1999 Castilian-Leonese regional election

The 1999 Castilian-Leonese regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Cortes of the autonomous community of Castile and León. All 83 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

1999 Castilian-Leonese regional election

13 June 1999
All 83 seats in the Cortes of Castile and León 42 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	2,185,507 3.1%
Turnout	1,476,858 (67.6%) 5.9 pp
Leader Juan José Lucas Jaime González José Antonio Herreros Party PP PSOE IUCyL Leader since 12 December 1990 14 June 1998 1991 Leader's seat Valladolid León Valladolid Last election 50 seats, 52.2% 27 seats, 29.7% 5 seats, 9.6% Seats won 48 30 1 Seat change 2 3 4 Popular vote 737,982 483,675 79,390 Percentage 50.4% 33.1% 5.4% Swing 1.8 pp 3.4 pp 4.2 pp   Leader Joaquín Otero Juan Carlos Rad Moradillo Party UPL TC–PNC Leader since 1997 1999 Leader's seat León Burgos Last election 2 seats, 2.6% 0 seats, 0.6% Seats won 3 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 54,158 20,274 Percentage 3.7% 1.4% Swing 1.1 pp 0.8 pp
Constituency results map for the Cortes of Castile and León
President before election Juan José Lucas PP Elected President Juan José Lucas PP

Overview

Electoral system

The Cortes of Castile and León were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Castile and León, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Castilian-Leonese Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Junta.[1] Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Castile and León and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

All members of the Cortes of Castile and León were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 3 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, depending on the district magnitude.[2] Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Ávila, Burgos, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Zamora. Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of three seats, being allocated one additional member per each 45,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 22,500.[1][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 the signature of at least 1 percent of the 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 ten days of the election being called.[3][4][5]

Election date

The term of the Cortes of Castile and León expired four years after the date of their previous election. Elections to the Cortes were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. Legal amendments introduced in 1998 allowed for these to be held together with European Parliament elections, provided that they were scheduled for within a four month-timespan. The previous election was held on 28 May 1995, setting the election date for the Cortes concurrently with a European Parliament election on Sunday, 13 June 1999.[1][3][4][5]

After legal amendments earlier in 1999, the President of the Junta was granted the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Castile and León and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected procurators merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.[1][6]

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 given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 42 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Castile and León (43 until 1 January 1999).

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout				UPL	TC	Lead
1999 regional election	13 Jun 1999	N/A	67.6	50.4 48	33.1 30	5.4 1	3.7 3	1.4 1	17.3
Eco Consulting/ABC[p 1]	24 May–2 Jun 1999	?	?	51.6 49/51	28.6 24/26	10.1 6	3.2 2	–	23.0
Demoscopia/El País[p 2]	26 May–1 Jun 1999	?	71	56.3 52/53	32.4 26/28	6.1 3	1.6 1/2	–	23.9
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 3][p 4]	24–31 May 1999	1,750	?	53.1 47/51	32.7 27/31	7.7 2/4	2.9 2	–	20.4
CIS[p 5][p 6][p 7]	3–21 May 1999	2,990	73.3	52.9 51	30.6 27/28	8.3 3	2.5 1/2	–	22.3
1996 general election	3 Mar 1996	N/A	79.0	52.2 49	35.0 30	9.1 5	0.7 0	0.3 0	17.2
1995 regional election	28 May 1995	N/A	73.5	52.2 50	29.7 27	9.6 5	2.6 2	0.6 0	22.5

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 13 June 1999 Cortes of Castile and León election results →

Parties and coalitions		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	737,982	50.45	–1.75	48	–2
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	483,675	33.06	+3.35	30	+3
	United Left of Castile and León (IUCyL)	79,390	5.43	–4.15	1	–4
	Leonese People's Union (UPL)	54,158	3.70	+1.15	3	+1
	Commoners' Land–Castilian Nationalist Party (TC–PNC)	20,274	1.39	+0.77	1	+1
	Regionalist Unity of Castile and León (URCL)	11,195	0.77	+0.36	0	±0
	Centrist Union–Democratic and Social Centre (UC–CDS)	10,422	0.71	New	0	±0
	Independent Candidacy of Valladolid (CIV)	6,784	0.46	+0.32	0	±0
	Party of El Bierzo (PB)	3,851	0.26	–0.17	0	±0
	Spanish Democratic Party (PADE)	3,237	0.22	New	0	±0
	Salamanca–Zamora–León–PREPAL (PREPAL)	3,043	0.21	–0.03	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	2,333	0.16	New	0	±0
	Independent Salamancan Union (USI)	1,851	0.13	New	0	±0
	Zamoran People's Union (UPZ)	1,556	0.11	New	0	±0
	The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV)	1,383	0.09	±0.00	0	±0
	Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	1,012	0.07	±0.00	0	±0
	Confederation of the Greens (LV)	791	0.05	New	0	±0
	Party of Self-employed of Spain and Spanish Independent Groups (PAE–I)	565	0.04	New	0	±0
	Nationalist Party of Castile and León (PANCAL)	276	0.02	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		39,036	2.67	+0.84
Total		1,462,814			83	–1
Valid votes		1,462,814	99.05	–0.06
Invalid votes		14,044	0.95	+0.06
Votes cast / turnout		1,476,858	67.58	–6.01
Abstentions		711,396	32.42	+6.01
Registered voters		2,185,507
Sources[7][8][9]

Popular vote PP   50.45% PSOE   33.06% IUCyL   5.43% UPL   3.70% TC–PNC   1.39% Others   3.30% Blank ballots   2.67%

Seats PP   57.83% PSOE   36.14% UPL   3.61% IUCyL   1.20% TC–PNC   1.20%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PP		PSOE		IUCyL		UPL		TC–PNC
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Ávila	62.4	5	26.9	2	6.4	−			0.4	−
Burgos	48.7	6	31.6	4	6.8	−			7.4	1
León	42.5	6	31.0	5	4.0	−	18.4	3	0.1	−
Palencia	51.0	4	37.7	3	5.8	−			0.9	−
Salamanca	54.9	7	34.1	4	3.9	−			0.3	−
Segovia	53.7	4	32.1	2	5.8	−			0.6	−
Soria	56.7	3	32.1	2	5.8	−			0.8	−
Valladolid	48.7	8	36.1	5	7.5	1			0.8	−
Zamora	53.0	5	33.9	3	2.9	−			0.2	−
Total	50.4	48	33.1	30	5.4	1	3.7	3	1.4	1
Sources[7][8][9]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture Juan José Lucas (PP)
Ballot →		13 July 1999
Required majority →		42 out of 83
	Yes • PP (48)	48 / 83
	No • PSOE (30) • UPL (3) • IUCyL (1) • TC–PNC (1)	35 / 83
	Abstentions	0 / 83
	Absentees	0 / 83
Sources[9]

2001 investiture

Investiture Juan Vicente Herrera (PP)
Ballot →		15 March 2001
Required majority →		42 out of 83
	Yes • PP (48)	48 / 83
	No • PSOE (30) • UPL (3) • IUCyL (1)	34 / 83
	Abstentions • TC–PNC (1)	1 / 83
	Absentees	0 / 83
Sources[9]

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Lucas se garantiza su tercer mandato". ABC (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
2. "Lucas refuerza el mayor feudo del PP". El País (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
3. "Castilla y León: Lucas, presidente inamovible". El Mundo (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
4. "ELECCIONES 13-J /BALANCE DE LAS ENCUESTAS". El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 June 1999.
5. "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas y municipales, 1999. Comunidad Autónoma de Castilla y León (Estudio nº 2332. Mayo 1999)". CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
6. "Estudio CIS nº 2332. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
7. "Bono e Ibarra repiten y el PSOE recuperará Asturias". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 June 1999.

Other

1. "Statute of Autonomy of Castile and León of 1983". Organic Law No. 4 of 25 February 1983. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2017.
2. Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
3. "Castile and León Electoral Law of 1987". Law No. 3 of 30 March 1987. Official Gazette of Castile and León (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 September 2017.
4. "General Electoral System Organic Law of 1985". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
5. "Representation of the people Institutional Act". www.juntaelectoralcentral.es. Central Electoral Commission. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
6. "Statute of Autonomy of Castile and León Reform of 1999". Organic Law No. 4 of 8 January 1999. Official State Gazette (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 September 2017.
7. "Elections to the Cortes of Castile and León". servicios.jcyl.es (in Spanish). Junta of Castile and León. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
8. "Cortes of Castile and León election results, 13 June 1999" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Electoral Commission of Castile and León. 6 August 1999. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
9. "Elecciones a Cortes de Castilla y León (1983 - 2019)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2017.