Valencia (Spanish Congress electoral district)

Valencia
Congress of Deputies
Electoral Constituency

Location of Valencia within Spain.
Province Province of Valencia
Autonomous community Valencian Community
Population 2,543,315 (2016)
Electorate 1,946,046 (2016)
Major settlements Valencia, Torrent, Gandía, Paterna, Sagunto
Current constituency
Created 1977
Seats 15 (1977–1982; 2015)
16 (1986–2011; 2016–)

Valencia (Valencian: València) is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is the third largest district in Congress in terms of the numbers of deputies elected. From 1986 until 2015 it elected sixteen deputies out of the total number of three hundred and fifty. Since the 2015 general election it has elected fifteen members. Corresponding to the Province of Valencia, most of the electorate resides in the metropolitan area of Valencia which includes Valencia City and its satellite towns such as Torrent, Paterna, Mislata, Burjassot and Xirivella.[1]

Overview

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution, the boundaries of the electoral district must be the same as the province of Valencia and, under Article 140, this can only be altered with the approval of congress.[2] At the time of the 2008 election, the largest municipality, Valencia City, had 585,000 voters out of the total electorate of 1,900,000. The next largest municipalities were Torrent (56,000), Sagunto (49,000), Gandia (48,000), Paterna (44,000), Alzira (32,000) and Mislata (32,000). There are no other municipalities with electorates over 30,000.[1]

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% of the total vote (which includes votes "en blanco" i.e. for none of the above) can be considered. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

Electoral procedures

The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.[3]) Under this law, the elections in Valencia, as in other districts, are supervised by the Electoral Commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, polling stations are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.[4]

The format of the ballot paper is designed by the Spanish state, however, the law allows political parties to produce and distribute their own ballot papers, either by mailing them to voters or by other means such as street distribution, provided that they comply with the official model. The government then covers the cost of all printed ballot papers. These must then be marked by voters, either in the polling station or outside the polling station and placed inside sealed envelopes which are then placed inside ballot boxes in the polling station. Following the close of polls, the ballots are then counted in each individual polling station in the presence of representatives of the political parties and candidates. The ballots are then immediately destroyed, with the exception of those considered invalid or challenged by the candidates' representatives, which are retained for further scrutiny. The result is that full recounts are impossible.[5]

Eligibility

Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of both chambers of the Cortes or of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from regional assemblies if 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] Additionally, under Article 11 of the Political Parties Law, June 2002 (Ley Orgánica 6/2002, de 27 de junio, de Partidos Políticos), parties and individual candidates may be prevented from standing by the Spanish Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo), if they are judged to have violated Article 9 of that law which prohibits parties which are perceived to discriminate against people on the basis of ideology, religion, beliefs, nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation (Article 9a), foment or organise violence as a means of achieving political objectives (Article 9b) or support or compliment the actions of "terrorist organisations" (Article 9c).[6] Article 55, Section 2 of the 1985 electoral law also disqualifies director generals or equivalent leaders of state monopolies and public bodies such as the Spanish state broadcaster RTVE.[3] Lastly, following changes to the electoral law which took effect for the 2007 municipal elections, candidates' lists must be composed of at least 40% of candidates of either gender and each group of five candidates must contain at least two males and two females.[4]

Number of members

In the general elections of 1977, 1979 and 1982, Valencia returned 15 members. That figure was increased to 16 members for the 1986 general election and remained at that level until the 2015 General Election,[7] when it was reduced to 15 members.[8] It returned to 16 members for the 2016 General Election.[9]

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are awarded an initial minimum of two seats, while the cities of Ceuta and Melilla must be single member districts. The remaining 248 seats are then allocated to provinces according to their population, ignoring the two minimum seats that they were awarded.[10]

The practical effect of this law has been to over-represent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces like Valencia.[5] In 2008, for example, Spain had 35,073,179 voters giving an average of 100,209 voters per deputy.[11] In Valencia, however, the number of voters per deputy was 118,704,[12] in contrast to the smallest provinces of Teruel and Soria where the ratio was 38,071[13] and 38,685,[14] respectively.

Seat summary (1977–2016)

1977 1979 1982 1986 1989 1993 1996 2000 2004 2008 2011 2015 2016
Seats 15 15 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 15 16
AP/CD/CP/PP 1 5 5 4 7 7 9 8 9 9 5 6
UV 1 2 1 1
Podemos/EEM/ALV 5 5
Compromís 1
PCE/IU 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1
PSOE 7 7 10 9 8 6 6 6 7 7 4 3 3
PSP 1
C's 2 2
UPyD 1
CDS 1 1
UCD 5 6

General elections

2016

Summary of the 26 June 2016 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 482,855 34.02 +3.83 6 +1
Valencian style (PodemosCompromísEUPV)[lower-alpha 1] 394,227 27.77 –4.02 5 ±0
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 285,732 20.13 +1.29 3 ±0
Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's) 205,489 14.48 –0.65 2 ±0
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) 18,994 1.34 +0.35 0 ±0
Blank ballots 8,508 0.60 ±0.00
Total 1,419,521 100.00 16 +1
Valid votes 1,419,521 99.14 –0.06
Invalid votes 12,322 0.86 +0.06
Votes cast / turnout 1,431,843 73.58 –2.37
Abstentions 514,203 26.42 +2.37
Registered voters 1,946,046
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. A la valenciana results are compared to the combined totals of És el moment and EUPV–UPeC in the 2015 election.

2015

Summary of the 20 December 2015 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 442,578 30.19 –22.05 5 –4
It is time (PodemosCompromís)[lower-alpha 1] 397,207 27.09 +21.06 5 +4
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 276,188 18.84 –7.19 3 –1
Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (C's) 221,896 15.13 New 2 +2
United Left of the Valencian CountryPopular Unity in Common (EUPV–UPeC) 68,961 4.70 –2.07 0 –1
Blank ballots 8,747 0.60 –0.42
Total 1,466,154 100.00 15 –1
Valid votes 1,466,154 99.20 +0.29
Invalid votes 11,888 0.80 –0.29
Votes cast / turnout 1,478,042 75.95 +1.04
Abstentions 468,102 24.05 –1.04
Registered voters 1,946,144
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. És el moment results are compared to Compromís totals in the 2011 election.
  2. Ara PV results are compared to ERPV totals in the 2011 election.

2011

Summary of the 20 November 2011 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 743,604 52.24 +0.62 9 ±0
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 370,499 26.03 –14.17 4 –3
United Left of the Valencian Country–The Greens: Plural Left (EUPV–EV) 96,417 6.77 +3.64 1 +1
Commitment CoalitionEquo (Compromís–Q)[lower-alpha 1] 85,797 6.03 +4.70 1 +1
Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) 84,394 5.93 +5.20 1 +1
Blank ballots 14,515 1.02 +0.20
Total 1,423,386 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,423,386 98.91 –0.40
Invalid votes 15,754 1.09 +0.40
Votes cast / turnout 1,439,140 74.91 –4.22
Abstentions 482,018 25.09 +4.22
Registered voters 1,921,158
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. Compromís results are compared to the Bloc–Initiative–Greens totals in the 2008 election.

2008

Summary of the 9 March 2008 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 770,413 51.62 +5.87 9 +1
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 599,954 40.20 –1.99 7 ±0
United and Republican Left (EUPVIR) 46,683 3.13 –2.27 0 –1
Bloc–Initiative–Greens (BNV–IdPV–EV–EE) 19,826 1.33 –0.53 0 ±0
Blank ballots 12,279 0.82 –0.65
Total 1,492,553 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,492,553 99.31 –0.06
Invalid votes 10,318 0.69 +0.06
Votes cast / turnout 1,502,871 79.13 +1.45
Abstentions 396,392 20.87 –1.45
Registered voters 1,899,263
Source: Ministry of the Interior

2004

Summary of the 14 March 2004 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 665,526 45.75 –4.72 8 –1
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 613,833 42.19 +8.96 7 +1
United Left of the Valencian CountryRepublican Left (Entesa) 78,515 5.40 –1.12 1 ±0
Valencian Nationalist Bloc–Green Left (BNV–EV) 27,050 1.86 –1.08 0 ±0
Blank ballots 21,438 1.47 +0.27
Total 1,454,856 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,454,856 99.37 –0.02
Invalid votes 9,164 0.63 +0.02
Votes cast / turnout 1,464,020 77.68 +5.01
Abstentions 420,584 22.32 –5.01
Registered voters 1,884,604
Source: Ministry of the Interior

2000

Summary of the 12 March 2000 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 677,860 50.47 +8.44 9 +2
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party–Progressives (PSOE) 446,333 33.23 –3.75 6 ±0
United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV) 87,633 6.52 –5.57 1 –1
Valencian Union (UV) 51,927 3.87 –1.75 0 –1
Valencian Nationalist Bloc–The Greens–Valencians for Change (BNV–EV)[lower-alpha 1] 39,520 2.94 +1.78 0 ±0
Blank ballots 16,128 1.20 +0.43
Total 1,343,042 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,343,042 99.39 –0.15
Invalid votes 8,177 0.61 +0.15
Votes cast / turnout 1,351,219 72.12 –9.44
Abstentions 522,228 27.88 +9.44
Registered voters 1,873,447
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. BNV–EV results are compared to Valencian People's Union totals in the 1996 election.

1996

Summary of the 3 March 1996 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 607,914 42.03 +4.18 7 ±0
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 534,847 36.98 –0.19 6 ±0
United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV) 174,807 12.09 +0.67 2 ±0
Valencian Union (UV) 81,350 5.62 –1.91 1 ±0
Valencian People's Union–Nationalist Bloc (UPV–BN) 16,850 1.16 –0.84 0 ±0
Blank ballots 11,175 0.77 +0.17
Total 1,446,390 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,446,390 99.54 +0.06
Invalid votes 6,731 0.46 –0.06
Votes cast / turnout 1,453,121 81.56 –0.25
Abstentions 328,598 18.44 +0.25
Registered voters 1,781,719
Source: Ministry of the Interior

1993

Summary of the 6 June 1993 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 518,089 37.85 +13.62 7 +3
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 508,819 37.17 –2.94 6 –2
United Left of the Valencian Country (EU–PV) 156,340 11.42 +1.53 2 +1
Valencian Union (UV) 102,999 7.53 –3.95 1 –1
Valencian People's Union (UPV) 27,429 2.00 –0.29 0 ±0
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 18,844 1.38 –5.09 0 –1
The Greens (LV) 14,403 1.05 –0.76 0 ±0
Blank ballots 8,144 0.60 +0.10
Total 1,368,713 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,368,713 99.48 –0.07
Invalid votes 7,124 0.52 +0.07
Votes cast / turnout 1,375,837 81.81 +6.71
Abstentions 305,926 18.19 –6.71
Registered voters 1,681,763
Source: Ministry of the Interior

1989

Summary of the 29 October 1989 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 481,268 40.11 –6.67 8 –1
People's Party (PP)[lower-alpha 1] 290,711 24.23 –3.27 4 –1
Valencian Union (UV) 137,710 11.48 +6.36 2 +1
United Left–United Left of the Valencian Country (IU–EU) 118,706 9.89 +4.80 1 +1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 77,573 6.47 –1.82 1 ±0
Valencian People's Union (UPV) 27,515 2.29 –0.13 0 ±0
The Greens–Green List (LV–LV) 21,748 1.81 +1.41 0 ±0
Blank ballots 6,020 0.50 +0.03
Total 1,199,875 100.00 16 ±0
Valid votes 1,199,875 99.55 +1.79
Invalid votes 5,370 0.45 –1.79
Votes cast / turnout 1,205,245 75.10 –1.85
Abstentions 399,670 24.90 +1.85
Registered voters 1,604,915
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. People's Party results are compared to People's Coalition totals in the 1986 election.
  2. PTE–UC results are compared to Communists' Unity Board totals in the 1986 election.

1986

Summary of the 22 June 1986 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 559,426 46.78 –6.54 9 –1
People's Coalition (APPDPPL)[lower-alpha 1] 328,800 27.50 –1.89 5 ±0
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 99,175 8.29 +5.93 1 +1
Valencian Union (UV) 61,266 5.12 New 1 +1
United Left (IU)[lower-alpha 2] 60,857 5.09 –0.20 0 ±0
Valencian People's Union (UPV) 28,973 2.42 +1.20 0 ±0
Communists' Unity Board (MUC) 20,095 1.68 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 5,637 0.47 +0.09
Total 1,195,850 100.00 16 +1
Valid votes 1,195,850 97.76 +0.02
Invalid votes 27,403 2.24 –0.02
Votes cast / turnout 1,223,253 76.95 –6.44
Abstentions 366,337 23.05 +6.44
Registered voters 1,589,590
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. People's Coalition results are compared to AP–PDP–UV totals in the 1982 election.
  2. United Left results are compared to the Communist Party of the Valencian Country totals in the 1982 election.

1982

Summary of the 28 October 1982 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia
Party Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 635,522 53.32 +16.71 10 +3
People's Alliance–People's Democratic Party–Valencian Union (APPDPUV)[lower-alpha 1] 350,281 29.39 +25.03 5 +5
Communist Party of the Valencian Country (PCE–PV) 63,026 5.29 –8.17 0 –2
Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 52,768 4.43 –29.34 0 –6
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 28,111 2.36 New 0 ±0
Valencian People's Union (UPV) 14,513 1.22 New 0 ±0
New Force (FN)[lower-alpha 2] 12,431 1.04 –1.50 0 ±0
Blank ballots 4,552 0.38 +0.07
Total 1,191,845 100.00 15 ±0
Valid votes 1,191,845 97.74 –0.98
Invalid votes 27,549 2.26 +0.98
Votes cast / turnout 1,219,394 83.39 +8.58
Abstentions 242,814 16.61 –8.58
Registered voters 1,462,208
Source: Ministry of the Interior
  1. AP–PDP–UV results are compared to Democratic Coalition totals in the 1979 election.
  2. New Force results are compared to National Union totals in the 1979 election.

References

  1. 1 2 "Number of voters by municipality 2010". Spanish census office. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  2. 1 2 "The Spanish Constitution of 1978". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  3. 1 2 "Law governing electoral procedures". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  4. 1 2 "OSCE observers task force report on 2008 Spanish election" (PDF). Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe OSCE. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  5. 1 2 "OSCE observers task force report on 2004 Spanish election" (PDF). Organisation for security and cooperation in Europe, OSCE. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  6. "Law regarding registration of political parties". Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  7. "Election results in Valencia 1977-2008". www.electionresources.org. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  8. Zambrano, F.S. (2015-01-03). "Cádiz recupera el noveno diputado en el Congreso y Málaga sube hasta 11". Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). Seville. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  9. "La provincia de Valencia gana un escaño respecto a las elecciones del 20 de diciembre". ABC (in Spanish). 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  10. "General features of the Spanish electoral system". Electionresources.org. Retrieved 2015-09-01.
  11. "2008 Spanish election result". Electionresources.org. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  12. "2008 Spanish election result in Valencia". Electionresources.org. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  13. "2008 Spanish election result in Teruel". Electionresources.org. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  14. "2008 Spanish election result in Soria". Electionresources.org. Retrieved 2008-09-06.

Coordinates: 39°20′N 0°50′W / 39.333°N 0.833°W / 39.333; -0.833

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