1995 Murcian regional election

The 1995 Murcian regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 1995, to elect the 4th Regional Assembly of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. All 45 seats in the Regional Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

1995 Murcian regional election

← 1991 28 May 1995 1999 →
All 45 seats in the Regional Assembly of Murcia 23 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	847,967 9.0%
Turnout	638,297 (75.3%) 8.1 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ramón Luis Valcárcel María Antonia Martínez Antonio Joaquín Dólera Party PP PSOE IU–LV–RM Leader since 5 October 1991 28 April 1993 1995 Leader's seat Three Three Three Last election 17 seats, 33.5% 24 seats, 45.3% 4 seats, 11.3%[a] Seats won 26 15 4 Seat change 9 9 0 Popular vote 330,514 201,659 78,875 Percentage 52.2% 31.9% 12.5% Swing 18.7 pp 13.4 pp 1.2 pp
Constituency results map for the Regional Assembly of Murcia
President before election María Antonia Martínez PSOE Elected President Ramón Luis Valcárcel PP

Former president Carlos Collado had been forced to resign in April 1993 by his own party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), as a result of the ongoing struggle between the two main party factions (the guerristas and the renovadores) and a political scandal over the purchase of the Casa Grande estate.^[1][2] He was replaced by María Antonia Martínez, the first woman presiding over a Spanish autonomous community as well as the only one to date holding the office in the Region of Murcia.^[3] The crisis resulting in Collado's resignation was among the factors said to contribute to the opposition People's Party (PP) spectacular gains in that year's June general election, overcoming the PSOE as the most voted party in the region for the first time in democracy;^[4] a feat which was confirmed in the 1994 European Parliament election.^[5][6]

The regional election resulted in the PP consolidating its gains, winning by a landslide as the vote for the ruling PSOE plummeted.^[7] PP leader Ramón Luis Valcárcel would become the new President of the Region of Murcia,^[8] with the PP remaining in government ever since. The PP would also remain the prime party of Murcian politics until 2019.

Overview

Electoral system

The Regional Assembly of Murcia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Murcia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Murcian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.^[9]

Voting for the Regional Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Region of Murcia and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 45 members of the Regional Assembly of Murcia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established by law as follows:

• District One (comprising the municipalities of Lorca, Aguilas, Puerto Lumbreras, Totana, Alhama de Murcia, Librilla, Aledo and Mazarrón).
• District Two (comprising the municipalities of Cartagena, La Unión, Fuente Alamo de Murcia, Torre-Pacheco, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar and Los Alcázares).
• District Three (comprising the municipalities of Murcia, Alcantarilla, Beniel, Molina de Segura, Alguazas, Las Torres de Cotillas, Lorquí, Ceutí, Cieza, Abarán, Blanca, Archena, Ricote, Ulea, Villanueva del Río Segura, Ojós, Fortuna, Abanilla and Santomera).
• District Four (comprising the municipalities of Caravaca, Cehegín, Calasparra, Moratalla, Bullas, Pliego, Mula, Albudeite and Campos del Río).
• District Five (comprising the municipalities of Yecla and Jumilla).

Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of one seat, with the remaining 40 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations.^[10]

Election date

The term of the Regional Assembly of Murcia expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Regional Assembly 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 Regional Assembly on Sunday, 28 May 1995.^[9][10][11]

The Regional Assembly of Murcia 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 Regional Assembly was to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.^[9]

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 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 Region of Murcia, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[10][11]

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
	PSOE	List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)		María Antonia Martínez	Social democracy	45.3%	24
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Ramón Luis Valcárcel	Conservatism Christian democracy	33.5%	17
	IU–LV–RM	List United Left (IU) The Greens of the Region of Murcia (LVRM)		Antonio Joaquín Dólera	Socialism Communism	11.3% [a]	4

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 Regional Assembly of Murcia.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout				Lead
1995 regional election	28 May 1995	—	76.0	31.7 15	52.3 26	12.5 4	20.6
Eco Consulting/RTVE[p 1][p 2]	28 May 1995	?	?	29.9 14/16	50.9 23/26	14.8 5/6	21.0
Demoscopia/El País[p 3][p 4][p 5]	10–15 May 1995	800	?	28.2 13	54.3 28	12.9 4	26.1
CIS[p 6][p 7]	24 Apr–10 May 1995	500	72.4	28.6	57.4	11.1	28.8
1994 EP election	12 Jun 1994	—	66.5	31.0	52.2	13.1	21.2
1993 general election	6 Jun 1993	—	81.6	38.6	47.3	9.7	8.7
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	—	67.2	45.3 24	33.5 17	10.2 4	11.8

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 28 May 1995 Regional Assembly of Murcia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	330,514	52.23	+18.72	26	+9
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	201,659	31.87	−13.40	15	−9
	United Left–The Greens of the Region of Murcia (IU–LV–RM)1	78,875	12.46	+1.14	4	±0
	Centrist Union–Democratic and Social Centre (UC–CDS)	4,359	0.69	−4.32	0	±0
	Cantonal Party (PCAN)	3,544	0.56	−2.47	0	±0
	Regional Murcianist Party (PMR)	2,456	0.39	New	0	±0
	Democratic Bloc (BD)	1,601	0.25	New	0	±0
	Spanish Confederation of Independents (CEDI)	1,454	0.23	New	0	±0
	New Region (NR)	1,336	0.21	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		7,033	1.11	+0.17
Total		632,831			45	±0
Valid votes		632,831	99.14	+0.10
Invalid votes		5,466	0.86	−0.10
Votes cast / turnout		638,297	75.27	+8.09
Abstentions		209,670	24.73	−8.09
Registered voters		847,967
Sources[12][13][14]
Footnotes: 1 United Left–The Greens of the Region of Murcia results are compared to the combined totals of United Left and The Greens in the 1991 election.

Popular vote PP   52.23% PSOE   31.87% IU–LV–RM   12.46% Others   2.33% Blank ballots   1.11%

Seats PP   57.78% PSOE   33.33% IU–LV–RM   8.89%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PP		PSOE		IU–LV
	%	S	%	S	%	S
One	44.9	3	39.3	3	12.8	1
Two	51.9	6	30.7	3	11.5	1
Three	56.3	13	28.2	6	12.6	2
Four	43.2	2	44.4	2	10.5	−
Five	48.0	2	32.1	1	18.0	−
Total	52.2	26	31.9	15	12.5	4
Sources[12][13][14]

Aftermath

Investiture Ramón Luis Valcárcel (PP)
Ballot →		30 June 1995
Required majority →		23 out of 45 Y
	Yes • PP (26)	26 / 45
	No • PSOE (15) • IU–LV (4)	19 / 45
	Abstentions	0 / 45
	Absentees	0 / 45
Sources[8][14]

Notes

1. Results for IU (10.2%, 4 seats) and LV (1.1%, 0 seats) in the 1991 election.