1999 Navarrese regional election

←  1995 13 June 1999 2003 →
All 50 seats in the Parliament of Navarre 26 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	461,729 5.5%
Turnout	305,880 (66.2%) 2.2 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Miguel Sanz Juan José Lizarbe Pernando Barrena Party UPN PSN–PSOE EH Leader since 17 January 1995 18 December 1997 1998 Last election 17 seats, 31.3% 11 seats, 20.9% 5 seats, 11.4% [a] Seats won 22 11 8 Seat change 5 0 3 Popular vote 125,497 61,531 47,271 Percentage 41.4% 20.3% 15.6% Swing 10.1 pp 0.6 pp 4.2 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Félix Taberna Juan Cruz Alli Begoña Errazti Party IU/EB CDN EA–PNV Leader since 1991 10 April 1995 1995 Last election 5 seats, 9.3% 10 seats, 18.6% 2 seats, 5.6% [b] Seats won 3 3 3 Seat change 2 7 1 Popular vote 20,879 20,821 16,512 Percentage 6.9% 6.9% 5.4% Swing 2.4 pp 11.7 pp 0.2 pp
President before election Miguel Sanz UPN Elected President Miguel Sanz UPN

The 1999 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 13 June 1999, to elect the 5th Parliament of the Chartered Community of Navarre. All 50 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 1999 European Parliament election.

Overview

Electoral system

The Parliament of Navarre was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Chartered Community of Navarre, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Reintegration and Enhancement of the Foral Regime of Navarre Law, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. ^[1] Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Navarre and in full enjoyment of their political rights.

The 50 members of the Parliament of Navarre were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. ^[2]

Election date

The term of the Parliament of Navarre expired four years after the date of its previous election, with elections to the Parliament being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. Legal amendments introduced in 1998 allowed for these to be held together with European Parliament elections, provided that they were scheduled for within a four month-timespan. The previous election was held on 28 May 1995, setting the election date for the Parliament concurrently with a European Parliament election on Sunday, 13 June 1999. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

The Parliament of Navarre could not be dissolved before the date of expiry of parliament. 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. ^[1]

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 Navarre, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. ^{[2] [3]}

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
	UPN	List Navarrese People's Union (UPN)		Miguel Sanz	Conservatism Christian democracy Regionalism	31.35%	17	Y
	PSN–PSOE	List Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)		Juan José Lizarbe	Social democracy	20.87%	11	N
	CDN	List Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN)		Juan Cruz Alli	Christian democracy Regionalism	18.56%	10	N
	EH	List Popular Unity (HB) – Basque Nationalist Action (EAE/ANV) Assembly (Batzarre) Stand Up (Zutik)		Pernando Barrena	Basque independence Abertzale left Revolutionary socialism	11.41% [a]	5	N
	IU/EB	List United Left of Navarre (IUN/NEB) – Communist Party of the Basque Country (PCE/EPK) – Socialist Action Party (PASOC) – Republican Left (IR) – Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR) – Workers' Revolutionary Party (PRT)		Félix Taberna	Socialism Communism	9.35%	5	N
	EA–PNV	List Basque Solidarity (EA) Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV)		Begoña Errazti	Basque nationalism Social democracy Christian democracy	5.56% [b]	2	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; 26 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Navarre.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout			CDN					PNV		Lead
1999 regional election	13 Jun 1999	—	66.2	41.4 22	20.3 11	6.9 3	6.9 3	[c]	5.4 3	[c]	[d]	15.6 8	21.1
Eco Consulting/ABC [p 1]	24 May–2 Jun 1999	?	?	36.7 20	19.0 10	15.6 8	6.7 3	[c]	4.6 2	[c]	[d]	12.7 7	17.7
Demoscopia/El País [p 2]	26 May–1 Jun 1999	?	65	37.7 21	24.6 13	5.9 3	8.9 4	[c]	6.5 3	[c]	[d]	11.9 6	13.1
CIES/Diario de Navarra [p 3] [p 4]	26 May–1 Jun 1999	1,502	73	38.1 20/22	25.2 12/14	6.4 3/4	8.1 3/4	[c]	5.4 2/3	[c]	[d]	13.0 6/7	12.9
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 5] [p 6]	17–21 May 1999	600	?	36.5 20/21	22.9 12/13	9.6 5	9.9 5	[c]	4.9 2	[c]	[d]	9.8 5	13.6
Ikerfel/Noticias	18–20 May 1999	841	67.1	42.1 22	21.8 11	8.6 4	11.1 5	[c]	6.2 3	[c]	[d]	9.6 5	20.3
CIS [p 7] [p 8] [p 9]	3–19 May 1999	654	67.0	39.3 20/21	21.6 11/12	11.0 5/6	7.1 3/4	[c]	4.6 2	[c]	[d]	11.3 5/6	17.7
CIES/Diario de Navarra [p 10]	17–24 Mar 1999	1,205	?	40.5 21	25.8 13	7.5 4	9.1 4	[c]	5.2 2	[c]	[d]	11.2 6	14.7
Ikerfel/Noticias	1–2 Feb 1999	816	69.5	39.5 21	23.5 12	7.1 3	11.1 6	[c]	4.0 2	[c]	2.5 0	11.1 6	16.0
CIES/Diario de Navarra [p 11] [p 12]	9–12 Jun 1998	800	?	38.1 21	27.5 15	6.0 3	10.5 5	8.5 4	4.4 2	2.1 0	1.5 0	–	10.6
Ikerfel/Noticias	16–18 Mar 1998	816	65.8	40.5 21/22	26.3 14	9.8 5	11.0 5/6	6.3 3	3.4 1	–	1.5 0	–	14.2
1996 general election	3 Mar 1996	—	73.5	37.1 (20)	30.3 (16)	5.3 (2)	12.4 (6)	8.2 (4)	3.8 (2)	–	1.0 (0)	–	6.8
1995 regional election	28 May 1995	—	68.4	31.3 17	20.9 11	18.6 10	9.3 5	9.2 5	4.6 2	2.2 0	1.0 0	–	10.4

Results

← Summary of the 13 June 1999 Parliament of Navarre election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	± pp	Total	+/−
	Navarrese People's Union (UPN)	125,497	41.37	+10.02	22	+5
	Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE)	61,531	20.28	–0.59	11	±0
	Basque Citizens (EH)1	47,271	15.58	+4.17	8	+3
	United Left (IU/EB)	20,879	6.88	–2.47	3	–2
	Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN)	20,821	6.86	–8.70	3	–7
	Basque Solidarity–Basque Nationalist Party ( EA– PNV)2	16,512	5.44	–0.12	3	+1
	Independents of Navarre (IN)	2,835	0.93	New	0	±0
	Carlist Party (EKA)	869	0.29	+0.01	0	±0
Blank ballots		7,126	2.35	+0.44
Total		303,341			50	±0
Valid votes		303,341	99.17	–0.04
Invalid votes		2,539	0.83	+0.04
Votes cast / turnout		305,880	66.25	–2.15
Abstentions		155,849	33.75	+2.15
Registered voters		461,729
Sources [4] [5]
Footnotes: 1 Basque Citizens results are compared to the combined totals of Popular Unity and Assembly in the 1995 election. 2 Basque Solidarity–Basque Nationalist Party results are compared to the combined totals of Basque Solidarity and Nationalists of Navarre in the 1995 election.

Aftermath

Investiture processes to elect the President of the Government of Navarre required for an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 48 hours later under the same majority requirement, with successive votes requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If such majorities were not achieved, successive candidate proposals would be processed under the same procedure. In the event of the 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 deemed to be automatically elected. ^[1]

Investiture Miguel Sanz ( UPN)
Ballot →		21 July 1999	23 July 1999	26 July 1999
Required majority →		26 out of 50 N	26 out of 50 N	Simple Y
	Yes • UPN (22)	22 / 50	22 / 50	22 / 50
	No • EH (7) • IU (3) • CDN (3) • EA–PNV (3)	16 / 50	16 / 50	16 / 50
	Abstentions • PSN (11) (10 on 21 Jul)	10 / 50	11 / 50	11 / 50
	Absentees • PSN (1) (on 21 Jul) • EH (1)	2 / 50	1 / 50	1 / 50
Sources [5]

Notes

References

Opinion poll sources

Other