1991 Madrilenian regional election

1991 Madrilenian regional election
← 1987
26 May 1991
1995 →
All 101 seats in the Assembly of Madrid
51 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered3,837,680 Increase 9.2%
Turnout2,251,613 (58.7%)
Decrease 11.2 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Joaquín Leguina Isabel Villalonga
Party PP PSOE IU
Leader since 8 February 1987 14 December 1979 1987
Last election 32 seats, 31.8%[a] 40 seats, 38.4% 7 seats, 7.5%
Seats won 47 41 13
Seat change Increase 15 Increase 1 Increase 6
Popular vote 956,865 820,510 270,558
Percentage 42.7% 36.6% 12.1%
Swing Increase 10.9 pp Decrease 1.8 pp Increase 4.6 pp
President before election

Joaquín Leguina
PSOE

Elected President

Joaquín Leguina
PSOE

A regional election was held in the Community of Madrid on Sunday, 26 May 1991, to elect the 3rd Assembly of the autonomous community. All 101 seats in the Assembly were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.

The election saw the electoral collapse of the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), which fell below the 5% threshold and lost all their 17 seats. Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón's People's Party (PP) emerged as the largest party in the community for the first time,[1] but was unable to form a government due to the lack of allies as a result of CDS expulsion from the Assembly. Consequently, Joaquín Leguina from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) was re-elected President for a third term in office thanks to the support of United Left (IU).

Background

The 1987 election had resulted in a parliamentary deadlock. The opposition bloc of the People's Alliance (AP) and the CDS held 49 seats against 47 for the PSOE and IU. The ruling PSOE was initially able to hold on to power and have Joaquín Leguina re-elected President thanks to CDS' abstention, but nonetheless the government's majority remained precarious.

In 1988, an AP deputy, Nicolás Piñeiro Cuesta, resigned from the party as a result of ideological differences with the Madrid AP leader, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón. Piñeiro launched his own party, the Independent Madrilenian Regional Party (PRIM), shortly after. Thereafter, in January 1989, AP along with other parties merged into the newly created People's Party (PP).

In the first half of 1989, the PP and the CDS reached an agreement of cooperation in the Madrid Assembly, resulting in a motion of no confidence against Leguina's government in June 1989, in an attempt to replace it with a PP-CDS administration headed by Ruiz-Gallardón as Madrid President. To succeed, the motion needed the support of a majority of members, meaning that 49 votes were needed. With the PP and CDS having 48 members, Piñeiro's support was necessary. However, he abstained, and the United Left members blocked the motion alongside PSOE, resulting in the vote failing.[2]

Overview

Under the 1983 Statute of Autonomy, the Assembly of Madrid was the unicameral legislature of the homonymous autonomous community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[3]

Electoral system

Voting for the Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Community of Madrid and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated.[4][5][6]

The Assembly of Madrid was entitled to one seat per each 50,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 25,000. All members were elected in a single multi-member constituency—corresponding to the autonomous community's territory—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied regionally.[4][7] As a result of the aforementioned allocation, the Assembly was entitled to 101 seats, based on the official population figures resulting from the latest revision of the municipal register (as of 1 January 1990).[8]

The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes.[9][10]

Election date

The term of the Assembly of Madrid expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The election decree was required to be issued between the fifty-fourth and sixtieth day prior to the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM).[4][11][12] The previous election was held on 10 June 1987, setting the date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which was 26 May 1991.

Amendments in 1990 granted the regional president the prerogative to dissolve the Assembly of Madrid at any given time 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 parliament's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution.[4][13] In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Assembly was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.[14] Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their original four-year term.[14][15]

The election to the Assembly of Madrid was officially called on 2 April 1991 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOCM, setting election day for 26 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 19 June.[8]

Outgoing parliament

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of the election call.[16]

Parliamentary composition in April 1991
Groups Parties Legislators
Seats Total
Socialist Parliamentary Group PSOE 40 40
People's Parliamentary Group PP 30 30
Democratic and Social Centre's Parliamentary Group CDS 13 13
United Left Parliamentary Group IU 7 7
Mixed Parliamentary Group INDEP 4[b] 6
PRIM 2[c]

Parties and candidates

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance 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 0.5 percent of the electorate in the Community of Madrid, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[9][21]

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
 Joaquín Leguina Social democracy 38.4% 40 Yes
PP
List
 Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Conservatism
Christian democracy
31.8%
[a] 		32 No [22]
[23]
[24]
CDS
List
 José Ramón Lasuén Centrism
Liberalism 		16.6% 17 No
IU
List
 Isabel Villalonga Socialism
Communism 		7.5% 7 No

Opinion polls

The tables below list 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; 51 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Assembly of Madrid (49 in the 1987 election).

Results

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Assembly of Madrid election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
People's Party (PP)1 956,865 42.67 +10.88 47 +15
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 820,510 36.59 −1.86 41 +1
United Left (IU) 270,558 12.07 +4.59 13 +6
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 75,081 3.35 −13.28 0 −17
The Greens (LV) 35,095 1.57 +0.49 0 ±0
The Ecologists (LE) 12,897 0.58 New 0 ±0
Green Union (UVE)2 8,903 0.40 −0.13 0 ±0
Madrilenian Independent Regional Party (PRIM) 7,883 0.35 New 0 ±0
Workers' Socialist Party (PST) 7,736 0.34 New 0 ±0
Party of Madrid (PAM) 4,382 0.20 New 0 ±0
Convergence of Independent Candidacies (CCI) 2,248 0.10 New 0 ±0
Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE) 2,187 0.10 New 0 ±0
Aranjuez Independent Group (AIDA) 1,899 0.08 New 0 ±0
Alliance for the Republic (AxR)3 1,891 0.08 −0.07 0 ±0
Left Platform (PCE (m–l)–CRPE) 1,847 0.08 New 0 ±0
United Republican Action (ARU) 1,346 0.06 New 0 ±0
Madrilenian Centrist Union (UCM) 1,329 0.06 New 0 ±0
Generational Integration (IG) 815 0.04 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 28,872 1.29 −0.45
Total 2,242,344 101 +5
Valid votes 2,242,344 99.59 +0.81
Invalid votes 9,269 0.41 −0.81
Votes cast / turnout 2,251,613 58.67 −11.20
Abstentions 1,586,067 41.33 +11.20
Registered voters 3,837,680
Sources[16][25]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PP
 
 42.67%
PSOE
 
 36.59%
IU
 
 12.07%
CDS
 
 3.35%
LV
 
 1.57%
Others
 
 2.47%
Blank ballots
 
 1.29%
Seats
PP
 
 46.53%
PSOE
 
 40.59%
IU
 
 12.87%

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Nomination of Joaquín Leguina (PSOE)
Ballot → 11 July 1991
Required majority → 51 out of 101 checkY
Yes
54 / 101
No
  • • PP (47)
47 / 101
Abstentions
0 / 101
Absentees
0 / 101
Sources[16]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Results for AP (31.4%, 32 seats) and PDP (0.4%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
  2. ^ Jesús Arilla, Juan José Arnela, Abel Cádiz and Fernando Lanzaco, former CDS legislators.[17][18]
  3. ^ Nicolás Piñeiro and José Luis Ortiz, former AP legislators.[19][20]
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Within PP.

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. ^ a b c "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
  2. ^ a b c "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
  3. ^ "Leguina y Barranco precisarán del pacto". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
  4. ^ "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
Other
  1. ^ Historia Electoral - Elections to the Madrid Assembly. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  2. ^ Sanz, Juan Carlos; Fresneda, Carlos (22 June 1989). "Leguina continúa al frente de la Comunidad de Madrid en una situación muy precaria para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  3. ^ Statute (1983), art. 9.
  4. ^ a b c d Statute (1983), arts. 10–11.
  5. ^ LECM (1986), art. 2.
  6. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3.
  7. ^ LECM (1986), art. 18.
  8. ^ a b Decreto 20/1991, de 1 de abril, del Presidente, por el que se convocan elecciones a la Asamblea de Madrid (PDF) (Decree 20/1991). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 1 April 1991. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b LECM (1986), arts. 10 & 18.
  10. ^ LOREG (1985), arts. 46 & 48.
  11. ^ LECM (1986), art. 8.
  12. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 42.
  13. ^ LAMPC (1990), art. 1.
  14. ^ a b Statute (1983), art. 18.
  15. ^ LAMPC (1990), art. 2.
  16. ^ a b c Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones autonómicas a la Asamblea de Madrid (desde 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  17. ^ Carbajo, Juan Antonio (31 October 1989). "El 'número dos' del CDS en la Asamblea anuncia su paso al Grupo Mixto tras conocerse los resultados electorales". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  18. ^ Montoliú, Pedro (23 February 1990). "Los diputados centristas que pasan al Grupo Mixto votarían por la disolución de la Cámara regional". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  19. ^ Fresneda, Carlos (19 June 1988). "El Grupo Mixto se convierte en el nuevo árbitro en la Asamblea de Madrid". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  20. ^ "El Partido Regional afirma que se nutrirá de nuevas 'fugas' de diputados en verano". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 24 June 1988. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  21. ^ LOREG (1985), art. 44.
  22. ^ Díez, Anabel (16 January 1989). "El Partido Liberal se disolverá para integrarse en el proyecto de Fraga". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  23. ^ "Fraga se empleó a fondo para lograr que el congreso de AP cambie el nombre del partido". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 21 January 1989. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  24. ^ "La DC aprobó ayer formalmente su integración en el Partido Popular". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 29 January 1989. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  25. ^ "Resultados de las elecciones a la Asamblea de Madrid 1991. Resumen de votos y escaños obtenidos por las candidaturas" (PDF). Central Electoral Commission (in Spanish). 20 June 1991. Retrieved 18 February 2026.

Bibliography

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Madrilenian_regional_election