2006 Catalan regional election

Overview

Under the 2006 Statute of Autonomy, the Parliament of Catalonia 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. 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 provisions, supplemented by the provisions within the national electoral law.

Electoral system

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, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated.

The Parliament of Catalonia was entitled to a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 150 seats, with electoral provisions setting its size at 135. All members were elected in four multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with a threshold of three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency. The use of the electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Parliament 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 Parliament of Catalonia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. 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 Journal of the Government of Catalonia (DOGC), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. 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 decree was required to be published in the DOGC no later than 23 October 2007, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Sunday, 16 December 2007.

The regional 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.

The Parliament of Catalonia was officially dissolved on 8 September 2006 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the DOGC, setting election day for 1 November.

Outgoing parliament

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.

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.

Graphical summary

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:

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 Catalonia.

;All candidates

;Montilla vs. Mas

;Maragall vs. Mas

Predicted President

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

Voter turnout

The table below shows registered voter turnout on election day, without including non-resident citizens.

Results

Overall

Distribution by constituency

Aftermath

Government formation

Notes

References

;Opinion poll sources

;Other

Bibliography

References

1. Noguer, Miquel. (13 July 2006). "El portavoz de Maragall confirma las elecciones para el 1 de noviembre y luego rectifica". El País.
2. (9 September 2006). "Maragall firma la disolución del Parlament y convoca elecciones para el 1 de noviembre". El Mundo.
3. (19 June 2006). "El Estatut sale adelante con el 74% del voto, pero la participación no llega al 50%". El Mundo.
4. Mora, Rosa. (19 June 2006). "Cataluña vota a favor del Estatuto de forma rotunda, pese a una abstención del 50,59%". El País.
5. (21 June 2006). "Maragall anuncia elecciones para octubre y se va con sus objetivos cumplidos dando paso a "una nueva generación". Europa Press.
6. Garganté, Toni. (22 June 2006). "Maragall renuncia a la reelección para facilitar el relevo generacional del PSC". Cinco Días.
7. (12 July 2006). "Maragall confirma que las elecciones autonómicas en Cataluña serán el 1 de noviembre". El País.
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13. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
14. Gallagher, Michael. (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". [[Trinity College Dublin]].
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16. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
17. {{harvp. LOREG. 1985
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25. (11 July 2004). "Artur Mas, reelegido por mayoría secretario general de Convergencia". La Voz de Galicia.
26. (27 November 2004). "Mas releva a Pujol como presidente de CiU y la nueva ejecutiva recibe el 93% de los votos". La Vanguardia.
27. Garriga, Josep. (29 June 2006). "De Gispert irá como 'número dos' en la lista de CiU de las autonómicas". El País.
28. Noguer, Miquel. (22 June 2006). "Maragall renuncia a un segundo mandato y abre paso a Montilla para sucederle". El País.
29. Noguer, Miquel. (16 July 2006). "Montilla, elegido candidato del PSC a la Generalitat con el 98% de los votos". El País.
30. Noguer, Miquel. (22 September 2006). "El guiño de Montilla a los maragallistas". El País.
31. (4 July 2004). "Carod y Puigcercós, presidente y secretario general de ERC". El Mundo.
32. (27 June 2006). "Carod-Rovira será el candidato de ERC a la Generalitat y Puigcercós su segundo". El Mundo.
33. (22 July 2006). "Carod-Rovira es proclamado candidato a la Generalitat con el 84% de los votos". El País.
34. (4 July 2004). "Piqué, reelegido presidente del PP de Cataluña con el 81% de los votos". El Mundo.
35. (30 June 2006). "Piqué encabezará de nuevo la candidatura del Partido Popular para las autonómicas". El País.
36. (29 June 2004). "Saura, reelegido presidente de ICV con el 95,5% de los votos". El País.
37. (29 June 2006). "El PSC abre el plazo de presentación de candidaturas alternativas a la de Montilla". El País.
38. (10 July 2006). "Albert Rivera, elegido presidente del nuevo partido político Ciutadans-Partit de la Ciutadania". La Vanguardia.
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41. (13 December 2006). "Acuerdo de 29 de noviembre de 2006, de la Junta Electoral Central, por el que se ordena la publicación del resumen de los resultados de las elecciones al Parlamento de Cataluña convocadas por Decreto del presidente de la Generalidad de Cataluña 340/2006, de 7 de septiembre, y celebradas el día 1 de noviembre de 2006, conforme a las actas de escrutinio general y de proclamación de electos remitidas por las Juntas Electorales Provinciales de la Comunidad Autónoma de Cataluña". Official Journal of the Government of Catalonia.