2001 Basque regional election
13 May 2001
All 75 seats in the Basque Parliament
38 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered1,813,356 0.5%
Turnout1,431,996 (79.0%)
9.0 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Juan José Ibarretxe Jaime Mayor Oreja Nicolás Redondo
Party PNV–EA PP PSE–EE (PSOE)
Leader since 31 January 1998 26 February 2001 20 October 1997
Leader's seat Álava Biscay Biscay
Last election 27 seats, 36.2%[lower-alpha 1] 18 seats, 21.1%[lower-alpha 2] 14 seats, 17.4%
Seats won 33 19 13
Seat change 6 1 1
Popular vote 604,222 326,933 253,195
Percentage 42.4% 22.9% 17.8%
Swing 6.2 pp 1.8 pp 0.4 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Arnaldo Otegi Javier Madrazo
Party EH IU/EB
Leader since 14 February 1998 14 May 1994
Leader's seat Guipúzcoa Biscay
Last election 14 seats, 17.7% 2 seats, 5.6%
Seats won 7 3
Seat change 7 1
Popular vote 143,139 78,862
Percentage 10.0% 5.5%
Swing 7.7 pp 0.1 pp
Constituency results map for the Basque Parliament
Lehendakari before election

Juan José Ibarretxe
EAJ/PNV

 Elected Lehendakari

Juan José Ibarretxe
EAJ/PNV

The 2001 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 13 May 2001, to elect the 7th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

The PNV–EA alliance, established by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and Basque Solidarity (EA) parties which had formed the Basque government since 1998, won a landslide victory with 33 seats and 42.4% of the share, which represented their best combined result in history as well as the best performance for the top voted list in a Basque regional election, outperforming the PNV's own record in 1984. The People's Party (PP), which for this election ran in coalition with Alavese Unity (UA), came second with 22.9% of the share and 19 seats, whereas the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE) came in third with 13 seats and 17.8% of the vote. Together, they fell well short of their intended aim of commanding an overall majority in parliament that was able to oust the ruling PNV from power, but also one seat behind the PNV–EA result. The abertzale left Basque Citizens (EH) coalition obtained 7 seats and 10.0% of the vote, in what was seen as a mix of both tactical voting in favour of the PNV–EA list as well as a punishment to the political force because of its leadership's alleged collaboration with the banned separatist group ETA.

Overview

Electoral system

The Basque Parliament was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Basque Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a lehendakari.[1] Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Basque Country and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 75 members of the Basque Parliament were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes[lower-alpha 3]—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Álava, Biscay and Guipúzcoa, with each being allocated a fixed number of 25 seats in order to provide for an equal parliamentary representation of the three provinces, as required under the regional statute of autonomy.[1][2]

Election date

The term of the Basque Parliament 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 date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country, with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 25 October 1998, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 25 October 2002. The election decree was required to be published in the BOPV no later than 1 October 2002, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 24 November 2002.[1][2]

The lehendakari had the prerogative to dissolve the Basque Parliament at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a lehendakari within a sixty-day period from the Parliament re-assembly, the Parliament was to be dissolved and a fresh election called.[3]

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.[2][4]

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

Candidacy Parties and
alliances		 Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Gov. Ref.
Votes (%) Seats
PNV–EA Juan José Ibarretxe Basque nationalism
Christian democracy
Conservative liberalism		 36.19%[lower-alpha 1] 27 check
PP
List
 Jaime Mayor Oreja Conservatism
Christian democracy		 21.09%[lower-alpha 2] 18 ☒
EH
List
 Arnaldo Otegi Basque independence
Abertzale left
Revolutionary socialism		 17.66% 14 ☒
PSE–EE
(PSOE)		 Nicolás Redondo Social democracy 17.35% 14 ☒
IU/EB
List
 Javier Madrazo Socialism
Communism		 5.60% 2 ☒

Opinion polls

The table below lists voting intention estimates 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. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 13 May 2001 Basque Parliament election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes  % ±pp Total +/−
Basque Nationalist Party–Basque Solidarity (PNV–EA)1 604,22242.38+6.19 33+6
People's Party (PP)2 326,93322.93+1.84 19+1
Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE)) 253,19517.76+0.41 13–1
Basque Citizens (EH) 143,13910.04–7.62 7–7
United Left (IU/EB) 78,8625.53–0.07 3+1
Humanist Party (PH) 3,7080.26±0.00 0±0
Party of the Democratic Karma (PKD) 2,0000.14New 0±0
Workers for Democracy Coalition (TD) 1,0170.07New 0±0
Freedom (Askatasuna) 6630.05New 0±0
Carlist Party (EKA/PC) 5300.04New 0±0
Blank ballots 11,5080.81–0.58
Total 1,425,777 75±0
Valid votes 1,425,77799.57+0.10
Invalid votes 6,2190.43–0.10
Votes cast / turnout 1,431,99678.97+8.98
Abstentions 381,36021.03–8.98
Registered voters 1,813,356
Sources[5][6]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PNV–EA
 
 42.38%
PP
 
 22.93%
PSE–EE (PSOE)
 
 17.76%
EH
 
 10.04%
IU/EB
 
 5.53%
Others
 
 0.56%
Blank ballots
 
 0.81%
Seats
PNV–EA
 
 44.00%
PP
 
 25.33%
PSE–EE (PSOE)
 
 17.33%
EH
 
 9.33%
IU/EB
 
 4.00%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PNV–EA PP PSE–EE EH IU/EB
 % S  % S  % S  % S  % S
Álava 33.6 9 32.5 9 20.4 5 6.1 1 5.9 1
Biscay 43.4 12 23.4 6 18.1 4 8.0 2 5.6 1
Guipúzcoa 44.3 12 18.0 4 16.1 4 15.1 4 5.2 1
Total 42.4 33 22.9 19 17.8 13 10.0 7 5.5 3
Sources[5][6]

Aftermath

Investiture
Ballot → 11 July 2001[lower-alpha 6] 12 July 2001[lower-alpha 6]
Required majority → 38 out of 75 Simple
  • • PNV (26)
  • • EA (7) (6 on 12 Jul)
  • • IU/EB (3) (on 12 Jul)
33 / 75
 ☒
35 / 75
 check
Blank ballots
35 / 75
32 / 75
Absentees
  • • EA (1) (on 12 Jul)
0 / 75
1 / 75
Sources[5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Results for EAJ/PNV (27.62%, 21 seats) and EA (8.57%, 6 seats) in the 1998 election.
  2. 1 2 Results for PP (19.85%, 16 seats) and UA (1.24%, 2 seats) in the 1998 election.
  3. ↑ A 2000 legal amendment had seen the electoral threshold being lowered from five to three percent.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Within PNV.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Within PP.
  6. 1 2 The 7 EH MPs did not cast any ballot in the 11 and 12 July votes.

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. 1 2 3 "Los sondeos dan más crecimiento a PNV-EA que a PP-UA y PSE". El Mundo (in Spanish). 13 May 2001.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "La coalició PNB-EA guanya clarament els comicis a Euskadi". Racó Català (in Catalan). 13 May 2001.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco de 13 de mayo de 2001: ¿Unas elecciones sorprendentes?". Revista de Derecho Político (in Spanish). 2001.
  4. ↑ "Encuestas y previsiones". La Razón (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  5. ↑ "PP y PSE podrían quedarse a un solo escaño de la mayoría absoluta en el País Vasco". ABC (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  6. ↑ "Encuesta de Ipsos-Eco Consulting para ABC". ABC (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  7. ↑ "PP y PSOE se acercan a la mayoría absoluta pese al alza de PNV-EA". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 4 May 2001. Archived from the original on 30 June 2001.
  8. ↑ "Portada: PP y PSE rozan la mayoría suficiente para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  9. ↑ "PP y PSE rozan la mayoría suficiente para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  10. ↑ "Un tercio de los votantes del PP apuesta por un diálogo con ETA para lograr la paz". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 5 May 2001.
  11. ↑ "Los sondeos colocan una alianza entre PP y PSE al borde de la mayoría absoluta". Última Hora (in Spanish). 7 May 2001.
  12. ↑ "Los nacionalistas rozarían la mayoría mientras que PP-PSOE necesitarían a IU". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 1 May 2001.
  13. ↑ "Preelectoral del País Vasco elecciones autonómicas, 2001 (Estudio nº 2414. Abril 2001)". CIS (in Spanish). 9 May 2001.
  14. ↑ "El PNV no hace ascos al voto de Otegi". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 May 2001.
  15. ↑ "PP y PSE se acercan a su objetivo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
  16. ↑ "Los populares confían en los más de 45.000 votos por correo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
  17. ↑ "El PNV gana, pero sólo podría gobernar con EH". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
  18. ↑ "Previsiones de voto para Elecciones Autonómicas (Abril 2001)" (PDF). Eusko Jaurlaritza (in Spanish). 11 April 2001.
  19. ↑ Uriona, Alberto (12 April 2001). "Un sondeo del Gobierno vasco coloca al PP y al PSOE a dos escaños de la mayoría absoluta". El País (in Spanish).
  20. ↑ "Elecciones en el País Vasco". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 6 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "Intención de voto". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "Ficha técnica". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "El PNV y EA parten en la precampaña como ganadores, seguidos del Partido Popular". El País (in Spanish). 23 March 2001.
  24. ↑ "IU, posible llave para un Gobierno no nacionalista, según un sondeo del PSOE". ABC (in Spanish). 7 April 2001.
  25. ↑ Casqueiro, Javier (5 March 2001). "Aznar: 'Mayor ha renunciado a estar en el Gobierno para jugársela'". El País (in Spanish).
  26. ↑ "El frente nacionalista pierde entre tres y cinco diputados y PP-PSE ganan hasta seis". ABC (in Spanish). 25 February 2001.
  27. ↑ "Encuesta de Ipsos-Eco Consulting sobre las Elecciones Vascas". ABC (in Spanish). 25 February 2001.
  28. ↑ "Situación social y política del País Vasco, XIII (Estudio nº 2407. Enero-Febrero 2001)". CIS (in Spanish). 20 March 2001.
  29. ↑ "El CIS pronostica que el cambio de mayoría en el País Vasco es difícil pero no imposible". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 March 2001.
  30. ↑ "El PP se ve en condiciones de ganar las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 February 2001.
  31. ↑ "Mayor, Alonso y San Gil, cabezas de candidatura del PP a las vascas". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 1 March 2001.
  32. ↑ "Arenas afirma que el PP está en posición de ganar en Euskadi, según los sondeos". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 17 February 2001.
  33. ↑ "Previsiones de voto para Elecciones Autonómicas (Diciembre 2000)" (PDF). Eusko Jaurlaritza (in Spanish). 28 December 2000.
  34. ↑ "Atutxa no ve más salida que las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 December 2000.
  35. ↑ "La alianza de PP y UA podría igualar al PNV en las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 16 December 2000.
  36. ↑ "Empate técnico en intención de voto entre nacionalistas y no nacionalistas". El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 December 2000.
  37. ↑ "El Euskobarómetro augura un empate entre nacionalistas y constitucionalistas". El País (in Spanish). 16 December 2000.
  38. ↑ "Euskal Etxeak. Nº 49 Año 2001. El Lehendakari convoca elecciones en Euskadi para el día 13 de mayo" (PDF). Eusko Jaurlaritza (in Spanish). 2001.
  39. ↑ "El PNV volvería a ganar las elecciones, según una encuesta". El País (in Spanish). 15 November 2000.
  40. ↑ "Un sondeo pone al PP a un solo escaño del PNV y deja a los nacionalistas sin mayoría". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 July 2000.
  41. ↑ Martínez, Isabel C. (29 July 2000). "Ibarretxe admite que la apuesta por el diálogo ha fracasado y se impone una nueva etapa". El País (in Spanish).
Other
  1. 1 2 3 "Ley Orgánica 3/1979, de 18 de diciembre, de Estatuto de Autonomía para el País Vasco". Organic Law No. 3 of 18 December 1979 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ley 5/1990, de 15 de junio, de Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco". Law No. 5 of 15 June 1990 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Ley 7/1981, de 30 de junio, sobre Ley de Gobierno". Law No. 7 of 30 June 1981 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General". Organic Law No. 5 of 19 June 1985 (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco / Eusko Legebilitzarra (1980 - 2020)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Election Results Archive". euskadi.eus (in Spanish). Basque Government. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
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