2006_Catalan_Parliament_election

2006 Catalan regional election

2006 Catalan regional election

Election in Catalonia


The 2006 Catalan regional election was held on Wednesday, 1 November 2006, to elect the 8th Parliament of the autonomous community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

Quick Facts All 135 seats in the Parliament of Catalonia 68 seats needed for a majority, Registered ...

This was a snap election, called roughly one year before the scheduled end of the legislature as a result of the uneasy and controversial drafting of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, which further expanded the authority of the Catalan Government. The statutory amendment had been ratified in a referendum on 18 June 2006 after being approved in the Cortes Generales, with roughly 74% of voters in favour of the new Statute and 21% against. The referendum was noted for its low turnout, as only 48.9% of all registered voters had cast a vote.[1][2]

Since the 2003 election a left-of-centre coalition of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC), Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) and Initiative for Catalonia Greens–United and Alternative Left (ICV–EUiA) had been in power, with Pasqual Maragall as Catalan president. In May 2006, ERC had left the coalition after internal tensions due to its disagreement on the final draft of the Statute of Autonomy approved by the Spanish parliament, thus leaving Maragall without a majority and precipitating the early election call. On 21 June 2006 Maragall announced his will not to seek re-election, arguably due to the political erosion his government had suffered after their uneasy relationship with ERC, as well as his political differences with Spanish Prime Minister and PSOE Secretary-General José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.[3]

Unlike the previous elections in 1999 and 2003, when Convergence and Union (CiU) had achieved a plurality of seats in the autonomous Parliament despite narrowly losing it out in the popular vote to the PSC, in the 2006 election CiU emerged as the most popular party both in votes and seats, but fell far short of an absolute majority. After coalition negotiations, the PSC, ERC and ICV–EUiA agreed to renew the three-party coalition that had been in power in the 2003–2006 period, this time under the leadership of the new PSC leader, José Montilla. The election also saw a new party, Citizens (C's) entering the autonomous parliament, resulting in six political parties achieving parliamentary representation in the Catalan parliament for the first time since 1988.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Catalonia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[4] As a result of no regional electoral law having been approved since the re-establishment of Catalan autonomy, the electoral procedure came regulated under Transitory Provision Fourth of the 1979 Statute, supplemented by the provisions within the national electoral law.[lower-alpha 1] Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Catalonia and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 135 members of the Parliament of Catalonia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats:[4][5]

More information Seats, Constituencies ...

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[6]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Catalonia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The regional president was required to call an election fifteen days prior to the date of expiry of parliament, with election day taking place within from forty to sixty days after the call. The previous election was held on 16 November 2003, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 16 November 2007. The election was required to be called no later than 1 November 2007, with it taking place up to the sixtieth day from the call, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Monday, 31 December 2007.[4]

The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Catalonia and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous one under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.[4]

Parliamentary composition

The Parliament of Catalonia was officially dissolved on 8 September 2006, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Journal of the Government of Catalonia.[7] The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.[8][9][10]

More information Groups, Parties ...

Parties and candidates

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition 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 one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[12]

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

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.

Graphical summary

Local regression trend line of poll results from 16 November 2003 to 1 November 2006, with each line corresponding to a political party.

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; 68 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia.

Color key:

  Exit poll

More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

Victory preferences

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

More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

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.

More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

Preferred President

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

All candidates
More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...
Montilla vs. Mas
More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...
Maragall vs. Mas
More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

Predicted President

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood for each leader to become president of the Government of Catalonia.

More information Polling firm/Commissioner, Fieldwork date ...

Results

Overall

More information Parties and alliances, Popular vote ...
More information Popular vote ...
More information Seats ...

Distribution by constituency

More information Constituency, CiU ...

Aftermath

More information Ballot →, 24 November 2006 ...

Notes

  1. Transitory Provision Second of the 2006 Statute maintained the validity of the electoral regulations within the 1979 Statute, of application for as long as a specific law regulating the procedures for elections to the Parliament of Catalonia was not approved.

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. "Elecciones catalanas". Escolar.net (in Spanish). 1 November 2006.
  2. "Los sondeos: Acertaron pero se quedaron cortos con Ciutadans". Libertad Digital (in Spanish). 1 November 2006.
  3. "Cataluña protesta y el tripartito aguanta". Periodistas 21 (in Spanish). 1 November 2006. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  4. "Porra Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya 2006". VilaWeb (in Catalan). 6 September 2006.
  5. "Pulsómetro de la Cadena SER. Instituto Opina 26/10/2006" (PDF). Cadena SER (in Spanish). 26 October 2006.
  6. "Sondejos". Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan). Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  7. "CiU saca una mínima ventaja al PSC". El País (in Spanish). 22 October 2006.
  8. "CiU y PSC se acercan al empate gracias a la recuperación de los pequeños". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 24 October 2006.
  9. "RACÒMETRE (23 d'Octubre 06)" (PDF). RAC 1 (in Catalan). 23 October 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2006.
  10. "El 1-N dejará el Gobierno de la Generalitat pendiente de nuevos pactos postelectorales". La Razón (in Spanish). 22 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 November 2006.
  11. "Estimació de vot en les properes eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya". Actual (in Catalan). 19 October 2006. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007.
  12. "Estudio CIS nº 2656. Ficha técnica" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 25 October 2006.
  13. "RACÒMETRE (16 d'Octubre 06)" (PDF). RAC 1 (in Catalan). 16 October 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2006.
  14. "CiU ganaría las elecciones pero el tripartito catalán podría reeditarse". Terra (in Spanish). 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  15. "Las elecciones en Cataluña". El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 October 2006. Archived from the original on 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  16. "CiU refuerza su ventaja pero no tiene garantizado poder gobernar". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 11 October 2006.
  17. "RACÒMETRE (9 d'Octubre 06)" (PDF). RAC 1 (in Catalan). 9 October 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2006.
  18. "El Racòmetre". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 October 2006.
  19. "Retallem Distànces". Diari de Miquel Iceta (in Catalan). 8 October 2006.
  20. "Quart Racometre (2 d'octubre 2006)". Racó Català (in Catalan). 2 October 2006.
  21. "Encuesta RACómetro". Foro IU (in Spanish). 5 October 2006.
  22. "RACÒMETRE (25 Setembre 06)" (PDF). RAC 1 (in Catalan). 25 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2006.
  23. "La desmovilización socialista da a CiU una ventaja de 11 escaños". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 21 September 2006.
  24. "RACÒMETRE (18 Setembre 06)" (PDF). RAC 1 (in Catalan). 18 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2006.
  25. "Informe Encuesta Cataluña. Estatuto Catalán. Junio 2006" (PDF). Instituto Opina (in Spanish). 11 June 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  26. "CiU se despega del PSC y le aventaja en cuatro puntos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 9 June 2006.
  27. "TOTAL CATALUÑA: Elecciones Autonómicas. Encuesta 12/06/06". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 12 June 2006. Archived from the original on 13 June 2006.
  28. "Socialistas y CiU empatarían hoy en las urnas con el 32% de los votos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 21 May 2006.
  29. "Los nacionalistas superan por segunda vez consecutiva a los socialistas". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 23 April 2006.
  30. "El PSC se recupera y cobra una ligera ventaja". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2 April 2006.
  31. "CiU obtendría ahora el 31,5% de los votos, frente al 30,7% del PSC". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 13 February 2006.
  32. "La mayoría cree que Maragall no debió abrir la crisis". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 14 November 2005.
  33. "PSC y CiU siguen empatados a votos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 9 October 2005.
  34. "PSC y CiU incrementan el apoyo del 2003 y continúan empatados". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 11 July 2005.
  35. "El PSC y CiU empatarían de celebrarse ahora las elecciones". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 1 May 2005.
  36. "El PSC amplía su ventaja sobre CiU". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 13 March 2005.
  37. "El PSC aventaja a CiU en 3,1 puntos en la estimación de voto". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 31 January 2005.
  38. "El PSC se despega ligeramente de CiU". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 16 November 2004.
  39. "El PSC ganaría las elecciones con una ventaja de 2,8 puntos sobre CiU". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 11 October 2004.
  40. "El PSC ganaría las elecciones al Parlament con tres puntos más". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 19 July 2004.
  41. "El PSC aumentaría la ventaja sobre CiU en las autonómicas". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 27 April 2004.
  42. "Descenso generalizado de la valoración de los candidatos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 24 October 2006.
  43. "Aprobado justo o suspenso para los candidatos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 11 October 2006.
  44. "'Sociovergencia' o tripartito, los pactos preferidos". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 21 May 2006.
  45. "Mas logra otro objetivo al igualar en valoración personal a Maragall". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 13 February 2006.
  46. "Maragall modera la pérdida de apoyo y Mas recorta distancias". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 11 July 2005.
  47. "Maragall pierde 9 puntos de apoyo popular aunque sigue por delante". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 1 May 2005.
  48. "Maragall sigue siendo el político preferido como 'president'". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 31 January 2005.
  49. "La gestión del tripartito recibe el apoyo de la mayoría de catalanes". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 11 October 2004.
  50. "Maragall se queda solo como preferido para 'president'". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 19 July 2004.
  51. "Mas es el líder preferido para ser presidente de la Generalitat". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 21 September 2006.
  52. "El 39% prefiere a Mas y el 36% a Montilla". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 23 July 2006.
Other
  1. "El Estatut sale adelante con el 74% del voto, pero la participación no llega al 50%". El Mundo (in Spanish). 19 June 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  2. "Cataluña vota a favor del Estatuto de forma rotunda, pese a una abstención del 50,59%". Cinco Días (in Spanish). 19 June 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. "Maragall renuncia a la reelección para facilitar el relevo generacional del PSC". El País (in Spanish). 19 June 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  4. Ley Orgánica 6/2006, de 19 de julio, de reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Cataluña (Organic Law 6) (in Spanish). 19 July 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. Ley Orgánica 4/1979, de 18 de diciembre, de Estatuto de Autonomía de Cataluña (Organic Law 4) (in Spanish). 18 December 1979. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  6. Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Trinity College, Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  7. "Eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya (1980 - 2021)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  8. "Parlament de Catalunya: grups parlamentaris (1980 - ...)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  9. "Diputats del Parlament de Catalunya (1932 - 2021)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  10. "VII legislatura". Parliament of Catalonia (in Catalan). Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (Organic Law 5) (in Spanish). 19 June 1985. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  12. "Montilla, elegido candidato del PSC a la Generalitat con el 98% de los votos". El País (in Spanish). 16 July 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  13. "Carod-Rovira será el candidato de ERC a la Generalitat y Puigcercós su segundo". El Mundo (in Spanish). 27 June 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  14. "Carod-Rovira es proclamado candidato a la Generalitat con el 84% de los votos". El País (in Spanish). 22 July 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  15. "Piqué encabezará de nuevo la candidatura del Partido Popular para las autonómicas". El País (in Spanish). 30 June 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  16. "Albert Rivera, elegido presidente del nuevo partido político Ciutadans-Partit de la Ciutadania". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 July 2006. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  17. "Electoral results. Parliament of Catalonia election 2006". resultats.dadeselectorals.gencat.cat (in Catalan). Government of Catalonia. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  18. "Parliament of Catalonia election results, 1 November 2006" (PDF). www.juntaelectoralcentral.es (in Spanish). Central Electoral Commission. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 25 September 2017.

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