The 1999 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th
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
In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
all throughout
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, as well as the
1999 European Parliament election
The 1999 European Parliament election was a European election for all 626 members of the European Parliament held across the 15 European Union member states on 10, 11 and 13 June 1999. The voter turn-out was generally low, except in Belgium and ...
.
An internal
People's Party (PP) crisis starting in 1997 between the regional PP leadership and President
Sergio Marqués
Sergio may refer to:
* Sergio (given name), for people with the given name Sergio
* Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found
* ''Sergio'' (album), a 1994 album by Sergio Blass
* ''Sergio'' (2009 film), a documentary film
* ''Se ...
resulted in a party split, with Marqués' government breaking away from the PP in 1998, maintaining the support of only 5 of the 21 PP deputies for the remainder of the legislature.
As a result of the ensuing political crisis, the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources:
*
*
*
* political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
(PSOE) of
Vicente Álvarez Areces went on to win an
absolute majority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
of seats, at the cost of the greatly weakened PP.
United Left (IU) also suffered from the party crisis at the national level and lost half of its support, while Sergio Marqués' party, the
Asturian Renewal Union
Asturian Renewal Union ( ast, Unión Renovadora Asturiana, URAS) is a regionalist political party from Asturias, Spain, founded in December 1998 by Sergio Marqués, after leaving the People's Party (PP) when he was President of the Principality o ...
(URAS), entered parliament with 3 seats.
Overview
Electoral system
The
General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias (in Spanish: ''Junta General del Principado de Asturias'', in Asturian: ''Xunta Xeneral del Principáu d'Asturies'') is the parliament of Asturias, an autonomous community of Spain. Its Statute of ...
was the
devolved,
unicameral legislature of the
autonomous community of
Asturias, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the
Spanish Constitution
The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese language, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the Democracy, democratic law that is supreme l ...
and the
Asturian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a
regional president.
Voting for the General Junta was on the basis of
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
, 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
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest- ...
and a
closed list
Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively only vote for political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some inf ...
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
, with an
electoral threshold
The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
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
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Aller
Aller may refer to:
Places Rivers
* Aller (Germany), a major river in North Germany
*Aller (Asturian river), a river in Asturias, Spain
*River Aller, a small river on Exmoor in Somerset, England
Inhabited places in the United Kingdom
*Aller, Devo ...
,
Avilés
Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias.
The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, ...
,
Bimenes,
Carreño
Carreño is a municipality in the autonomous community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered by Corvera de Asturias on the west, Gozón on the north, the Cantabrian Sea on the north and east, and Gijón on the east and south. Its ...
,
Caso,
Castrillón
Castrillón is a municipality in Asturias, located on the central coast. It has an area of 56.70 km² and a population of 22,361 inhabitants (in 2005). The most important population centres are the capital Piedras Blancas, Salinas, and R ...
,
Corvera de Asturias
Corvera de Asturias ( Asturian: ''Corvera'') is a municipality in the principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It shares a boundary to the north with Avilés and Gozón; to the east with Carreño and Gijón; to the south with Llanera and Illas ...
,
Gijón
Gijón () or () is a city and municipality in north-western Spain. It is the largest city and municipality by population in the autonomous community of Asturias. It is located on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea in the Bay of Biscay, in the cent ...
,
Gozón
Gozón is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Its capital is the town of Luanco (also called Lluanco). The Cantabrian Sea lies on its northern edge, and it is bordered to the south by Corvera de Ast ...
,
Illas
Illas is a municipality in Asturias, Spain, located in the western central part of the province and bordered by the municipalities of Castrillón, Candamo, Llanera, and Corvera de Asturias.
Parishes
There are three parishes (administrative divi ...
,
Las Regueras
Las Regueras (Les Regueres en Asturiano) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Illas and Llanera, on the south by Grado, on the west by Candamo, and on the east ...
,
Langreo,
Laviana,
Lena
Lena or LENA may refer to:
Places
* Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso
* Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada
* Lena, Norway, a village in ...
,
Llanera,
Mieres
Mieres is a municipality of Asturias, northern Spain, with approximately 38,000 inhabitants. The municipality of Mieres is made up of the capital, Mieres del Camino and the villages of Baiña, Figaredo, Cenera, Loredo, La Peña, La Rebollada, S ...
,
Morcín,
Noreña,
Oviedo
Oviedo (; ast, Uviéu ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city. Oviedo is located ap ...
,
Proaza,
Quirós
Quirós is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. To the southeast is the municipality of Lena, to the south lies the Autonomous Community of León, to the northeast Riosa and Morcín, to the north is ...
,
Ribera de Arriba,
Riosa
Riosa is a municipality and parish (administrative division) in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Princip ...
,
San Martín del Rey Aurelio
San Martín del Rey Aurelio ( Asturian: Samartín del Rei Aurelio) is a municipality of the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain.
There are three main towns in the municipality: Sotrondio, El Entrego, and Blimea, ...
,
Santo Adriano
Santo Adriano ( Asturian: Santu Adrianu) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias. It is bordered on the north by Oviedo, on the east by Ribera de Arriba and Morcín, on the south by Quirós and Proaza and on t ...
,
Sariego
Sariego ( Asturian: Sariegu) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Gijón and Villaviciosa, on the east by Villaviciosa, Nava and Cabranes, on the south by Siero ...
,
Siero
Siero is a municipality of the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. Its capital is Pola de Siero
Pola de Siero (in Asturian and as official name La Pola Siero, and also known as La Pola colloquially) is a town in ...
,
Sobrescobio
Sobrescobio (; ast, Sobrescubiu) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Piloña, on the east by Caso, on the south by Aller, and on the west by Laviana. It is situated ...
and
Soto del Barco
Soto del Barco ( Asturian: Sotu'l Barcu) is a small, coastal municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is located on the banks of the mouth of the Nalón River Nalón can refer to:
* Nalón (Asturian com ...
.
*
Eastern District, comprising the municipalities of
Amieva
Amieva is a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias, Spain. It is also the name of one of the municipality's subdivisions (''parroquias'', or parish).
Amieva municipality is sparsely inhabited, having a resident population of 868 (200 ...
,
Cabrales,
Cabranes
Cabranes is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias. Some Towns of cabranes are: Santolaya, Torazu, Fresnéu, Graméu, Pandenes, Viñón, Niao, Arboleya, etc. It is bordered on the north by Villaviciosa, on t ...
,
Cangas de Onís
Cangas de Onís ( Asturian: ''Cangues d'Onís'' "valleys of Onís"'' Canga'' (plural ''cangues'') is an Asturian word for "valley, canyon".) is a municipality in the eastern part of the province and autonomous community of Asturias in the nor ...
,
Caravia
Caravia is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by the Bay of Biscay, part of the Cantabrian Sea, on the south by Parres, on the east by Ribadesella and on the west by Colun ...
,
Colunga,
Llanes
Llanes (the ''Concejo de Llanes'', ''Conceyu de Llanes'' in Asturian language) is a municipality of the province of Asturias, in northern Spain. Stretching for about 30 km along the coast at the extreme east of the province, Llanes is bound ...
,
Nava,
Onís,
Parres,
Peñamellera Alta
Peñamellera Alta (in asturian: ''El Valle Altu de Peñamellera'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Llanes, on the west by Cabrales, on the east by Peñamellera ...
,
Peñamellera Baja
Peñamellera Baja (in Asturian language, Asturian: '' El Valle Baḥu de Peñamellera'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is borderered to the north by Llanes and Ribadedeva, to the west by ...
,
Piloña
Piloña () is a municipality in the province and autonomous community of Asturias, northwestern Spain. Its capital is the town of Infiesto. Piloña is bounded to the north by Villaviciosa and Colunga, to the east by Parres, to the west by Nav ...
,
Ponga,
Ribadedeva,
Ribadesella
Ribadesella (Asturian: Ribeseya) is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, at the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part ...
and
Villaviciosa.
*
Western District, comprising the municipalities of
Allande,
Belmonte de Miranda
Belmonte de Miranda ( Asturian: ''Miranda'') is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Salas, on the east by Grado, to the south by Somiedo and Teverga, and on the west by ...
,
Boal
Boal (Galician-Asturian: ''Bual'') is a municipality, a civil parish and a town in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias (Spain). It borders north with El Franco and Coaña, south with Illano, west with Castropol and east with ...
,
Candamo,
Cangas del Narcea
Cangas del Narcea is the oldest municipality in the Principality of Asturias in Spain. It is also the largest municipality in Asturias. It is in the southwest of Asturias, on the Asturian border with León. Formerly, Cangas del Narcea was kn ...
,
Castropol,
Coaña,
Cudillero
Cudillero ( Asturian: ''Cuideiru'') is a municipality in the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Nowadays, Cudillero's main economic activities are related to tourism, but it is also known for its fishing industry. A legend says that it was founded b ...
,
Degaña
Degaña is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Cangas del Narcea, on the south by the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, and on the west by Ibias. Degaña is also ...
,
El Franco
El Franco is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias. It is bordered on the north by the Cantabrian Sea, and to the west by Tapia de Casariego, to the south by Castropol and Boal, and to the east by Coaña. El F ...
,
Grado
Grado may refer to:
People
* Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress
* Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer
* Francesco De Grado ( fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver
* Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso
* Gra ...
,
Grandas de Salime,
Ibias
Ibias is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Allande and A Fonsagranda and Negueira (in the Province of Lugo, Galicia); on the east by Degaña and Cangas de Narcea ...
,
Illano,
Muros de Nalón,
Navia,
Pesoz
Pesoz (Eonavian: Pezós) is a municipality and the only parish in that municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is one of the least populated municipalities in Asturias. It is bordered on the north by I ...
,
Pravia
Pravia is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias in Spain. It is bordered on the north by Cudillero and Muros de Nalón, on the east by Candamo and Soto del Barco, on the west by Cudillero and Salas, Asturias ...
,
Salas
Salas, from Spanish ''salas'' (rooms, halls), is a Spanish surname and a common family name in the Hispanic-speaking world. It is ranked amongst the most common surnames found in Costa Rica and in Mexico.
People
* Ada Salas (born 1965), Spanis ...
,
San Martín de Oscos,
Santa Eulalia de Oscos,
San Tirso de Abres,
Somiedo
Somiedo ( Asturian: Somiedu) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by Belmonte de Miranda, on the east by Teverga, on the west by Tineo and Cangas del Narcea, and on the ...
,
Tapia de Casariego
Tapia (Spanish: Tapia de Casariego) is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered on the north by the Cantabrian Sea, on the east by El Franco, on the south and west by Castropol. Tapia is al ...
,
Taramundi
Taramundi is a municipality in the Principality of Asturias, Spain.
It neighbors on the north side with San Tirso de Abres and Vegadeo, on the east side with Villanueva de Oscos and Vegadeo, on the south side with Santa Eulalia de Oscos and A Pont ...
,
Teverga,
Tineo,
Valdés,
Vegadeo,
Villanueva de Oscos,
Villayón and
Yernes y Tameza
Yernes y Tameza is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is situated in the east-central zone of the principality, between mountains high along the Cubia River. It is bordered on the west, north, a ...
.
Each constituency was allocated an initial minimum of two seats, with the remaining 39 being distributed in proportion to their populations.
The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the
district magnitude
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
.
The electoral law allowed for
parties and
federations
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
registered in the
interior ministry
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* 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.
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. Legal amendments introduced in 1998 allowed for these to be held together with
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
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 General Junta concurrently with a
European Parliament election on Sunday, 13 June 1999.
After legal amendments earlier in 1999, the president was granted the prerogative to dissolve the General Junta and call a
snap election, provided that no
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
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
A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections. ...
or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the General Junta was 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 deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.
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
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
in the
General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias (in Spanish: ''Junta General del Principado de Asturias'', in Asturian: ''Xunta Xeneral del Principáu d'Asturies'') is the parliament of Asturias, an autonomous community of Spain. Its Statute of ...
.
Results
Overall
Distribution by constituency
Aftermath
References
;Opinion poll sources
;Other
{{Regional elections in Spain in the 1990s
1999 in Asturias
Asturias
Regional elections in Asturias
June 1999 events in Europe