1987 Aragonese regional election

Overview

Under the 1982 Statute of Autonomy, the Cortes of Aragon were 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.

Electoral system

Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Aragon 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.

The Cortes of Aragon were entitled to a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 75 seats, with the electoral law setting its size at 67. All members were elected in three multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 13 seats and the remaining 28 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in the most populated province did not exceed 2.75 times that of the least populated one)—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency. The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Cortes constituency was entitled the following seats:

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.

Election date

The term of the Cortes of Aragon expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. The previous election was held on 8 May 1983, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 8 May 1987. The election decree was required to be published in the DOE no later than 14 April 1987, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Saturday, 13 June 1987.

The Cortes of Aragon could not be dissolved before the date of expiry 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 Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a snap election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their original four-year term.

The election to the Cortes of Aragon was officially called on 14 April 1987 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOA, setting election day for 10 June.

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

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.

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; 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.

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 Government of Aragon.

Results

Overall

Distribution by constituency

Aftermath

Notes

References

;Opinion poll sources

;Other

Bibliography

References

1. Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón (desde 1983)".
2. {{harvp. Statute. 1982
3. {{harvp. Statute. 1982
4. {{harvp. LEAr. 1987
5. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
6. {{harvp. LEAr. 1987
7. Gallagher, Michael. (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". [[Trinity College Dublin]].
8. (1 April 1991). "Decreto de 13 de abril de 1987, de la Presidencia de la Diputación General de Aragón, por el que se convocan elecciones a las Cortes de Aragón".
9. {{harvp. LEAr. 1987
10. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
11. {{harvp. LEAr. 1987
12. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
13. {{harvp. Statute. 1982
14. {{harvp. LEAr. 1987
15. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
16. Ortega, Javier. (19 March 1985). "Aprobada por escaso margen la gestión de la ejecutiva del PSOE de Aragón". El País.
17. Ortega, Javier. (25 May 1987). "Los juristas contra el ingeniero". El País.
18. Ortega, Javier. (3 June 1985). "El jefe de relaciones públicas de la Caja de Ahorros de Zaragoza, nuevo presidente de AP de Aragón". El País.
19. González Ibáñez, Juan. (8 January 1987). "Divergencias en Izquierda Unida sobre su futuro electoral". El País.
20. "Elecciones a Cortes de Aragón. Resultados del año 1987 en Aragón". [[Cortes of Aragon]].
21. "Archivo Electoral de Aragón. Cortes de Aragón 1987. Resultados. Aragón". [[Government of Aragon]].
22. (5 August 1987). "Actas de proclamación de los diputados electos a las Cortes de Aragón remitidas por las Juntas Electorales Provinciales". Official Gazette of Aragon.
23. "Nº 75. Informe de fiscalización de la regularidad de las contabilidades electorales derivadas de las elecciones celebradas el 10 de junio de 1987".