1995 Asturian regional election

The 1995 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th 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.

1995 Asturian regional election

← 1991 28 May 1995 1999 →
All 45 seats in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias 23 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	945,105 3.5%
Turnout	652,640 (69.1%) 10.4 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Sergio Marqués Antonio Trevín Gaspar Llamazares Party PP PSOE IU Leader since 1995 17 June 1993 1991 Leader's seat Central Eastern Central Last election 15 seats, 30.4% 21 seats, 41.0% 6 seats, 14.8% Seats won 21 17 6 Seat change 6 4 0 Popular vote 272,495 219,527 106,538 Percentage 42.0% 33.8% 16.4% Swing 11.6 pp 7.2 pp 1.6 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Xuan Xosé Sánchez Vicente Alfonso Román Party PAS CDS Leader since 1985 1995 Leader's seat Central Central (lost) Last election 1 seat, 2.7%[a] 2 seats, 6.7% Seats won 1 0 Seat change 0 2 Popular vote 20,669 11,555 Percentage 3.2% 1.8% Swing 0.5 pp 4.9 pp
Constituency results map for the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
President before election Antonio Trevín PSOE Elected President Sergio Marqués PP

The election was won by the People's Party (PP) under Sergio Marqués, which became the most-voted party in the region for the first and, to date, only time. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) vote suffered from the population weariness after 12 years of Socialist governments, the economic crisis and the eruption of numerous scandals both at the regional and the national level (one such scandal had forced the resignation of President Juan Luis Rodríguez-Vigil in 1993). United Left (IU) scored a record result despite failing to win any new seats, while the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) was expelled from the regional legislature.

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. Elections to the General Junta were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 26 May 1991, setting the election date for the General Junta on Sunday, 28 May 1995.^[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.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout					PAS	Lead
1995 regional election	28 May 1995	—	69.1	33.8 17	42.0 21	16.4 6	1.8 0	3.2 1	8.2
Eco Consulting/RTVE[p 1]	28 May 1995	?	?	33.0 16/18	41.9 20/22	15.7 6/7	–	4.1 1	8.9
Vox Pública–ODEC/Antena 3[p 1]	28 May 1995	?	?	? 15/18	? 20/23	–	–	–	?
Demoscopia/El País[p 2][p 3][p 4][p 5]	10–15 May 1995	1,000	?	31.0 15/16	41.5 20/21	16.5 7/8	–	–	10.5
CIS[p 6][p 7]	24 Apr–10 May 1995	600	71.2	34.0	39.0	17.5	–	3.9	5.0
1994 EP election	12 Jun 1994	—	58.2	32.1	42.6	19.5	1.5	1.8	10.5
1993 general election	6 Jun 1993	—	75.4	39.3	37.4	15.4	3.7	1.6	1.9
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	—	58.7	41.0 21	30.4 15	14.8 6	6.7 2	2.7 1	10.6

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 28 May 1995 General Junta of the Principality of Asturias election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	272,495	42.00	+11.60	21	+6
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	219,527	33.83	−7.19	17	−4
	United Left (IU)	106,538	16.42	+1.57	6	±0
	Asturianist Party (PAS)1	20,669	3.19	+0.45	1	±0
	Asturian Centre–Democratic and Social Centre (CA–CDS)	11,555	1.78	−4.97	0	−2
	The Greens of Asturias (LV)	4,504	0.69	−0.68	0	±0
	Asturian League (LA)	1,959	0.30	New	0	±0
	Andecha Astur (AA)	1,948	0.30	+0.09	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	1,108	0.17	−0.16	0	±0
	Asturian Council (Conceyu)	862	0.13	−0.23	0	±0
Blank ballots		7,655	1.18	−0.05
Total		648,820			45	±0
Valid votes		648,820	99.41	+0.16
Invalid votes		3,820	0.59	−0.16
Votes cast / turnout		652,640	69.05	+10.36
Abstentions		292,465	30.95	−10.36
Registered voters		945,105
Sources[5][6][7]
Footnotes: 1 Asturianist Party results are compared to Asturian Coalition totals in the 1991 election.

Popular vote PP   42.00% PSOE   33.83% IU   16.42% PAS   3.19% CA–CDS   1.78% Others   1.60% Blank ballots   1.18%

Seats PP   46.67% PSOE   37.78% IU   13.33% PAS   2.22%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PP		PSOE		IU		PAS
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Central	42.0	15	31.4	11	18.6	6	3.5	1
Eastern	44.1	3	42.6	2	6.5	−	2.8	−
Western	40.7	3	43.5	4	9.2	−	1.4	−
Total	42.0	21	33.8	17	16.4	6	3.2	1
Sources[5][6][7]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot →		7 July 1995		10 July 1995
Required majority →		23 out of 45		Simple
	Sergio Marqués (PP) • PP (21)	21 / 45	N	21 / 45	Y
	Antonio Trevín (PSOE) • PSOE (17)	17 / 45	N	17 / 45	N
	Gaspar Llamazares (IU) • IU (6) (on 7 Jul)	6 / 45	N	Eliminated
	Abstentions • IU (6) (on 10 Jul) • PAS (1)	1 / 45		7 / 45
	Absentees	0 / 45		0 / 45
Sources[7]

1999 motion of no confidence

Motion of no confidence Ovidio Sánchez (PP)
Ballot →		10 March 1999
Required majority →		23 out of 45 N
	Yes • PP (16)	16 / 45
	No • URAS (5) • Independent (1)	6 / 45
	Abstentions • PSOE (15) • IU (4) • PAS (1)	20 / 45
	Absentees • PSOE (2) • IU (1)	3 / 45
Sources[7][8]

Notes

1. Results for PAS–UNA in the 1991 election.