1999 Madrilenian regional election

Last updated
1999 Madrilenian regional election
Flag of the Community of Madrid.svg
←  1995
13 June 1999
2003 (May)  →
All 102 seats in the Assembly of Madrid
52 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered4,281,075 Increase2.svg 3.7%
Turnout2,606,325 (60.9%)
Decrease2.svg 9.5 pp
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Ruiz Gallardon 2005.jpg Cristina Almeida 2011 (cropped).jpg Angel Perez 2013 (cropped).jpg
Leader Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Cristina Almeida Ángel Pérez
Party PP PSOE–p IU
Leader since8 February 198715 May 199824 February 1993
Last election54 seats, 51.0%32 seats, 29.7%17 seats, 16.0%
Seats won55398
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 7Decrease2.svg 9
Popular vote1,324,596944,819199,488
Percentage51.1%36.4%7.7%
SwingIncrease2.svg 0.1 pp Increase2.svg 6.7 pp Decrease2.svg 8.3 pp
President before election

Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
PP

Elected President

Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
PP

A regional election was held in the Community of Madrid on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Assembly of the autonomous community. All 102 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, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

Contents

While the People's Party (PP) of Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón was widely expected to win a second term and expand its absolute majority in the Assembly of Madrid—with opinion polls predicting a comfortable victory with as many as 59 seats—its gains ended up being minimal. The extremely low turnout, one of the lowest in a regional election, benefitted the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) instead, which saw a strong performance as a result at the expense of the United Left (IU), which lost half of its votes and seats. [1]

Overview

Under the 1983 Statute of Autonomy, the Assembly of Madrid 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. [2]

Electoral system

Voting for the Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Community of Madrid 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, nor being legally incapacitated. [3] [4] [5]

The Assembly of Madrid was entitled to one seat per each 50,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 25,000. All members were elected in a single multi-member constituency—corresponding to the autonomous community's territory—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 regionally. [3] [6] As a result of the aforementioned allocation, the Assembly was entitled to 102 seats, based on the official population figures resulting from the latest revision of the municipal register (as of 1 January 1998). [7]

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. [8] [9]

Election date

The term of the Assembly of Madrid expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary 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 fifty-fifth day prior to the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (BOCM). [3] [10] [11] 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.

The regional president had the prerogative to dissolve the Assembly of Madrid 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. [12] [13] 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. [14] 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 original four-year term. [12] [15]

The election to the Assembly of Madrid was officially called on 20 April 1999 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOCM, setting election day for 13 June and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 30 June. [7]

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 0.5 percent of the electorate in the Community of Madrid, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. [8] [16]

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

CandidacyParties and
alliances		Leading candidateIdeologyPrevious resultGov.Ref.
Vote %Seats
PP
List
 Ruiz Gallardon 2005.jpg Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Conservatism
Christian democracy 		51.0%54Check-green.svg
PSOE–p Cristina Almeida 2011 (cropped).jpg Cristina Almeida Social democracy 29.7%32Dark Red x.svg [17]
IU
List
 Angel Perez 2013 (cropped).jpg Ángel Pérez Socialism
Communism 		16.0%17Dark Red x.svg

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; 52 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Assembly of Madrid.

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 Community of Madrid.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 13 June 1999 Assembly of Madrid election results →
MadridAssemblyDiagram1999.svg
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%±pp Total+/−
People's Party (PP)1,324,59651.07+0.0955+1
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party–Progressives (PSOE–p)944,81936.43+6.7139+7
United Left (IU)199,4887.69−8.348−9
The Greens (LV)17,7930.69New0±0
The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV)15,5970.60−0.130±0
Centrist Union–Democratic and Social Centre (UC–CDS)8,3790.32New0±0
The Phalanx (FE)3,8100.15New0±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)3,1090.12+0.050±0
Spanish Democratic Party (PADE)2,6860.10New0±0
Union Community of Madrid (UCMA)2,5320.10New0±0
Humanist Party (PH)2,4920.10+0.040±0
Independent Spanish Phalanx (FEI)2,3490.09+0.050±0
Madrilenian Independent Regional Party (PRIM)2,0420.08−0.030±0
Citizen Unity (UC)1,7780.07±0.000±0
Commoners' Land–Castilian Nationalist Party (TC–PNC)1,5530.06New0±0
Red–Green Party (PRV)1,4320.06New0±0
Party of El Bierzo (PB)1,4150.05New0±0
Natural Law Party (PLN)1,3930.05New0±0
Federal Progressives (PF)9880.04New0±0
Independent Regional Unity (URI)9030.03−0.030±0
Blank ballots54,3412.10+0.76
Total2,593,495102−1
Valid votes2,593,49599.51−0.11
Invalid votes12,8300.49+0.11
Votes cast / turnout2,606,32560.88−9.51
Abstentions1,674,75039.12+9.51
Registered voters4,281,075
Sources [18] [19]
Popular vote
PP
 
51.07%
PSOE–p
 
36.43%
IU
 
7.69%
Others
 
2.71%
Blank ballots
 
2.10%
Seats
PP
 
53.92%
PSOE–p
 
38.24%
IU
 
7.84%

Elected legislators

The following table lists the elected legislators sorted by order of election. [20]

Aftermath

Investiture
Nomination of Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (PP)
Ballot →7 July 1999
Required majority →52 out of 102 Yes check.svg
Yes
  • • PP (55)
55 / 102
No
46 / 102
Abstentions
0 / 102
Absentees
1 / 102
Sources [18] [21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Undecided and/or abstentionists excluded.

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. ↑ "Madrid: Gallardón arrasa". El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 June 1999. Archived from the original on 25 June 2001.
  2. ↑ "ELECCIONES 13-J /BALANCE DE LAS ENCUESTAS". El Mundo (in Spanish). 6 June 1999.
  3. ↑ "Gallardón amplía su mayoría absoluta". ABC (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
  4. ↑ "Ruiz-Gallardón arrasa y Almeida sube a costa de IU". El País (in Spanish). 7 June 1999.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas y municipales, 1999. Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Estudio nº 2335. Mayo 1999)". CIS (in Spanish). 4 June 1999.
  6. ↑ "Estudio CIS nº 2335. 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.
  8. ↑ "El PP mantiene su mayoría en la región, según un sondeo de Tele 5". El País (in Spanish). 4 May 1999.
  9. ↑ "El PP mantiene la mayoría absoluta en la capital y la Comunidad, según una encuesta". El País (in Spanish). 1 May 1999.
  10. ↑ "Mayoría absoluta del PP en la Comunidad y el Ayuntamiento". ABC (in Spanish). 1 March 1999.
  11. ↑ "La izquierda está a un escaño del PP en la región, según un sondeo". El País (in Spanish). 20 February 1999.
  12. ↑ "La izquierda se acerca al PP en intención de voto, según una encuesta". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 1998.
  13. ↑ "El PP mantiene su mayoría y el PSOE sube cuatro escaños, según una encuesta". El País (in Spanish). 1 October 1997.
  14. ↑ "Ruiz-Gallardón, el político mejor valorado, según una encuesta". ABC (in Spanish). 27 November 1996.
  15. ↑ "Una encuesta revela el ascenso del PP, la ligera subida de IU y la caída del PSOE en la región". ABC (in Spanish). 13 October 1995.
Other
  1. ↑ "El PP mantiene su mayoría absoluta en la capital y la Comunidad de Madrid pese al ascenso del PSOE". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. 14 June 1999. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Statute (1983) , art. 9.
  3. 1 2 3 Statute (1983) , art. 10.
  4. ↑ LECM (1986) , art. 2.
  5. ↑ LOREG (1985) , arts. 2–3.
  6. ↑ LECM (1986) , art. 18.
  7. 1 2 Decreto 6/1999, de 19 de abril, del Presidente de la Comunidad de Madrid, por el que se convocan elecciones a la Asamblea de Madrid (Decree 6/1999). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 19 April 1999. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  8. 1 2 LECM (1986) , arts. 10 & 18.
  9. ↑ LOREG (1985) , arts. 46 & 48.
  10. ↑ LECM (1986) , art. 8.
  11. ↑ LOREG (1985) , art. 42 & add. prov. 5.
  12. 1 2 Statute (1983) , art. 21.
  13. ↑ LAMPC (1990) , art. 1.
  14. ↑ Statute (1983) , art. 18.
  15. ↑ LAMPC (1990) , art. 2.
  16. ↑ LOREG (1985) , art. 44.
  17. ↑ "El "aparato" socialista salva por la mínima la candidatura de Almeida". El País (in Spanish). 25 May 1998. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  18. 1 2 Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones autonómicas a la Asamblea de Madrid (desde 1983)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  19. ↑ "Elecciones a la Asamblea de Madrid celebradas el 13 de junio de 1999" (PDF). Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (in Spanish) (154): 21–22. 25 June 2003. ISSN   1989-4791 . Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  20. ↑ Junta Electoral Provincial de Madrid: "Elecciones a la Asamblea de Madrid 1999" (PDF). Boletín Oficial de la Comunidad de Madrid (154): 21–22. 1 July 1999. ISSN   1989-4791.
  21. ↑ González Olaya, Vicente (8 July 1999). "Almeida califica a Ruiz-Gallardón de "hipócrita", "misógino" y "mala baba"". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 6 December 2025.

Bibliography

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