Cantabria (Spanish Congress Electoral District)
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Cantabria is one of the 52 electoral districts (circunscripciónes) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies - the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It corresponds to the autonomous community of Cantabria. Santander is the largest municipality with 165,000 voters - 35% of the total electorate. Torrelavega is the second largest municipality with almost 50,000 voters.
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[edit] Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution [1] the boundaries must be the same as the autonomous community of Cantabria and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.
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[edit] Eligibility
Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from Regional Assemblies if successfully elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible. [2]
[edit] Number of members
Cantabria has returned five members at every election since the restoration of democracy.
Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population. [3] These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this has been to overrepreseent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces. Cantabria had a ratio of 95,838 voters per deputy in 2004 [4] a figure below the Spanish average of 98,777 voters per deputy. [5]
[edit] Summary of seats won 1977–2008
| 1977 | 1979 | 1982 | 1986 | 1989 | 1993 | 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Centre Union (UCD) | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| People's Party (PP) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Seats shown for the Peoples Party include seats won by their predecessors the Popular Alliance in 1982 and the Popular Coalition in 1986.
[edit] Results
Cantabria produced the same outcome in terms of seats in 2004 as in 2000. This was the first time that the party that won the General Election had failed to win the most seats here.
Santander municipality produced a result very close to the community average in 2004, with PP leading PSOE by 14.5%. PSOE polled better in Torrelavega, leading PP by 7%.
[edit] 2004 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 190,383 | 51.90 | 3 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 149,906 | 40.87 | 2 | |
| United Left | 12,146 | 3.31 | 0 | |
| Others | 6,124 | 1.70 | 0 |
Source: [6]
[edit] 2000 General Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats | Members elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Party (Partido Popular) | 189,442 | 56.84 | 3 | |
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) | 111,556 | 33.47 | 2 | |
| United Left | 16,714 | 5.02 | 0 | |
| Others | 6,830 | 2.00 | 0 |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Spanish Constitution
- ^ Spanish Constitution
- ^ General features of Spanish electoral system
- ^ Cantabria election result 2004
- ^ 2004 Spanish election
- ^ Interior ministry link to election results
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