13 seats) and PDP (0.63%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
2. Results for PAS in the 1987 election.
3. Within PP.