2005 Basque regional election

The 2005 Basque regional election was held on Sunday, 17 April 2005, to elect the 8th Parliament of the Basque Autonomous Community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

2005 Basque regional election

← 2001 17 April 2005 2009 →
All 75 seats in the Basque Parliament 38 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	1,799,523 0.8%
Turnout	1,223,634 (68.0%) 11.0 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Juan José Ibarretxe Patxi López María San Gil Party PNV–EA PSE–EE (PSOE) PP Leader since 31 January 1998 23 March 2002 6 November 2004 Leader's seat Álava Biscay Guipúzcoa Last election 33 seats, 42.4% 13 seats, 17.8% 19 seats, 22.9% Seats won 29 18 15 Seat change 4 5 4 Popular vote 468,117 274,546 210,614 Percentage 38.4% 22.5% 17.3% Swing 4.0 pp 4.7 pp 5.6 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Maite Aranburu Javier Madrazo Aintzane Ezenarro Party PCTV/EHAK EB–B Aralar Leader since 2005 14 May 1994 14 November 2004 Leader's seat Biscay Biscay Guipúzcoa Last election 7 seats, 10.0%[a] 3 seats, 5.5%[b] Did not contest Seats won 9 3 1 Seat change 2 0 1 Popular vote 150,644 65,023 28,180 Percentage 12.4% 5.3% 2.3% Swing 2.4 pp 0.2 pp New party
Vote winner strength by constituency Election result by constituency
Lehendakari before election Juan José Ibarretxe EAJ/PNV Elected Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe EAJ/PNV

The electoral coalition Basque Nationalist Party–Basque Solidarity (PNV–EA) won 29 seats, the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE) came second with 18 seats, the People's Party (PP) came in third with 15 seats. The controversial Communist Party of the Basque Homelands (PCTV/EHAK) won 9 seats, having been endorsed by the banned Batasuna party.

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—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 (BOPV), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 13 May 2001, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 13 May 2005. The election decree was required to be published in the BOPV no later than 19 April 2005, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 12 June 2005.^[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]

Parliamentary composition

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.^[4]

Parliamentary composition in February 2005^[5]

Groups		Parties		Legislators
				Seats	Total
	Basque Nationalists Parliamentary Group		EAJ/PNV	26	26
	Basque People's Parliamentary Group		PP	19	19
	Basque Socialists Parliamentary Group		PSE–EE (PSOE)	13	13
	Patriotic Socialist Parliamentary Group		Batasuna	7	7
	Basque Solidarity Parliamentary Group		EA	7	7
	Mixed Group		EB–B	3	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][6]

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	List Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) Basque Solidarity (EA)		Juan José Ibarretxe	Basque nationalism Christian democracy Conservative liberalism	42.38%	33	Y
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		María San Gil	Conservatism Christian democracy	22.93%	19	N	[7] [8] [9]
	PSE–EE (PSOE)	List Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE))		Patxi López	Social democracy	17.76%	13	N	[10] [11]
	PCTV/EHAK	List Communist Party of the Basque Homelands (PCTV/EHAK)		Maite Aranburu	Basque independence Abertzale left Communism	10.04%[a]	7	N
	EB–B	List United Left–Greens (EB–B)		Javier Madrazo	Eco-socialism Social democracy Democratic socialism	5.53%[b]	3	Y
	UA	List Alavese Unity (UA)		Enriqueta Benito	Alavese regionalism Christian democracy	New party[c]		N
	Aralar	List Aralar (Aralar)		Aintzane Ezenarro	Basque independence Left-wing nationalism Democratic socialism	New party		N

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

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout	PNV									Lead
2005 regional election	17 Apr 2005	—	68.0	38.4 29	17.3 15	22.5 18	–	5.3 3	[d]	0.3 0	2.3 1	12.4 9	15.9
TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3[i][p 1][p 2]	17 Apr 2005	?	?	? 28/30	? 14/15	? 18	–	? 3	[d]	–	? 1	? 9/10	?
Ipsos–Eco/EiTB[i][p 3][p 4]	17 Apr 2005	65,000	?	? 29/31	? 13/14	? 18	–	? 3	[d]	–	? 1	? 9/10	?
Ipsos–Eco/RTVE[p 1][p 3][p 5]	17 Apr 2005	?	?	40.3 30/33	16.2 13/15	22.5 18/19	–	6.0 3/4	[d]	–	2.3 0/1	11.0 7/8	17.8
TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3[p 1][p 3][p 5]	17 Apr 2005	?	?	39.9 31/33	18.0 14/16	18.2 15/17	–	6.1 3/4	[d]	–	3.1 1	11.3 7/8	21.7
Opina/Cadena SER[p 3][p 5]	17 Apr 2005	?	?	42.0 31/33	16.0 14/15	21.5 17/18	–	? 4/5	[d]	–	? 0/1	7.0 5/6	20.5
Opina/El País[p 6][p 7]	10 Apr 2005	?	?	42.7 34/35	15.1 14/15	21.6 18/19	–	7.6 3/4	[d]	–	2.3 1	4.3 2/4	21.1
Opina/Cadena SER[p 8][p 9]	10 Apr 2005	?	?	42.7 34	15.1 13/14	21.6 18/19	(3.4)	7.6 4/5	[d]	–	2.3 1	4.3 2/3	21.1
Opina/Cadena SER[p 10][p 11]	9 Apr 2005	?	?	44.3 35/36	14.5 13	23.2 18/20	(2.9)	6.6 4	[d]	–	2.6 1	3.7 2/3	21.1
Opina/Cadena SER[p 12]	8 Apr 2005	?	?	45.7 38/39	14.5 13	23.5 19/20	(3.3)	6.3 4	[d]	–	1.9 0	2.7 0	22.2
Opina/Cadena SER[p 12]	7 Apr 2005	?	?	43.5 37/38	15.6 13	24.5 20/21	(3.3)	6.4 4	[d]	0.2 0	1.6 0	2.5 0	22.2
Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 13][p 14]	5–7 Apr 2005	1,000	?	45.6 35/37	18.3 15/16	20.8 15/18	–	5.5 3	[d]	–	1.9 0/1	6.6 4	24.8
Noxa/La Vanguardia[p 15]	4–7 Apr 2005	900	?	46.5 34/36	19.7 16	23.2 19	–	6.9 3/5	[d]	? 0/1	? 0/1	–	23.3
			?	42.9 32/34	18.2 15	21.4 17/19	–	6.4 3/4	[d]	0.6 0/1	2.1 0/1	8.4 5	21.5
Ikertalde/GPS[p 16][p 17]	1–7 Apr 2005	2,002	72.5	42.7 34	15.8 13	21.3 18	–	6.7 3	[d]	0.2 0	2.6 1	9.7 6	21.4
Opina/Cadena SER[p 18][p 19]	6 Apr 2005	?	?	45.7 37/39	15.4 13	21.4 19/20	(4.6)	6.8 5	[d]	0.2 0	2.0 0	1.2 0	24.3
LKS/Diario de Noticias[p 20]	30 Mar–6 Apr 2005	1,500	75	? 33/35	? 16/17	? 15/17	–	? 3/4	[d]	–	? 0/1	? 5	?
Opina/Cadena SER[p 21]	5 Apr 2005	?	?	45.5 36/38	15.3 13	20.6 18/20	(6.4)	6.7 5	[d]	0.2 0	2.3 1	0.2 0	24.9
Opina/Cadena SER[p 21]	4 Apr 2005	?	?	45.5 37/39	16.0 12	21.5 19/20	–	6.5 4/5	[d]	–	3.5 1	–	24.0
CIS[p 22][p 23][p 24]	29 Mar–4 Apr 2005	1,495	?	42.5 34/35	17.8 16/17	22.2 19	–	6.2 4	[d]	–	2.7 1	–	20.3
Opina/Cadena SER[p 21]	3 Apr 2005	?	?	45.0 38/40	16.0 12	21.5 18/19	–	7.0 4/5	[d]	–	3.5 1	–	23.5
Bergareche/Vocento[p 25][p 26]	1–3 Apr 2005	3,100	?	40.4 32/35	20.8 16/19	18.3 15/17	(6.9)	7.4 4/6	[d]	0.3 0	3.7 1/2	–	19.6
Opina/Cadena SER[p 21][p 27]	1 Apr 2005	?	?	44.8 38/39	16.0 12	21.0 19	–	7.0 4/5	[d]	–	3.5 0/1	–	23.8
Celeste-Tel/La Razón[p 28]	29 Mar–1 Apr 2005	801	?	42.9 34/37	18.9 15/18	22.9 18/21	–	6.0 3/4	[d]	–	1.6 1	–	20.0
Opina/Cadena SER[p 21][p 29]	31 Mar 2005	?	?	44.8 38/39	16.6 13/14	20.6 17/18	–	7.0 4/5	[d]	–	3.5 0/1	–	24.2
CIS[p 30][p 31][p 32]	22 Feb–16 Mar 2005	1,499	?	42.8 35/37	19.1 17	22.2 18/19	–	6.2 3/4	[d]	0.5 0	1.2 0	–	20.6
PSE[p 33]	1–11 Mar 2005	?	?	41.2 33/35	? 15/16	23.7 21/22	–	? 3	[d]	–	? 1	–	17.5
Bergareche/Vocento[p 34]	1–8 Mar 2005	3,100	?	43.3 35/36	19.9 16/18	20.4 17/20	(5.3)	6.2 3/5	[d]	–	3.2 1/3	–	22.9
Opina/El País[p 35]	24–25 Feb 2005	1,500	?	45.5 36/37	19.5 17	22.0 18	–	6.5 3/4	[d]	–	–	–	23.5
Ikertalde/GPS[p 36]	18 Jan–2 Feb 2005	2,874	75.0	41.1 32	15.8 13	22.3 19	9.4 7	6.7 3	[d]	0.3 0	2.9 1	–	18.8
CPS/EHU[p 37][p 38][p 39]	8–26 Nov 2004	1,200	76	42.4 33/35	18.1 15/16	23.6 21/22	–	5.8 3	[d]	–	3.1 1	–	18.8
2004 EP election	13 Jun 2004	—	44.6	35.3 26	21.0 17	28.2 24	–	4.2 3	7.8 5	–	1.3 0	–	7.1
CPS/EHU[p 40][p 41][p 42]	3–28 May 2004	1,800	75	43.7 32/34	17.5 14/15	25.6 22/23	–	6.1 3	[d]	[e]	4.3 2	–	18.1
2004 general election	14 Mar 2004	—	75.0	33.7 25	18.9 16	27.2 22	–	8.2 6	6.5 5	–	3.1 1	–	6.5
CPS/EHU[p 43][p 44][p 45]	3–21 Nov 2003	1,800	70	44.3 33	24.1 21	19.0 16/17	–	6.7 3/4	[d]	[e]	? 1	–	20.2
2003 foral elections	25 May 2003	—	70.0	45.3 35	19.6 16	21.6 17	–	8.1 5	[d]	0.6 1	3.2 1	–	23.7
2003 local elections	25 May 2003	—	69.9	43.9	18.7	22.1	0.9	8.0	[d]	0.5	1.5	–	21.8
CPS/EHU[p 40][p 46]	1–20 Nov 2002	1,200	?	42.1 31	21.3 18	19.0 16	9.3 6	6.7 4	[d]	[e]	–	–	20.8
CIS[p 47][p 48][p 49]	9 Sep–9 Oct 2002	579	74.2	38.8	21.1	19.1	7.9	5.6	5.6	–	–	–	17.7
CPS/EHU[p 40]	15–30 May 2001	?	?	43.6 33	20.8 19	18.0 14	9.8 6	6.3 3	[d]	[e]	–	–	22.8
CPS/EHU[p 40]	2–21 Nov 2001	?	?	43.5 33	21.0 19	18.1 13	9.8 7	6.1 3	[d]	[e]	–	–	22.5
2001 regional election	13 May 2001	—	79.0	42.4 33	22.9 19	17.8 13	10.0 7	5.5 3	[d]	[e]	–	–	19.5
Quick count.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 17 April 2005 Basque Parliament election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Basque Nationalist Party–Basque Solidarity (PNV–EA)	468,117	38.38	–4.00	29	–4
	Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE))	274,546	22.51	+4.75	18	+5
	People's Party (PP)	210,614	17.27	–5.66	15	–4
	Communist Party of the Basque Homelands (PCTV/EHAK)1	150,644	12.35	+2.31	9	+2
	United Left–Greens (EB–B)2	65,023	5.33	–0.20	3	±0
	Aralar (Aralar)	28,180	2.31	New	1	+1
	Alavese Unity (UA)	4,117	0.34	New	0	±0
	Greens–Anti-Bullfighting Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (B–PACMA)	4,049	0.33	New	0	±0
	Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party (POSI)	2,354	0.19	New	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	1,514	0.12	–0.14	0	±0
	For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	1,261	0.10	New	0	±0
	Carlist Party of the Basque Country–Carlist Party (EKA–PC)	179	0.01	–0.03	0	±0
Blank ballots		9,001	0.74	–0.07
Total		1,219,599			75	±0
Valid votes		1,219,599	99.67	+0.10
Invalid votes		4,035	0.33	–0.10
Votes cast / turnout		1,223,634	68.00	–10.97
Abstentions		575,889	32.00	+10.97
Registered voters		1,799,523
Sources[4][12]
Footnotes: 1 Communist Party of the Basque Homelands results are compared to Basque Citizens totals in the 2001 election. 2 United Left–Greens results are compared to United Left totals in the 2001 election.

Popular vote PNV–EA   38.38% PSE–EE (PSOE)   22.51% PP   17.27% PCTV/EHAK   12.35% EB–B   5.33% Aralar   2.31% Others   1.10% Blank ballots   0.74%

Seats PNV–EA   38.67% PSE–EE (PSOE)   24.00% PP   20.00% PCTV/EHAK   12.00% EB–B   4.00% Aralar   1.33%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency	PNV–EA		PSE–EE		PP		EHAK		EB–B		Aralar
	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S	%	S
Álava	30.4	8	25.3	7	25.8	7	13.2	2	4.9	1	1.5	–
Biscay	40.7	11	23.2	6	17.5	5	10.0	2	5.5	1	1.6	–
Guipúzcoa	38.0	10	20.1	5	13.2	3	18.1	5	5.2	1	3.9	1
Total	38.4	29	22.5	18	17.3	15	12.4	9	5.3	3	2.3	1
Sources[4][12]

Aftermath

Investiture
Ballot →		22 June 2005[f]		23 June 2005[f]
Required majority →		38 out of 75		Simple
	Juan José Ibarretxe (PNV) • PNV (21) • EA (8) • EB–B (3) • EHAK (2)	34 / 75	N	34 / 75	Y
	Patxi López (PSE–EE) • PSE–EE (18) • PP (15)	33 / 75	N	33 / 75	N
	Blank ballots • Aralar (1)	1 / 75		1 / 75
	Absentees	0 / 75		0 / 75
Sources[4]

Notes

1. Results for EH in the 2001 election.
2. Results for IU/EB in the 2001 election.
3. UA contested the 1996 election in an electoral alliance with the PP, securing 1 seat.
4. Within PNV.
5. Within PP.
6. 7 EHAK MPs cast invalid ballots in the 22 and 23 June votes.