Madrilenian parliamentary election, May 2003

Madrilenian parliamentary election, May 2003
Community of Madrid
25 May 2003
All 111 seats in the Assembly of Madrid
56 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered 4,447,644 Increase3.9%
Turnout 3,077,421 (69.2%)
Increase8.3 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Esperanza Aguirre Rafael Simancas Fausto Fernández
Party PP PSM–PSOE IU
Leader since 16 October 2002 26 November 2000 11 July 2002
Last election 55 seats, 51.1% 39 seats, 36.4% 8 seats, 7.7%
Seats won 55 47 9
Seat change ±0 Increase8 Increase1
Popular vote 1,429,346 1,225,629 234,944
Percentage 46.7% 40.0% 7.7%
Swing Decrease4.4 pp Increase3.6 pp ±0.0 pp
President before election

Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
PP

 Interim President

Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
PP

The May 2003 Madrilenian parliamentary election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Assembly of Madrid, the regional legislature of the Spanish autonomous community of Madrid. At stake were all seats in the Assembly, determining the President of the Community of Madrid. The number of members increased from 102 to 111 compared to the previous election.

As a result of the election, the People's Party (PP) lost its absolute majority in the Assembly, paving the way for a coalition government between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and United Left (IU), headed by Rafael Simancas. However a major political scandal erupted when two PSOE MPs refused to enter a pact with IU, in an episode popularly known in Spain as the Tamayazo (by the name of one of the rebel MPs, Eduardo Tamayo). With no candidate able to obtain the absolute majority of votes needed to become President, a snap election was held in October 2003.

Electoral system

The number of seats in the regional Assembly was determined by the population count, with 1 seat per each 50,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 25,000, according to the most updated census data.[1] As the updated population census for the May 2003 election was the corresponding to year 2002 (5,527,152), the Assembly size was set to 111 seats.[2]

All Assembly members were elected in a single multi-member district, consisting of the Community's territory (the province of Madrid), using the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation system. Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. Only lists polling above 5% of valid votes in all of the community (which include blank ballots—for none of the above) were entitled to enter the seat distribution.[3]

Background

The PP had replaced the PSOE in government after 12 years of Socialist rule as a result of the 1995 election. In the 1999 election, the PP under Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón managed to maintain their absolute majority, despite the opposition PSOE recovering lost ground.

For the 2003 election, the ruling PP switched leadership: President Ruiz-Gallardón stood as candidate for the office of Mayor of Madrid, while the regional list was to be headed by Senator and former Minister Esperanza Aguirre.

Opinion polls

Vote

Poll results are listed in the table below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. The lead column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. Poll results use the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. However, if such date is unknown, the date of publication will be given instead.

Seat projections

Opinion polls showing seat projections are displayed in the table below. The highest seat figures in each polling survey have their background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. 56 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Madrid Assembly.

Results

← Summary of the 25 May 2003 Madrid Assembly election results →
Party Vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Won +/−
People's Party (PP) 1,429,346 46.66 Decrease4.41 55 ±0
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 1,225,629 40.01 Increase3.58 47 Increase8
United Left of the Madrid Community (IUCM) 234,944 7.67 Decrease0.02 9 Increase1
The Greens (LV) 42,317 1.38 Increase0.69 0 ±0
The Greens of the Madrid Community (LVCM) 28,266 0.92 New 0 ±0
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 6,696 0.22 Decrease0.10 0 ±0
The Falange (FE) 4,153 0.14 Decrease0.01 0 ±0
Family and Life Party (PFyV) 3,994 0.13 New 0 ±0
Spanish Democratic Party (PADE) 3,532 0.12 Increase0.02 0 ±0
National Democracy (DN) 3,285 0.11 New 0 ±0
Blank ballots 60,942 1.99 Decrease0.11
Total 3,063,444 100.00 111 Increase9
Valid votes 3,063,444 99.55 Increase0.04
Invalid votes 13,977 0.45 Decrease0.04
Votes cast / turnout 3,077,421 69.19 Increase8.31
Abstentions 1,370,223 30.81 Decrease8.31
Registered voters 4,447,644
Source(s):
Vote share
PP
  
 46.66%
PSOE
  
 40.01%
IUCM
  
 7.67%
LV
  
 1.38%
Others
  
 2.29%
Blank ballots
  
 1.99%
Parliamentary seats
PP
  
 49.55%
PSOE
  
 42.34%
IUCM
  
 8.11%

Aftermath

In the end, the People's Party won the election but fell some 25,000 votes short of a majority, with 55 out of 111 seats. The other two forces in the newly elected Assembly, the PSOE with 47 seats and IU with 9, started negotiations to form a coalition government, which included the election of a favourable President of the Assembly (i.e. Speaker) and Bureau. As part of the deal, Socialists would control the majority of the government, but a disproportionate amount of the budget would be under the responsibility of IU regional ministers. This sparked criticism from some sectors in the Socialist party, but then-leader Rafael Simancas dismissed them as moot, saying "it was time for a government of the left in Madrid".

However, when the opening session of the new legislature began and the temporary president[4] called for the election of the Speaker to start, concern spread through the Socialist ranks: two of their Assembly Members (AMs) were missing,[5] leaving the left-wing coalition with 54 seats against the 55-strong People's Party.[6] At Mr. Simancas' request, the vote was delayed for 15 minutes but finally the PP forced its commencement.[7] The result was the election of the PP AM Concepción Dancausa as Speaker and a PP-favorable Bureau (4 members against 2 Socialists and 1 IU).

The scandal swept into the media, making the two "absent" AMs, Eduardo Tamayo and María Teresa Sáez, the most sought-after people in Madrid that day. Suddenly, they granted a TV interview in which they explained their reasons for not showing up: the coalition deal with United Left, they insisted, was not fair to the voters, who had chosen the Socialists over IU more than five to one. Tamayo argued that "90% of the PSOE programme is irreconcilable with that of IU"[8] Furthermore, both felt their concerns were too quickly dismissed they were raised in the internal party apparatus, which they criticised as being too willing to reach power no matter what the cost. In response, party leader Rafael Simancas, who denied such concerns were actually voiced in party meetings, started the procedure to expel them from the party. He then fired a full round towards the PP, which he accused of bribing the two AMs to prevent a left-wing government in Madrid and "using paychecks to change the election results".[9] The rival party quickly denied all accusations and sued the PSOE for calumnies.[10] The two parties immediately engaged in a political and media dogfight for the whole summer, while the third party in dispute, IU, only mildly criticised the PP and distanced itself from the confrontation.

The situation in the Assembly was no better, as the two PSOE AMs continued not to attend: even though the conservatives held a theoretical majority with 55 seats out of 109 and could push some decisions through, neither it nor the rival coalition could command the absolute majority of 56 seats required for the election of the President of Madrid. The People's Party was rumoured to be planning an investiture vote for its candidate Esperanza Aguirre, who called for the dissolution of the Assembly and fresh elections.[11] The proposal was not moot, since the law governing the election of the regional President requires an absolute majority in the first vote, but only a plurality in a second poll, making the left-wing coalition unable to block the election of its arch-rival. Furthermore, the PP requested the legal services of the House to determine whether the "majority" would actually be defined to be 55 seats, since the two socialist AMs had never been sworn into their seats.

In response, the two AMs notified the Speaker they would finally enter the Assembly at its next meeting,[12] which created an even more awkward situation: there was no viable majority, since the Socialist party had expelled them, denounced them as "traitors" and refused to accept their votes in an investiture session.[12] Then, Assembly Speaker, PP AM Concepción Dancausa announced that she would be forced to call new elections if no candidate could heed the confidence of the House. In a bid to delay the new elections until after the summer, Socialist leader Rafael Simancas, who had pushed for a parliamentary investigation of the events, requested a vote for his investiture to be scheduled.[13] He claimed not to intend to be elected, even though Tamayo and Sáez had offered their support should the pact with IU be modified.[13] With Tamayo and Saez abstaining, Simancas lost the vote[14] in a session marked by accusations and counter-accusations between the different groupings.[15]

During the summer, a parliamentary committee was formed and put to work investigating the causes of the "betrayal". The left-wing coalition was cornered in the choice of committee members, since there was no way they could have a majority: either they followed the letter of the Assembly rules and allotted at least a member to each parliamentary group (thus again leaving the majority in the hands of Tamayo and Sáez) or accepted the PP proposal by which the House denied the two AMs representation in the committee on the grounds that they were the actual object of investigation (thus giving the majority to the conservatives). The latter choice was finally implemented[16] and, after a month of 12-hour sessions in which many prominent politicians and businessmen from both sides were summoned and vast amounts of vitriol were served by both mainstream parties, the committee passed a report concluding Tamayo and Sáez were not bribed by PP and placing full blame on the PSOE. The report, however, was defeated in the full House vote, in which the two AMs (who could not then be barred from participating) joined the left-wing coalition in their "no" vote even though they kept defending their innocence.

Fresh elections were held on October 26, 2003, with the Socialists centering its campaign on the "stolen elections". Tamayo and Sáez created a new political party called New Socialism, gathering about 6,000 votes and no seats. The new result, with a slightly reduced turnout, was a majority for the PP, which ironically gained two seats (up to 57) from the PSOE (down to 45), while IU raised its voter share and fell just short of getting one more seat (but finally repeated its previous result of 9). About a month later, PP leader Esperanza Aguirre won the investiture vote and was sworn in as the 3rd President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid.

References

  1. ↑ "Statute of Autonomy of Madrid; Title I. Chapter I. Of the Assembly of Madrid.)".
  2. ↑ "The regional Parliament will have 9 more seats in 2003 than in the current legislature" (in Spanish). El País. 2002-12-31.
  3. ↑ "Law 11/1986, of 16 December, electoral of the Community of Madrid; Chapter VII. The electoral system.".
  4. ↑ In the Spanish system, a newly elected legislature is presided over by the "Age Bureau", made up of the eldest member as Speaker and the youngest as Secretary. This setup lasts until the new Assembly chooses its Speaker, a moment in which he or she takes possession and oversees the rest of the Bureau election.
  5. ↑ Dos diputados rebeldes del PSOE le dan al PP la Asamblea de Madrid, El Mundo, 10 June 2003
  6. ↑ Unlike the pair tradition in Westminster-based systems, parliamentary sessions in Spain are strongly contested, and so a party will use any opportunity it has to outnumber its opponents
  7. ↑ Legislature members are not forced to attend sessions and they cannot be summoned through a Call of the house. However, when a vote is about to start, a bell rings throughout the building and the gates are closed until it ends.
  8. ↑ Eduardo Tamayo: 'El 90% del programa del PSOE es irreconciliable con el de IU' El Mundo, 11 June 2003
  9. ↑ Chaves: 'La traición en Madrid responde a intereses económicos y urbanísticos', El Mundo, 12 June 2003
  10. ↑ El secretario general del PP de Madrid se querella contra Simancas El Pais, 20 June 2003
  11. ↑ Aspectos jurídicos del escándalo de la Asamblea de la Comunidad de Madrid, El Pais, 25 June 2003
  12. 1 2 Los diputados Tamayo y Sáez comunican por carta a la Asamblea su voluntad de apoyar a Simancas, El Mundo 18 June 2003
  13. 1 2 Dancausa convoca la sesión de investidura de Simancas para el viernes y el sábado, El Mundo 25 June 2003
  14. ↑ La abstención de Tamayo y Sáez impide que Simancas sea investido, El Mundo, 29 June 2003
  15. ↑ Cruces de acusaciones y golpes de efectos en la segunda sesión, El Mundo, 28 June 2003
  16. ↑ The committee finally had 16 members: 8 PP, 6 PSOE and 2 IU, but the chairman (from the PP) held a casting vote, thus effectively giving that party the majority.
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