The 1983 Spanish local elections were held on Sunday, 8 May 1983, to elect all 67,505 councillors in the 7,781 municipalities of Spain and all 1,024 seats in 38 provincial deputations.[1][2] The elections were held simultaneously with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities, as well as local elections in the three foral deputations of the Basque Country and the ten island councils in the Balearic and Canary Islands.
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67,312 councillors in 7,781 municipal councils 1,024 seats in 38 provincial deputations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 27,474,920  3.3% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 18,370,300 (66.9%)4.4 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Provincial results map for municipal elections | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electoral system
edit- Municipal elections
Municipalities in Spain were local corporations with independent legal personality. They had a governing body, the municipal council or corporation, composed of a mayor, deputy mayors and a plenary assembly of councillors. Voting for the local assemblies was on the basis of universal suffrage, with all nationals over eighteen, registered in the corresponding municipality and in full enjoyment of all political rights entitled to vote. The mayor was in turn elected by the plenary assembly, with a legal clause providing for the candidate of the most-voted party to be automatically elected to the post in the event no other candidate was to gather an absolute majority of votes.
Local councillors 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 in each local council. Councillors were allocated to municipal councils based on the following scale:
| Population | Councillors |
|---|---|
| <250 | 5 |
| 251–1,000 | 7 |
| 1,001–2,000 | 9 |
| 2,001–5,000 | 11 |
| 5,001–10,000 | 13 |
| 10,001–20,000 | 17 |
| 20,001–50,000 | 21 |
| 50,001–100,000 | 25 |
| >100,001 | +1 per each 100,000 inhabitants or fraction +1 if total is an even number |
Councillors of municipalities with populations between 25 and 250 inhabitants were elected under an open list partial block voting, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties and for up to four candidates. Additionally, municipalities below 25 inhabitants, as well as those having traditionally adopted it, were to be organized through the open council system (Spanish: régimen de concejo abierto), in which electors would directly vote for the local major.[3][4]
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 0.1 percent of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election—needing to secure, in any case, the signature of 500 electors—. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates.[5] 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]
- Deputations and island councils
Provincial deputations were the governing bodies of provinces in Spain, having an administration role of municipal activities and composed of a provincial president, an administrative body, and a plenary. Basque provinces had foral deputations instead—called Juntas Generales—, whereas deputations for single-province autonomous communities were abolished: their functions transferred to the corresponding regional parliaments. For insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, deputations were replaced by island councils in each of the islands or group of islands. For Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza–Formentera this figure was referred to in Spanish as consejo insular (Catalan: consell insular), whereas for Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma its name was cabildo insular.
Most deputations were indirectly elected by local councillors from municipalities in each judicial district. Seats were allocated to provincial deputations based on the following scale:
| Population | Seats |
|---|---|
| <500,000 | 25 |
| 500,001–1,000,000 | 27 |
| >1,000,001 | 31 |
| Barcelona | 51 |
Island councils and foral deputations were elected directly by electors under their own, specific electoral regulations.[3][4]
Opinion polls
edit| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | PNV | Ind. | Lead | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 local elections | 8 May 1983 | — | 66.9 | – | 43.0 | 8.2 | 26.4 | 4.2 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | – | 16.6 |
| Metra Seis/Tiempo[6] | 11–15 Apr 1983 | ? | ? | – | 49.9 | 4.2 | 17.6 | 6.4 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 32.3 | ||||
| 1979 local elections | 3 Apr 1979 | — | 62.5 | 30.9 | 28.2 | 13.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | – | – | 2.7 |
Municipal elections
editOverall
edit| Parties and coalitions | Popular vote | Councillors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 7,883,502 | 43.05 | +14.90 | 23,729 | +11,660 | |
| People's Coalition (AP–PDP–UL)1 | 4,843,665 | 26.45 | +23.38 | 21,076 | +18,693 | |
| Communist Party of Spain (PCE) | 1,499,907 | 8.19 | –4.86 | 2,495 | –1,230 | |
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 763,758 | 4.17 | +1.07 | 3,329 | +1,547 | |
| Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | 407,908 | 2.23 | +0.03 | 1,322 | +229 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 333,001 | 1.82 | New | 658 | +658 | |
| Galicianist Party–Convergence of Independents of Galicia (PG–CIGA)2 | 169,711 | 0.93 | +0.51 | 872 | +731 | |
| Popular Unity (HB) | 158,163 | 0.86 | –0.14 | 385 | +118 | |
| Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) | 145,982 | 0.80 | New | 861 | +861 | |
| Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) | 110,780 | 0.60 | –0.90 | 146 | –113 | |
| Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) | 105,956 | 0.58 | +0.22 | 1,120 | +844 | |
| Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) | 85,198 | 0.47 | –0.16 | 155 | –55 | |
| Basque Country Left (EE) | 76,950 | 0.42 | +0.06 | 121 | +37 | |
| Party of the Communists of Catalonia (PCC) | 67,214 | 0.37 | New | 61 | +61 | |
| Tenerife Group of Independents (ATI) | 66,140 | 0.36 | New | 85 | +85 | |
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)3 | 50,400 | 0.28 | –0.20 | 118 | –140 | |
| Canarian People's Union–Canarian Assembly (UPC–AC) | 45,534 | 0.25 | –0.09 | 51 | +21 | |
| Majorcan Union (UM) | 37,956 | 0.21 | New | 140 | +140 | |
| Navarrese People's Union (UPN) | 33,111 | 0.18 | +0.11 | 79 | +69 | |
| Valencian People's Union (UPV)4 | 29,389 | 0.16 | +0.09 | 35 | +23 | |
| Workers' Socialist Party (PST) | 27,168 | 0.15 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Independent Provincial Group of Ciudad Real (APICR) | 21,752 | 0.12 | New | 77 | +77 | |
| United Extremadura (EU) | 21,513 | 0.12 | New | 202 | +202 | |
| Galician Left (EG) | 19,173 | 0.10 | New | 22 | +22 | |
| Valencian Independent Organization (OIV) | 16,735 | 0.09 | New | 63 | +63 | |
| Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) | 13,644 | 0.07 | –0.08 | 63 | –18 | |
| Independent Galician Party (PGI) | 12,763 | 0.07 | New | 39 | +39 | |
| Cantonal Party (PCAN) | 12,363 | 0.07 | –0.02 | 5 | –2 | |
| Socialist Party of Majorca–Socialist Party of the Islands (PSM–PSI) | 11,925 | 0.07 | +0.02 | 32 | +21 | |
| United Candidacy of Workers (CUT) | 11,691 | 0.06 | +0.03 | 51 | +18 | |
| Agrarian Bloc–Spanish Ruralist Party (BAR–PRE) | 10,298 | 0.06 | +0.03 | 210 | +102 | |
| Spanish Communist Workers' Party (PCOE) | 10,098 | 0.06 | +0.01 | 0 | –1 | |
| Progressive Riojan Party (PRP) | 9,788 | 0.05 | New | 97 | +97 | |
| Independent Party of Almería (PIDA) | 8,823 | 0.05 | New | 62 | +62 | |
| Party of the Canarian Country (PPC) | 8,338 | 0.05 | +0.02 | 17 | +9 | |
| Liberal Canarian Party (PCL) | 7,530 | 0.04 | New | 3 | +3 | |
| Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS) | 7,336 | 0.04 | +0.02 | 13 | +2 | |
| Others | 1,082,823 | 5.91 | — | 9,518 | –35,128 | |
| Blank ballots | 84,973 | 0.46 | +0.34 | |||
| Total | 18,312,959 | 100.00 | 67,312 | –193 | ||
| Valid votes | 18,312,959 | 99.69 | +0.93 | |||
| Invalid votes | 57,341 | 0.31 | –0.93 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 18,370,300 | 66.86 | +4.35 | |||
| Abstentions | 9,104,620 | 33.14 | –4.35 | |||
| Registered voters | 27,474,920 | |||||
| Sources[7][8] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
City control
editThe following table lists party control in provincial capitals, as well as in municipalities above or around 75,000.[9] Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.
Provincial deputations
editSummary
edit| Parties and coalitions | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | +/− | ||||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 527 | +248 | |||
| People's Coalition (AP–PDP–UL)1 | 350 | +321 | |||
| Convergence and Union (CiU) | 49 | +4 | |||
| Communist Party of Spain (PCE) | 35 | –27 | |||
| Galicianist Party–Convergence of Independents of Galicia (PG–CIGA)2 | 21 | +19 | |||
| Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) | 12 | +8 | |||
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 8 | +8 | |||
| Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) | 4 | +2 | |||
| Group of Independent Electors (ADEI) | 3 | +3 | |||
| Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) | 2 | +2 | |||
| Independent Provincial Group of Ciudad Real (APICR) | 2 | +2 | |||
| Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)3 | 1 | –2 | |||
| United Extremadura (EU) | 1 | +1 | |||
| Agrarian Bloc–Spanish Ruralist Party (BAR–PRE) | 1 | ±0 | |||
| Others | 8 | –717 | |||
| Total | 1,024 | –128 | |||
| Sources[2] | |||||
Footnotes:
| |||||
Deputation control
editThe following table lists party control in provincial deputations.[2] Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ "Municipal elections in Spain 1979-2011". interior.gob.es (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ a b c "Provincial deputation elections since 1979" (in Spanish). historiaelectoral.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ a b c Local Elections Law of 1978. Official State Gazette (Law) (in Spanish). 17 July 1978. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ a b Local Elections Law Reform of 1983. Official State Gazette (Organic Law 6) (in Spanish). 2 March 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ^ Electoral Rules Decree of 1977. Official State Gazette (Royal Decree-Law 20) (in Spanish). 18 March 1977. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ "Una encuesta publicada en "Tiempo" da el 49,9% de los votos al socialismo". Diario de Burgos (in Spanish). 29 April 1983.
- ^ "Electoral Results Consultation. Municipal. May 1983. National totals". infoelectoral.mir.es (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ "Municipal elections (overall results 1979-2011)" (in Spanish). historiaelectoral.com. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
- ^ "Municipal elections (city majors by party)". historiaelectoral.com (in Spanish). Historia Electoral. Retrieved 24 February 2018.