1991 Extremaduran regional election

1991 Extremaduran regional election

←  1987 26 May 1991 1995  →
All 65 seats in the Assembly of Extremadura 33 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	824,866 2.0%
Turnout	583,172 (70.8%) 3.6 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra Vicente Sánchez Cuadrado Manuel Pareja Party PSOE PP IU Leader since 20 December 1982 1991 1983 Leader's seat Badajoz Badajoz Badajoz Last election 34 seats, 49.2% 17 seats, 25.4% [a] 2 seats, 5.4% Seats won 39 19 4 Seat change 5 2 2 Popular vote 314,384 155,485 41,290 Percentage 54.2% 26.8% 7.1% Swing 5.0 pp 1.4 pp 1.7 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Tomás Martín Tamayo Pedro Cañada Party CDS EU Leader since 1983 10 December 1980 Leader's seat Badajoz Cáceres (lost) Last election 8 seats, 12.4% 4 seats, 5.8% Seats won 3 0 Seat change 5 4 Popular vote 33,291 14,503 Percentage 5.7% 2.5% Swing 6.7 pp 3.3 pp
Constituency results map for the Assembly of Extremadura
President before election Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra PSOE Elected President Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra PSOE

A regional election was held in Extremadura on 26 May 1991 to elect the 3rd Assembly of the autonomous community. All 65 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 Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won the largest absolute majority a party would achieve in a regional election in the history of Extremadura, with 39 out of 65 seats (60% of the seats) and slightly above 54% of the vote share. The newly founded People's Party, successor of the late People's Alliance, recovered from AP 1987 results and gained two seats. The Democratic and Social Centre lost seats and votes, falling behind United Left (IU), which gained support and finished in third place for the first time in a regional election. Meanwhile, the regionalist United Extremadura (EU) lost more than half its support and was left out from the Assembly, losing all its seats.

As a result of the election, Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra was elected for a third consecutive term in office.

Overview

Under the 1983 Statute of Autonomy, the Assembly of Extremadura was the unicameral legislature of the homonymous autonomous community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to grant or withdraw confidence from a regional president. ^[1] The electoral and procedural rules were supplemented by national law provisions. ^[2]

Date

The term of the Assembly of Extremadura expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary election, with amendments earlier in 1991 fixing election day for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The election decree was required to be issued between 54 and 60 days before the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Journal of Extremadura (DOE). ^[3] 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.

The Assembly of Extremadura could not be dissolved before the expiration date of parliament, except in the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot. In such a case, the Assembly was to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected lawmakers serving the remainder of its original four-year term. ^[4]

The election to the Assembly of Extremadura was officially called on 2 April 1991 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the DOE, setting election day for 26 May. ^[5]

Electoral system

Voting for the Assembly was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Extremadura and with full political rights, provided that they had not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence, nor being legally incapacitated. ^[6]

The Assembly of Extremadura had a maximum of 65 seats, with the electoral law fixing its size at that number. All were elected in two multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres, each of which was assigned an initial minimum of 20 seats and the remaining 25 distributed in proportion to population—using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a five percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each constituency. Alternatively, parties could also enter the seat distribution as long as they ran candidates in both constituencies and reached five percent regionally. ^[7]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Assembly constituency was entitled the following seats: ^[8]

Seats	Constituencies
35	Badajoz
30	Cáceres

The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term were filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes. ^[9]

Outgoing parliament

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of the election call. ^{[10] [11]}

Parliamentary composition in April 1991

Groups		Parties		Legislators
				Seats	Total
	Socialist Parliamentary Group		PSOE	34	34
	People's Parliamentary Group		PP	17	17
	CDS Parliamentary Group		CDS	8	8
	Mixed Parliamentary Group		EU	2	6
			IU	2
			PREx	2 [b]

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 were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within 10 days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least two percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list. ^[12]

Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy		Parties and alliances	Candidate		Ideology	Previous result		Gov.	Ref.
						Vote %	Seats
	PSOE	List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)		Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra	Social democracy	49.2%	34		[13]
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Vicente Sánchez Cuadrado	Conservatism Christian democracy	25.4% [a]	17		[14] [15] [16]
	CDS	List Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)		Tomás Martín Tamayo	Centrism Liberalism	12.4%	8
	EU	List United Extremadura (EU)		Pedro Cañada	Regionalism Conservatism	5.8%	4
	IU	List Communist Party of Extremadura (PCEx) Socialist Action Party (PASOC) Republican Left (IR)		Manuel Pareja	Socialism Communism	5.4%	2

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; 33 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Assembly of Extremadura.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout							Lead
1991 regional election	26 May 1991	—N/a	70.8	54.2 39	[c]	5.7 3	2.5 0	7.1 4	26.8 19	27.4
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 1] [p 2]	18 May 1991	?	?	53.4 38/39	[c]	5.3 2/3	–	8.8 5/7	25.4 18/19	28.0
Metra Seis/El Independiente [p 1] [p 2]	12 May 1991	?	?	47.0 35	[c]	6.7 4	8.7 6	5.8 2	25.5 18	21.5
Demoscopia/El País [p 1] [p 2] [p 3] [p 4]	4–7 May 1991	400	?	53.3 36/37	[c]	5.3 3	6.1 3/4	8.6 4	25.0 18	28.3
1989 general election	29 Oct 1989	—N/a	75.6	53.9 (37)	[c]	9.5 (6)	1.8 (0)	6.9 (4)	25.0 (18)	28.9
1989 EP election	15 Jun 1989	—N/a	60.4	54.8 (41)	[c]	8.6 (5)	2.3 (0)	4.9 (3)	21.8 (16)	33.0
1987 regional election	10 Jun 1987	—N/a	74.4	49.2 34	24.2 17	12.4 8	5.8 4	5.4 2	–	25.0

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size							?	N	Lead
1991 regional election [d]	26 May 1991	—N/a	38.0	[c]	4.0	1.7	5.0	18.8	—N/a	29.0	19.2
ICP–Research/Diario 16 [p 2]	19 May 1991	?	48.5	[c]	3.3	–	3.0	22.6	–	–	25.9
CIS [p 5]	13–25 Mar 1991	1,058	49.0	[c]	3.0	3.0	5.0	10.0	26.0	4.0	39.0
CIS [p 6] [p 7]	4–17 Feb 1991	1,576	49.5	[c]	2.7	4.0	4.8	10.5	22.6	5.2	39.0
CIS [p 8] [p 9]	15–29 Dec 1990	1,721	47.8	[c]	2.3	3.4	7.3	12.0	18.1	7.9	35.8
CIS [p 10] [p 11]	24 May–2 Jun 1990	1,000	42.1	[c]	3.0	3.4	7.5	12.5	25.5	4.8	29.6
1989 general election [d]	29 Oct 1989	—N/a	40.5	[c]	7.2	1.3	5.2	18.8	—N/a	24.3	21.7
CIS [p 12] [p 13]	20–29 Jul 1989	1,000	44.9	[c]	7.3	3.6	4.2	8.3	22.8	8.0	36.6
1989 EP election [d]	15 Jun 1989	—N/a	32.8	[c]	5.2	1.4	2.9	13.0	—N/a	39.5	19.8
CIS [p 14] [p 15]	18–28 Dec 1988	999	37.2	9.6	6.5	5.9	3.9	–	27.5	8.7	27.6
1987 regional election [d]	10 Jun 1987	—N/a	36.2	17.8	9.1	4.3	4.0	–	—N/a	25.6	18.4

Victory preferences

The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None	?	Lead
CIS [p 5]	13–25 Mar 1991	1,058	54.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	11.0	17.0	5.0	43.0
CIS [p 6]	4–17 Feb 1991	1,576	51.0	2.7	3.7	5.5	11.6	19.6	5.7	39.4

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 1991 Assembly of Extremadura election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	314,384	54.16	+4.98	39	+5
	People's Party (PP)1	155,485	26.78	+1.34	19	+2
	United Left (IU)	41,290	7.11	+1.70	4	+2
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	33,291	5.73	−6.62	3	−5
	United Extremadura (EU)	14,503	2.50	−3.31	0	−4
	Extremaduran Regionalist Party (PREx)	8,660	1.49	New	0	±0
	The Greens (LV)	6,011	1.04	New	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	2,379	0.41	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		4,508	0.78	−0.02
Total		580,511			65	±0
Valid votes		580,511	99.34	+0.33
Invalid votes		3,867	0.66	−0.33
Votes cast / turnout		584,378	70.85	−3.54
Abstentions		240,488	29.15	+3.54
Registered voters		824,866
Sources [10] [17] [18]
Footnotes: 1 People's Party results are compared to the combined totals of People's Alliance and People's Democratic Party in the 1987 election.

Popular vote

PSOE			54.15%
PP			26.76%
IU			7.13%
CDS			5.75%
EU			2.50%
PREx			1.49%
LV			1.01%
PCPE			0.41%
Blank ballots			0.80%

Seats

PSOE			60.00%
PP			29.23%
IU			6.15%
CDS			4.62%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PSOE		PP		IU		CDS
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Badajoz	56.3	21	25.1	9	8.7	3	5.9	2
Cáceres	50.9	18	29.3	10	4.8	1	5.5	1
Total	54.2	39	26.8	19	7.1	4	5.7	3
Sources [10] [17] [18]

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture Nomination of Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (PSOE)
Ballot →		2 July 1991
Required majority →		33 out of 65 Y
	Yes • PSOE (39)	39 / 65
	No • PP (19) • IU (4)	23 / 65
	Abstentions	0 / 65
	Absentees • CDS (3)	3 / 65
Sources [10]

Notes

1. Results for AP (24.2%, 17 seats), PDP (0.9%, 0 seats) and PL (0.4%, 0 seats) in the 1987 election.
2. Victoriano Durán and José María Rodríguez, former EU legislators. ^[10]
3. Within PP.
4. Does not include non-resident citizens.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Seis comunidades dependen de pactos". ABC (in Spanish). 20 May 1991.
2. "Las elecciones de 26-5-91". CEPC (in Spanish). August 1991.
3. "Rodríguez Ibarra arrasa". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
4. "Ficha técnica". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1991.
5. "Preelectoral municipales y autonómicas de Extremadura 1991 (III) (Estudio nº 1951. Marzo 1991)". CIS (in Spanish). 25 March 1991.
6. "Preelectoral municipales y autonómicas de Extremadura 1991 (II) (Estudio nº 1925. Febrero 1991)". CIS (in Spanish). 17 February 1991.
7. "Estudio CIS nº 1925. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 17 February 1991.
8. "Barómetro de la comunidad autónoma de Extremadura (VIII) (Estudio nº 1909. Diciembre 1990)". CIS (in Spanish). 29 December 1990.
9. "Estudio CIS nº 1909. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 29 December 1990.
10. "Barómetro de la comunidad autónoma de Extremadura (VII) (Estudio nº 1872. Mayo-Junio 1990)". CIS (in Spanish). 2 June 1990.
11. "Estudio CIS nº 1872. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 2 June 1990.
12. "Barómetro de la comunidad autónoma de Extremadura (VI) (Estudio nº 1820. Julio 1989)". CIS (in Spanish). 29 July 1989.
13. "Estudio CIS nº 1820. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 29 July 1989.
14. "Barómetro de la comunidad autónoma de Extremadura (V) (Estudio nº 1775. Diciembre 1988)". CIS (in Spanish). 28 December 1988.
15. "Estudio CIS nº 1775. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 28 December 1988.

Other

1. Statute (1983) , arts. 20 & 24–25.
2. LEEx (1987) , final prov. 1.
3. Statute (1983) , art. 22; LEEx (1987) , arts. 21–23 (suppl. by LOREG (1985) , art. 42).
4. Statute (1983) , arts. 20 & 34; LGAEx (1984) , art. 6.
5. Decree 7/1991 (1991) , art. 1.
6. Statute (1983) , art. 22; LEEx (1987) , arts. 2–3 (suppl. by LOREG (1985) , arts. 2–3).
7. Statute (1983) , art. 22; LEEx (1987) , arts. 17–19.
8. Decree 7/1991 (1991) , art. 2.
9. LEEx (1987) , arts. 19 & 26 (suppl. by LOREG (1985) , arts. 46 & 48).
10. Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura (desde 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
11. "Grupos Parlamentarios II Legislatura" (in Spanish). Assembly of Extremadura . Retrieved 31 December 2025.
12. LEEx (1987) , arts. 25–26; suppl. LOREG (1985) , art. 44.
13. Jara, Pedro (11 April 1988). "El presidente de la Junta de Extremadura asume el liderazgo del PSOE regional". El País (in Spanish). Cáceres. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
14. 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.
15. "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.
16. "La DC aprobó ayer formalmente su integración en el Partido Popular". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 29 January 1989. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
17. "Resolución de 6 de junio de 1991, haciendo públicos los resultados del Escrutinio general y proclamación de Diputados Electos resultantes de las Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura, celebradas el día 26 de mayo de 1991" (PDF). Official Journal of Extremadura (in Spanish) (45): 1292–1294. 13 June 1991. ISSN   2483-5188 . Retrieved 21 December 2025.
18. "Nº 152. Informe-declaración de las elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura de 26 de mayo de 1991" (PDF). Court of Auditors (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2026.

Bibliography

• Ley Orgánica 1/1983, de 25 de febrero, de Estatuto de Autonomía de Extremadura (Organic Law 1/1983). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 25 February 1983 [version as of 14 March 1991]. BOE-A-1983-6190. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
• Ley 2/1984, de 7 de junio, del Gobierno y de la Administración de la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura (Law 2/1984). Official Journal of Extremadura (in Spanish). 7 June 1984. BOE-A-1984-17656. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
• Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (Organic Law 5/1985). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 19 June 1985 [version as of 14 March 1991]. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
• Ley 2/1987, de 16 de marzo, de Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura (Law 2/1987). Official Journal of Extremadura (in Spanish). 16 March 1987 [version as of 26 March 1991]. BOE-A-1987-8817. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
• Decreto del Presidente 7/1991, de 1 de abril, por el que se convocan Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura (PDF) (Decree 7/1991). Official Journal of Extremadura (in Spanish). 1 April 1991. Retrieved 21 December 2025.