1983 Castilian-Manchegan regional election


The 1983 Castilian-Manchegan regional election was held on Sunday, 8 May 1983, to elect the 1st Cortes of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. All 44 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
Only two political parties were able to secure parliamentary representation in the Cortes: the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party under José Bono, which obtained 23 out of 44 seats—an absolute majority—and the People's Coalition, an electoral alliance formed by the conservative People's Alliance, the christian democratic People's Democratic Party and the Liberal Union. As a result of the election, José Bono became the first democratically elected President of the Junta of Communities of Castilla–La Mancha.

Overview

Electoral system

The Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Castilian-Manchegan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Junta of Communities. Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Castilla–La Mancha and in full enjoyment of their political rights.
The 44 members of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo. Each constituency was allocated a fixed number of seats: 9 for Albacete, 10 for Ciudad Real, 8 for Cuenca, 7 for Guadalajara and 10 for Toledo.
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election—needing to secure, in any case, the signature of 500 electors—. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within fifteen days of the election being called.

Election date

The Junta of Communities of Castilla–La Mancha, in agreement with the Government of Spain, was required to call an election to the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha within from 1 February to 31 May 1983. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the candidate from the party with the highest number of seats was to be deemed automatically elected.

Results

Overall

Distribution by constituency

Aftermath