1980 Basque regional election

The 1980 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 9 March 1980, to elect the 1st Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 60 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

1980 Basque regional election

9 March 1980 1984 →
All 60 seats in the Basque Parliament 31 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	1,554,527
Turnout	929,051 (59.8%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Carlos Garaikoetxea Francisco Letamendia Txiki Benegas Party EAJ/PNV HB PSE–PSOE Leader since April 1977 27 January 1980 26 February 1978 Leader's seat Guipúzcoa Biscay Guipúzcoa Seats won 25 11 9 Popular vote 349,102 151,636 130,221 Percentage 38.0% 16.5% 14.2%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Juan María Bandrés Jesús María Viana Florencio Aróstegui Party EE UCD AP Leader since 1979 1978 1980 Leader's seat Guipúzcoa Álava Biscay Seats won 6 6 2 Popular vote 89,953 78,095 43,751 Percentage 9.8% 8.5% 4.8%
Vote winner strength by constituency Election result by constituency
Lehendakari before election Carlos Garaikoetxea EAJ/PNV Elected Lehendakari Carlos Garaikoetxea EAJ/PNV

The Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) won 25 seats, People's Unity (HB) came second with 11 seats, the Socialist Party of the Basque Country (PSE–PSOE) came third with 9 seats. The Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) and Basque Country Left (EE) won 6 seats each.

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] Transitory Provision First of the Statute established a specific electoral procedure for the first election to the Basque Parliament, to be supplemented by the provisions within the national electoral law. 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 60 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—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 20 seats in order to provide for an equal parliamentary representation of the three provinces, as required under the regional statute of autonomy.^[1][2]

In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.^[3]

Election date

The Basque General Council was required to call an election to the Basque Parliament within sixty days from the enactment of the Statute, with election day taking place within four months after the call.^[1] As a result, an election could not be held later than the 180th day from the date of enactment of the Statute of Autonomy. The Statute was published in the Official State Gazette on 22 December 1979, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Tuesday, 20 May 1980.^[4][5] 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 snap election called.^[1]

Initially, 24 February or 2 March 1980 were considered as the most likely dates for the election to be held, but on 22 December 1979 it was announced that it would be called for 9 March.^[6][7][8]

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 fifteen days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one-thousandth of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election—with a compulsory minimum of 500 signatures—disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.^[2]

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

Candidacy		Parties and alliances	Leading candidate		Ideology	Gov.	Ref.
	EAJ/PNV	List Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)		Carlos Garaikoetxea	Basque nationalism Christian democracy Conservative liberalism	Y
	PSE–PSOE	List Socialist Party of the Basque Country (PSE–PSOE)		Txiki Benegas	Social democracy	Y
	UCD	List Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)		Jesús María Viana	Christian democracy Social democracy Liberalism	Y
	HB	List People's Socialist Revolutionary Party (HASI) Basque Nationalist Action (EAE/ANV) Patriotic Socialist Committees (ASK)		Francisco Letamendia	Basque independence Abertzale left Revolutionary socialism	N
	EE	List Basque Country Left (EE)		Juan María Bandrés	Basque nationalism Socialism	Y
	AP	List People's Alliance (AP)		Florencio Aróstegui	Conservatism National conservatism	N

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; 31 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout	PNV							Lead
1980 regional election	9 Mar 1980	—	59.8	38.0 25	14.2 9	8.5 6	16.5 11	9.8 6	4.0 1	4.8 2	21.5
ABC[p 1]	27 Feb 1980	?	?	? 19	? 7	? 12/13	? 9	? 8/9	? 1	? 0	?
Europa Press[p 1][p 2]	26 Feb 1980	?	?	? 19	? 12	? 13	? 8	? 5	? 1	? 2	?
ABC[p 3][p 4]	25 Feb 1980	?	?	? 19/20	?	? 13/14	? 6/7	? 7/8	?	?	?
Diario 16[p 5]	30 Jan 1980	?	?	? 18/22	? 10/13	? 12/16	? 7/11	? 5/7	? 1/3	? 1/4	?
1979 foral elections	3 Apr 1979	—	61.9	37.2 26	15.3 10	11.9 11	18.0 9	7.2 3	4.5 1	0.0* 0	19.2
1979 local elections	3 Apr 1979	—	63.3	37.4	15.3	8.1	15.6	6.2	4.7	0.0*	21.8
1979 general election	1 Mar 1979	—	65.9	27.6 18	19.0 13	16.9 12	15.0 9	8.0 5	4.6 1	3.4* 2	8.6
(*) Results for Foral Union of the Basque Country.

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	PNV							?	N	Lead
1980 regional election	9 Mar 1980	—	22.5	8.4	5.0	9.8	5.8	2.4	2.8	—	40.2	12.7
Arvay/CIS[p 6]	28 Feb 1980	1,500	25.4	9.4	3.7	8.9	9.9	2.2	1.1	22.1	13.4	15.5
1979 foral elections	3 Apr 1979	—	22.7	9.4	7.3	11.0	4.4	2.7	0.0*	—	38.1	11.7
1979 local elections	3 Apr 1979	—	22.9	9.2	5.7	9.6	3.7	2.8	0.0*	—	38.0	13.3
1979 general election	1 Mar 1979	—	17.8	12.3	10.9	9.7	5.2	3.0	2.2*	—	34.1	5.5
(*) Results for Foral Union of the Basque Country.

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.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	PNV							Other/ None	?	Lead
Arvay/CIS[p 6]	28 Feb 1980	1,500	73.8	3.4	3.5	1.1	0.6	0.0	0.1	0.3	17.3	70.3

Preferred Lehendakari

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become lehendakari.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size				Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Garaiko. EAJ/PNV	Benegas PSE–PSOE	Viana UCD
Arvay/CIS[p 6]	28 Feb 1980	1,500	32.6	8.0	2.2	28.8	28.4	24.6

Predicted Lehendakari

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

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size				Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Garaiko. EAJ/PNV	Benegas PSE–PSOE	Viana UCD
Arvay/CIS[p 6]	28 Feb 1980	1,500	70.5	2.2	1.1	3.6	22.6	68.3

Results

Overall

Summary of the 9 March 1980 Basque Parliament election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)	349,102	37.95	n/a	25	n/a
	Popular Unity (HB)	151,636	16.48	n/a	11	n/a
	Socialist Party of the Basque Country (PSE–PSOE)	130,221	14.16	n/a	9	n/a
	Basque Country Left (EE)	89,953	9.78	n/a	6	n/a
	Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)	78,095	8.49	n/a	6	n/a
	People's Alliance (AP)	43,751	4.76	n/a	2	n/a
	Communist Party of the Basque Country (PCE/EPK)	36,845	4.01	n/a	1	n/a
	Communist Movement of the Basque Country (EMK/MCE)	10,959	1.19	n/a	0	n/a
	Socialists' Unification of the Basque Country (ESEI)	6,280	0.68	n/a	0	n/a
	Revolutionary Communist League (LKI/LCR)	5,182	0.56	n/a	0	n/a
	Workers' Party of the Basque Country (ORT–PTE)	3,448	0.37	n/a	0	n/a
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (historical) (PSOEh)	2,760	0.30	n/a	0	n/a
	Carlist Party (EKA/PC)	2,434	0.26	n/a	0	n/a
	Workers' Socialist Party (PST)	2,099	0.23	n/a	0	n/a
	Communist Unity (UC)	2,044	0.22	n/a	0	n/a
	Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	1,466	0.16	n/a	0	n/a
Blank ballots		3,570	0.39	n/a
Total		919,845			60	n/a
Valid votes		919,845	99.01	n/a
Invalid votes		9,206	0.99	n/a
Votes cast / turnout		929,051	59.76	n/a
Abstentions		625,476	40.24	n/a
Registered voters		1,554,527
Sources[9][10]

Popular vote EAJ/PNV   37.95% HB   16.48% PSE–PSOE   14.16% EE   9.78% UCD   8.49% AP   4.76% PCE/EPK   4.01% EMK/MCE   1.19% Others   2.80% Blank ballots   0.39%

Seats EAJ/PNV   41.67% HB   18.33% PSE–PSOE   15.00% EE   10.00% UCD   10.00% AP   3.33% PCE/EPK   1.67%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PNV		HB		PSE		EE		UCD		AP		PCE/EPK
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Álava	30.1	7	14.1	3	14.0	3	9.2	2	19.7	4	5.7	1	3.0	–
Biscay	40.0	9	16.4	4	14.4	3	7.8	1	6.8	1	5.8	1	4.8	1
Guipúzcoa	37.3	9	17.6	4	13.8	3	13.5	3	7.6	1	2.7	–	3.0	–
Total	38.0	25	16.5	11	14.2	9	9.8	6	8.5	6	4.8	2	4.0	1
Sources[9][10]

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Los partidos nacionalistas conseguirán treinta y dos escaños". ABC (in Spanish). 27 February 1980.
2. "Electoralismo y los problemas de cada día". El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 27 February 1980.
3. "Ningún partido conseguirá la mayoría absoluta en las elecciones vascas". ABC (in Spanish). 26 February 1980.
4. "Según los últimos sondeos ningún partido conseguirá la mayoría absoluta en las elecciones vascas". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 26 February 1980.
5. "El PNV será mayoría minoritaria en el Parlamento Vasco" (PDF). Diario 16 (in Spanish). 30 January 1980.
6. "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco (Estudio nº 1.219. Febrero 1980)" (PDF). CIS (in Spanish). 28 February 1980.

Other

1. Ley Orgánica 3/1979, de 18 de diciembre, de Estatuto de Autonomía para el País Vasco (Organic Law 3) (in Spanish). 18 December 1979. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
2. Real Decreto-ley 20/1977, de 18 de marzo, sobre Normas Electorales (Royal Decree-Law 20) (in Spanish). 18 March 1977. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
3. 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.
4. Unzueta, Patxo (15 December 1979). "No habrá elecciones al Parlamento vasco hasta marzo". El País (in Spanish). Bilbao. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
5. "El Rey sancionó los estatutos de Cataluña y el País Vasco". El País (in Spanish). 21 December 1979. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
6. Angulo, Javier (20 December 1979). "El Consejo General Vasco estudia la fecha de las elecciones al Parlamento". El País (in Spanish). Bilbao. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
7. Angulo, Javier (22 December 1979). "El CGV propone el 9 de marzo como fecha para las elecciones al Parlamento". El País (in Spanish). Bilbao. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
8. Angulo, Javier (12 January 1980). "Convocadas oficialmente las elecciones al Parlamento vasco". El País (in Spanish). Bilbao. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
9. "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco / Eusko Legebilitzarra (1980 - 2020)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2017.
10. "Election Results Archive". euskadi.eus (in Spanish). Basque Government. Retrieved 24 September 2017.