1999 Extremaduran regional election

Last updated
1999 Extremaduran regional election
Flag of Extremadura with COA.svg
  1995 13 June 1999 2003  

All 65 seats in the Assembly of Extremadura
33 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered885,753 Increase2.svg 4.7%
Turnout650,527 (73.4%)
Decrease2.svg 4.9 pp
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Juan Carlos Rodriguez Ibarra 2007 (cropped).jpg Portrait placeholder.svg Portrait placeholder.svg
Leader Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra Juan Ignacio Barrero Manuel Cañada
Party PSOEp PP IU–CE
Leader since20 December 198225 September 19931 October 1995
Leader's seat Badajoz Badajoz Badajoz
Last election31 seats, 43.9%27 seats, 39.5%6 seats, 10.5%
Seats won34283
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 3Increase2.svg 1Decrease2.svg 3
Popular vote313,417258,65739,132
Percentage48.5%40.0%6.1%
SwingIncrease2.svg 4.6 pp Increase2.svg 0.5 pp Decrease2.svg 4.4 pp

ExtremaduraProvinceMapAssembly1999.png
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 Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th 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 throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

Contents

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) won the election, obtaining 34 seats and 48.5% of the vote. This meant that the party recovered the absolute majority it had lost in the previous election. The opposition People's Party added 1 additional seat to their 27-seat count, but remained almost static in vote terms, gaining 0.5 percentage points albeit losing 1,000 votes from 1995. United Left (IU) lost half of its seats, while the Extremaduran Coalition (CREx-PREx) was left out of the Assembly after breaking up with United Extremadura (EU), which also failed to gain any seats.

The election resulted in Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra being elected President for a fifth 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 vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. [1]

Electoral system

Voting for the Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Extremadura 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. [2] [3] [4]

The Assembly of Extremadura was entitled to a maximum of 65 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at that number. All members were elected in two multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 20 seats and the remaining 25 being distributed in proportion to their populations—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 in each constituency. Alternatively, parties failing to reach the threshold in one of the constituencies were also entitled to enter the seat distribution as long as they ran candidates in both districts and reached five percent regionally. [2] [5]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Assembly constituency was entitled the following seats: [6]

SeatsConstituencies
36 Badajoz (+1)
29 Cáceres (–1)

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. [7] [8]

Election date

The term of the Assembly of Extremadura expired four years after the date of its previous election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years, but a legal amendment introduced in 1998 allowed for regional elections held in May 1995 to be held concurrently with European Parliament elections, provided that they were scheduled for within a four month-timespan. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Journal of Extremadura (DOE). [2] [9] [10] The previous election was held on 28 May 1995, setting the date for election day concurrently with that year's European Parliament election on Sunday, 13 June 1999.

Amendments earlier in 1999 granted the regional president the prerogative to dissolve the Assembly of Extremadura 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. [9] [11] 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. [12] 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. [11]

The election to the Assembly of Extremadura was officially called on 20 April 1999 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the DOE, setting election day for 13 June. [6]

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 two percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. [13] [14]

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

CandidacyParties and
alliances
CandidateIdeologyPrevious resultGov.Ref.
Vote %Seats
PSOEp
List
Juan Carlos Rodriguez Ibarra 2007 (cropped).jpg Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra Social democracy 43.9%31Check-green.svg [15]
[16]
[17]
PP
List
Portrait placeholder.svg Juan Ignacio Barrero Conservatism
Christian democracy
39.5%27Dark Red x.svg [18]
[19]
[20]
IU–CE Portrait placeholder.svg Manuel Cañada Socialism
Communism
10.5%6Dark Red x.svg [21]

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.

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Victory preferences

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

Victory likelihood

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

Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Regional Government of Extremadura.

Results

Overall

Summary of the 13 June 1999 Assembly of Extremadura election results
ExtremaduraAssemblyDiagram1999.svg
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%±pp Total+/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' PartyProgressives (PSOE–p)313,41748.48+4.5434+3
People's Party (PP)258,65740.01+0.5528+1
United Left–Commitment to Extremadura (IU–CE)39,1326.05−4.493−3
United Extremadura (EU)10,7831.67New0±0
Extremaduran Coalition (CREx–PREx)7,4371.15−2.670−1
Independent Socialists of Extremadura (SIEx)6,2380.96−0.210±0
The Greens of Extremadura (LV)3,4100.53New0±0
Blank ballots7,4081.15+0.27
Total646,48265±0
Valid votes646,48299.38+0.04
Invalid votes4,0450.62−0.04
Votes cast / turnout650,52773.44−4.89
Abstentions235,22626.56+4.89
Registered voters885,753
Sources [22] [23]
Popular vote
PSOEp
48.48%
PP
40.01%
IU–CE
6.05%
EU
1.67%
CREx–PREx
1.15%
Others
1.49%
Blank ballots
1.15%
Seats
PSOEp
52.31%
PP
43.08%
IU–CE
4.62%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PSOEp PP IU–CE
%S%S%S
Badajoz 49.71939.2157.12
Cáceres 46.71541.2134.41
Total48.53440.0286.13
Sources [22] [23]

Aftermath

Investiture
Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra (PSOE)
Ballot →15 July 1999
Required majority →33 out of 65 Yes check.svg
Yes
34 / 65
No
  • PP (27)
  • IU (3)
30 / 65
Abstentions
0 / 65
Absentees
  • PP (1)
1 / 65
Sources [22]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Within CEx.

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. "El feudo socialista extremeño depende de lU". ABC (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
  2. "Rodríguez Ibarra refuerza posiciones". El País (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
  3. "Extremadura: Barrero no puede con Ibarra". El Mundo (in Spanish). 31 May 1999.
  4. "ELECCIONES 13-J /BALANCE DE LAS ENCUESTAS". El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 June 1999.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas y municipales, 1999. Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura (Estudio nº 2333. Mayo 1999)". CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
  6. "Estudio CIS nº 2333. Ficha técnica". CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
  7. "Bono e Ibarra repiten y el PSOE recuperará Asturias". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 June 1999.
Other
  1. Statute (1983) , art. 19.
  2. 1 2 3 Statute (1983) , art. 21.
  3. LEEx (1987) , art. 2.
  4. LOREG (1985) , arts. 2–3.
  5. LEEx (1987) , arts. 17–19.
  6. 1 2 Decreto del Presidente 2/1999, de 19 de abril, por el que se convocan elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura (PDF) (Decree 2/1999). Official Journal of Extremadura (in Spanish). 19 April 1999. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  7. LEEx (1987) , arts. 19 & 26.
  8. LOREG (1985) , arts. 46 & 48.
  9. 1 2 LEEx (1987) , arts. 22–23.
  10. LOREG (1985) , art. 42 & add. prov. 5.
  11. 1 2 Statute (1983) , art. 34.
  12. Statute (1983) , art. 31.
  13. LEEx (1987) , arts. 25–26.
  14. LOREG (1985) , art. 44.
  15. Díez, Anabel (26 September 1997). "Almunia y Rodríguez Ibarra sellan la paz en vísperas del congreso extremeño". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  16. Díez, Anabel (26 October 1997). "Trece federaciones del PSOE carecen de candidato a presidente autonómico". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  17. "Ibarra, designado candidato del PSOE en Extremadura". El País (in Spanish). Mérida. EFE. 23 January 1999. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  18. Pedrote, Isabel (30 September 1996). "El PP se plantea como reto desbancar al PSOE en Extremadura y Andalucía". El País (in Spanish). Granada / Mérida. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  19. "Barrero se enfrentará a Ibarra, pero De Grandes no lo hará con Bono". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 23 November 1998. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  20. Casqueiro, Javier (16 January 1999). "El PP designa a Barrero candidato contra Rodríguez Ibarra en Extremadura". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  21. "Cañada, nuevo coordinador de IU- Compromiso por Extremadura". El País (in Spanish). Mérida. EFE. 2 October 1995. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  22. 1 2 3 Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura (desde 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.
  23. 1 2 "Resolución de 23 de junio de 1999, del Presidente de la Junta Electoral de Extremadura, por la que se hacen públicos los resultados del Escrutinio General y Proclamación de Diputados Electos resultantes de las Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura, celebradas el día 13 de junio de 1999" (PDF). Official Journal of Extremadura (in Spanish) (74): 5377–5379. 26 June 1999. ISSN   2483-5188 . Retrieved 16 November 2025.

Bibliography