Valencia is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Spanish Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. It is the third largest district in Congress, electing sixteen deputies out of the total number of three hundred and fifty. Corresponding to the Province of Valencia, most of the electorate resides in the metropolitan area of Valencia which includes Valencia city and it's satellite towns such as Torrent, Paterna, Mislata, Burjassot and Xirivella. In political terms, the district has shown a long term shift to the right. Valencia initially favoured the parties of the left and centre left who won nine of the district’s fifteen seats in the 1977 election, an election which was won overall by the centre right Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD). However by 2008, despite the fact that the left wing PSOE won the election, the right wing People's Party (PP) won nine of the sixteen seats in the district. Although smaller parties such as United Left and Valencian Union polled over 10% in previous elections and won seats, recent elections have become dominated by the two main Spanish parties, the PSOE and PP, who won all the seats in the 2008 election and together received over 90% of the votes cast.

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution, the boundaries must be the same as the province of Valencia and, under Article 140, this can only be altered with the approval of congress. At the time of the 2008 election, the largest municipality, Valencia city, had 585,000 voters out of the total electorate of 1,900,000. The next largest municipalities were Torrent (56,000), Sagunto (49,000), Gandia (48,000), Paterna (44,000), Alzira (32,000) and Mislata (32,000). There are no other municipalities with electorates over 30,000.

Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% of the total vote (which includes votes "en blanco" i.e. for none of the above) can be considered. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

Electoral procedures

The laws regulating the conduct and administration of elections are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General.) Under this law, the elections in Valencia, as in other districts, are supervised by the Electoral commission (Junta Electoral), a permanent body composed of eight Supreme Court judges and five political scientists or sociologists appointed by the Congress of Deputies. The Electoral commission is supported in its work by the Interior Ministry. On election day, polling stations are run by electoral boards which consist of groups of citizens selected by lottery.

The format of the ballot paper is designed by the Spanish state, however the law allows political parties to produce and distribute their own ballot papers, either by mailing them to voters or by other means such as street distribution, provided that they comply with the official model. The government then covers the cost of all printed ballot papers. These must then be marked by voters, either in the polling station or outside the polling station and placed inside sealed envelopes which are then placed inside ballot boxes in the polling station. Following the close of polls, the ballots are then counted in each individual polling station in the presence of representatives of the political parties and candidates. The ballots are then immediately destroyed, with the exception of those considered invalid or challenged by the candidates' representatives, which are retained for further scrutiny. The result is that full recounts are impossible.

Eligibility

Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of both chambers of the Cortes or of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from regional assemblies if successfully elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible. Additionally, under Article 11 of the Political Parties Law, June 2002 (Ley Orgánica 6/2002, de 27 de junio, de Partidos Políticos), parties and individual candidates may be prevented from standing by the Spanish Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo), if they are judged to have violated Article 9 of that law which prohibits parties which are perceived to discriminate against people on the basis of ideology, religion, beliefs, nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation (Article 9a), forment or organise violence as a means of achieving political objectives (Article 9b) or support or compliment the actions of "terrorist organisations" (Article 9c). Article 55, Section 2 of the 1985 electoral law also disqualifies director generals or equivalent leaders of state monopolies and public bodies such as the Spanish state broadcaster RTVE. Lastly, following changes to the electoral law which took effect for the 2007 municipal elections, candidates' lists must be composed of at least 40% of candidates of each gender and each group of five candidates must contain at least two males and two females.

Presenting candidates

Parties and coalitions of different parties which have registered with the Electoral Commission can present lists of candidates (Article 44, 1985 electoral law). Groups of electors which have not registered with the commission can also present lists, provided that they obtain the signatures of 1% of registered electors in a particular district (Article 169).

Number of members

In the general elections of 1977, 1979 and 1982, Valencia returned 15 members. That figure was increased to 16 members for the 1986 general election and has remained at that level ever since. Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are awarded an initial minimum of two seats, while the cities of Ceuta and Melilla must be single member districts. The remaining 248 seats are then allocated to provinces according to their population, ignoring the two minimum seats that they were awarded.

The practical effect of this law has been to over-represent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces like Valencia. In 2008, for example, Spain had 35,073,179 voters giving an average of 100,209 voters per deputy. In Valencia, however, the number of voters per deputy was 118,704, in contrast to the smallest provinces of Teruel and Soria where the ratio was 38,071 and 38,685 respectively.

Results by municipality

In recent elections the People's Party (PP) has polled best in Valencia City, with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) polling best in the satellite towns, particularly to the immediate West of Valencia in the region known as "L'Horta Oest".

2004 election

While the PP enjoyed a lead of 3.5% overall, PSOE polled strongly in Quart de Poblet where they led the PP by over 20%. They led by 15% in the neighbouring municipality of Alaquàs and had leads of 10% in the nearby towns of Aldaia and Xirivella. PP led by almost 10% in Valencia city and this was strongly concentrated in the central districts of Valencia city. In four districts in particular—Extramurs, L'Eixample, Ciutat Vella and El Pla del Real—PP polled between 60% and 67% and led PSOE by between 31% and 41%.

At neighbourhood level the differences were even more pronounced. While Carmen and Russafa districts were close to the city average, the PP polled nearly 80% of the vote in the central neighbourhoods of Sant Francesc and El Pla del Remei (in the latter they had polled 84.1% against 8.7% for the PSOE in the year 2000). PSOE's best performances came in the outlying neighbourhood of Ciutat Fallera where they led by 20% and they also polled well in parts of Benimaclet and the Malvarosa area, adjacent Valencia port.

United Left (IU) generally failed to break the 10% barrier in most areas and in the larger municipalities only achieved this in Sagunt. They polled best in Favara (21.0%), Otos (20.8%), Barxeta (20.6%) and Bunyol, where they received 18.6% of the vote. Bloc Nacionalista Valencia's best performances were in the Comarca of Safor, near the city of Gandia. There, their best results came in Potries (19.6%) Palmera (17.6%) Guardamar de la Safor (17.5%) and Benifairó de la Valldigna (12.1%). Outside of Safor, their best result came in Albalat dels Tarongers where they polled almost 12%.

2008 election

The 2008 election saw the PP improve their position relative to the PSOE in most municipalities in the Valencian community. In Valencia city, they extended their lead over the PSOE to 15% and overtook the PSOE to become the most voted party in Burjassot, Mislata, Paterna and Xirivella. In the other satellite towns, PSOE’s lead over the PP was cut to 10% in Quart de Poblet and to 1% in both Aldaia and Alaquas. PP’s highest vote shares came in Castellonet de la Conquesta where they polled nearly 76% and Terrateig (74%). PSOE’s highest percentages came in Carricola (77%) and Sempere (74%).

United Left (IU) and Bloc Nacionalista Valencia were out-polled by the PP and PSOE in all municipalities. IU’s highest vote shares were just over 16% in Polinyà de Xúquer and Fuenterrobles. Bloc exceeded 10% of the vote in only two municipalities—Otos and Potries. While Bloc and IU’s vote share declined in most areas, IU increased their vote from under 1% in 2004 in Real de Gandia to 8% in 2008. Coalició Valenciana (CVa) were the only other party to exceed the 5% barrier in any municipality which they achieved in Benifla. As in 2004, Ráfol de Salem had the highest turnout at over 94%. The lowest turnout was in Andilla at 73%.

One of the more unusual results relative to 2004 occurred in Puebla de San Miguel which had the lowest turnout in 2004 at 51%. In 2008, the turnout increased to 76% and this benefited the PSOE who increased their vote by 25% with the PP share dropping by 19%.

Summary of seats won 1977-2008

	1977	1979	1982	1986	1989	1993	1996	2000	2004	2008
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	7	7	10	9	8	6	6	6	7	7
Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD)	5	6
United Left (IU)	1	2			1	2	2	1	1
Popular Socialist Party (PSP)	1
People's Party (PP)	1		5	5	4	7	7	9	8	9
Valencian Union (UV)				1	2	1	1
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)				1	1
Total number of seats	15	15	15	16	16	16	16	16	16	16

Seats shown for the People's Party include seats won by their predecessors, the Popular Alliance and the Popular Coalition before 1989 - including those won as part of an electoral alliance with the Valencian Union (UV) in 1982. Seats shown for United Left include seats won by the Communist Party of Spain before 1986.

PP formed an unofficial electoral pact with UV for the 2004 election, under which the UV leader and former Valencia deputy José María Chiquillo was elected to the Spanish Senate as part of the PP ticket. This proved controversial with the membership and led to a split in the party.

Vote share summary 1977-2008

	1977	1979	1982	1986	1989	1993	1996	2000	2004	2008
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	36.7	36.7	53.5	46.8	40.1	37.2	37.0	33.2	42.2	40.8
Democratic Centre Union (UCD)	31.0	33.9	4.4
United Left (IU)	9.8	13.5	5.3	5.1	9.9	11.4	12.1	6.5	5.4	2.8
Popular Socialist Party (PSP)	5.4
People's Party (PP)	5.6	4.4	29.5	27.5	24.2	37.9	42.0	50.5	45.7	51.8
Valencian Union (UV)				5.1	11.5	7.5	5.6	3.9
Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)			2.4	8.3	6.5	1.4	0.1	0.1	0.2

2008 Election

The current Deputy Prime Minister and former Madrid deputy María Teresa Fernández de la Vega headed the PSOE list at the 2008 election. For the PP, former president of the Valencian community, Eduardo Zaplana, moved to Madrid district while Vicente Martinez Pujalte, who became the first deputy in the 2004-08 congress to be expelled from the chamber by the speaker, stood instead in Murcia. Both were reelected. Isaura Navarro was deselected by the regional federation of United Left (IU) on 18 November 2007 being replaced by Antonio Montalbán. The Federal Executive Praesidium of IU annulled this result one month later, citing irregularities in membership registration. In the event Navarro resigned from IU and stood unsuccessfully as part of a multi-party list which included Bloc Nacionalista Valencia. However neither Montalbán nor Navarro were successful with the PP gaining the final seat. Valencian Union, which had previously won seats in the district, decided not to contest the 2008 election.

Results

2008 General Election

Summary of the 9 March 2008 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected People's Party (Partido Popular) 770,413 51.62 9 Inmaculada Bañuls, Susana Camarero, María José Catalá, Vicente Ferrer Roselló, Ignacio Gil, Esteban González Pons, José María Michavila, Marta Torrado de Castro, Ignacio Uriarte Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 599,954 40.20 7 Ferrán Bono, Joan Calabuig, Cipriá Císcar, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Carmen Montón, Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero, Josep Santamaría United Left 46,683 3.13 0 Bloc Nacionalista Valencia-Esquerra Verda 19,826 1.33 0 Union, Progress and Democracy 10,890 0.73 0 Others 32,508 2.20 0

Turnout=79.1%

2004 General Election

Summary of the 14 March 2004 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected People's Party (Partido Popular) 665,526 45.75 8 Eduardo Zaplana, Joaquin Calomarde^*, Susana Camarero, Ignacio Gil, Vicente Martínez-Pujalte, José María Michavila, María Oltra, María Angels Ramón-Llin Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 613,833 42.19 7 Carmen Alborch, Maria Antonia Armengol, Cipriá Císcar, Carmen Montón, Margarita Pin, Josep Santamaría, Ricardo Torres Entesa United Left of the Land of Valencia-Valencian Left 78,515 5.40 1 Isaura Navarro Bloc Nacionalista Valencia-Esquerra Verda 27,050 1.86 0 Greens Ecopacifists (Los Verdes Ecopacifistas) 11,127 0.76 0 Legalise and Normalise Cannabis 9,604 0.66 0 Others 27,763 3.38 0

Turnout=77.7%

^* Calomarde resigned from the PP in April 2007, and subsequently sat in the mixed group - a group which consists of non-party deputies and those parties unable to form a parliamentary group with at least five deputies.

2000 General Election

Summary of the 12 March 2000 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected People's Party (Partido Popular) 677,860 50.47 9 Joaquín Calomarde, Susana Camarero Benítez, Gerardo Camps Devesa^&, Francisco Camps^*, Ignacio Gil Lázaro, Guillermo Martínez Casañ, María Martorell Pallás^#, Vicente Martínez-Pujalte López, José María Michavila Núñez^§ Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 446,333 33.23 6 Carmen Alborch, Cipriá Ciscar, Ricard Pérez Casado, Rosa Peris Cervera, Joan Pla Durá^≈, Francesc Romeu Martí United Left 87,633 6.52 1 Presentación Urán González Valencian Union (Unió Valenciana) 3,511 3.87 0 Bloc Nacionalista Valencia-Esquerra Verda 39,520 2.94 0 Others 23,641 1.80 0

Turnout=72.1%

^*On 8 April 2002, Francisco Camps was replaced by Inmaculada Martínez Cervera.

^#José Luis Juan Sanz replaced Martorell on 16 May 2000. Martorell's six week term as deputy is the shortest period of time served by a Valencia deputy since the restoration of democracy.

^§Michavila, who had moved to the district for the 2000 election after representing Madrid for the previous seven years, was replaced by María Oltra Torres on 19 May 2000.

^&On 19 May 2000, Gerardo Camps was replaced by Miguel Albiach Chisbert.

^≈On 2 June 2003, Pla was replaced by Margarita Pin, a former deputy who had lost her seat at the 2000 election.

1996 General Election

Summary of the 3 March 1996 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected People's Party (Partido Popular) 607,914 42.03 7 Eva Amador Guillén, Gerardo Camps Devesa, Francisco Camps^*, Ignacio Gil Lázaro, Guillermo Martínez Casañ, Vicente Martínez-Pujalte López, José Pascual Monzo Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 534,847 36.97 6 Carmen Alborch, Alfred Boix Pastor, Cipriá Ciscar Casabán, Javier Paniagua Fuentes, Margarita Pin, Joan Romero González^# United Left 174,807 12.09 2 Ricardo Peralta Ortega, Presentación Urán González Valencian Union (Unió Valenciana) 81,350 5.62 1 José María Chiquillo Barber Bloc Nacionalista Valencia-Unitat del Poble Valencia 16,850 1.16 0 Others 19,447 1.30 0

Turnout=81.6%

^*Camps was replaced by Fernando Coquillat Durán on 24 February 1997. Coquillat was in turn replaced by María José Mora Devis on 19 August 1999.

^# Romero was replaced by Joan Pla Durá on 12 April 1999.

1993 General Election

Summary of the 6 June 1993 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected People's Party (Partido Popular) 518,089 37.85 7 Eva Amador Guillén, Gerardo Camps Devesa, José García-Margallo^#, Ignacio Gil Lázaro, Guillermo Martínez Casañ, Leopoldo Ortiz Climent, José Pascual Monzo Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 508,819 37.17 6 Vicente Albero Silla^*, Antoni Asunción Hernández, Jaume Castells Ferrer, Cipriá Ciscar Casabán, José María Mohedano Fuertes, Adela Pla Pastor United Left (IU) 156,340 11.42 2 Ricardo Peralta Ortega, Presentación Urán González Valencian Union (Unió Valenciana) 102,999 7.53 1 Vicente González Lizondo^† Unity of the Valencian People (Unitat del Poble Valencia) 27,429 2.00 0 Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 18,844 1.38 0 Others 28,049 2.10 0

Turnout=81.8%

^*On 10 June 1994, Albero was replaced by Javier Paniagua Fuentes, a former deputy who had lost his seat at the 1993 election.

^#On 27 June 1994, Garcia-Margallo was replaced by Vicente Martínez-Pujalte López

^†On 4 October 1994, González Lizondo was replaced by José María Chiquillo Barber

1989 General Election

Summary of the 29 October 1989 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 481,268 40.11 8 Vicente Albero Silla, Jaume Castells Ferrer, Cipriá Ciscar Casabán, María Juan Millet, Juan Lloret Llorens, José María Mohedano Fuertes, Javier Paniagua Fuentes, Adela Pla Pastor People's Party (Partido Popular) 290,711 24.23 4 Pedro Agramunt Font de Mora^*, Gaspar Ariño Ortiz, José García-Margallo, José Pascual Monzo Valencian Union (Unió Valenciana) 137,710 11.48 2 Vicente González Lizondo, Juan Oliver Chirivella United Left (IU) 118,706 9.89 1 Ricardo Peralta Ortega Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 77,573 6.47 1 Joaquín Abril Martorell Unity of the Valencian People (Unitat del Poble Valencia) 27,515 2.29 0 The Greens 21,748 1.81 0 Others 38,624 3.20 0

Turnout=75.1%

^* Agramunt was replaced by Juan Albiñana Calatayud on 11 June 1991.

1986 General Election

Summary of the 22 June 1986 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 559,426 46.78 9 Jorge Blasco Castany, Jaume Castells Ferrer, María Juan Millet, Juan Lloret Llorens, Salvador López Sanz, José Maravall Herrero, Javier Paniagua Fuentes, Adela Pla Pastor, Francisco Sanz Fernández^* Popular Coalition (Coalicion Popular) 328,800 27.50 5 José García-Margallo, Ignacio Gil Lázaro, Carlos Manglano de Mas, Miguel Ramón Izquierdo, Ángel Sanchís Perales Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 99,175 8.29 1 Joaquín Abril Martorell Valencian Union (Unió Valenciana) 61,266 5.12 1 Ana María Yabar Sterling United Left (IU) 60,857 5.09 0 Unity of the Valencian People (Unitat del Poble Valencia) 28,973 2.42 0 Table for Communist Unity (Mesa para la Unidad de los Comunistas (MUC)) 20,095 1.68 0 Others 31,611 2.70 0

Turnout=77.0%

^*On 23 June 1987 Sanz was elected to the European parliament and was replaced by former deputy Daniel Vidal Escartí, the second election in a row on which Vidal was elected as a replacement for another deputy. Another returning deputy at this election was García-Margallo, who had represented Melilla for the UCD from 1977-1982, while CDS member Joaquin Abril Martorell was the brother of Fernando Abril Martorell, who had served in the 1979-1982 legislature as a UCD deputy.

1982 General Election

Summary of the 28 October 1982 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 635,522 53.32 10 José Luis Adsuar Ferrando, Jaume Castells Ferrer, Francisco Gaviña Ribelles, Juan Lerma Blasco^{^}, Salvador López Sanz, Adela Pla Pastor, Joan Romero González^#, Francisco Sanz Fernández, Enrique Sapena Granell, Vicente Sotillo Martí Popular Alliance (AP)- Democratic Popular Party (PDP) -Valencian Union (UV) 350,281 29.39 5 Manuel Gallent Nicola, Luis García Forcada, Manuel Giner Miralles^*, Carlos Manglano de Mas, Miguel Ramón Izquierdo Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España) 63,026 5.29 0 Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 52,768 4.43 0 Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 28,111 2.36 0 Unity of the Valencian People (Unitat del Poble Valencia) 14,513 1.22 0 New Force (FN) 12,431 1.04 0 Others 30,641 2.60 0

Turnout=83.4%

^{^}Lerma Blasco was replaced by Daniel Vidal Escartí on 15 February 1983

^#Romero was replaced by José Pons Grau on 19 January 1983.

^*Giner Miralles was replaced by Ignacio Gil Lázaro on 26 May 1983.

1979 General Election

Summary of the 1 March 1979 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 394,813 36.61 7 José Luis Albiñana Olmos^#, Jaume Castells Ferrer, Juan Lerma Blasco, Juan Pastor Marco, Joaquín Ruiz Mendoza, Manuel Sánchez Ayuso, Enrique Sapena Granell Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 364,175 33.77 6 Fernando Abril Martorell, Francisco Aguirre de la Hoz, Emilio Attard Alonso, Joaquín Muñoz Peirats, José Pin Arboledas, Vicente Ruiz Monrabal Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España) 145,141 13.46 2 Emérito Bono Martínez, Antonio Palomares Vinuesa Democratic Coalition (CD) 47,017 4.36 0 National Union (FN) 27,447 2.54 0 Valencian Regional Union (Unio Regional Valencianista) 15,694 1.46 0 Nationalist Party of the Valencian Community (PNPV) 13,828 1.28 0 Others 67,055 6.20 0

Turnout=74.8%

^#Albiñana Olmos resigned on 27 February 1980 and was replaced by Adela Pla Pastor, who thus became the first female representative for Valencia after the restoration of democracy.

1977 General Election

Summary of the 15 June 1977 Congress of Deputies election results in Valencia. Parties and alliances Votes % Seats Members elected Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista Obrero Español) 395,211 36.59 7 José Luis Albiñana Olmos, Antonio Bisbal Iborra, Jaume Castells Ferrer, Juan Pastor Marco, Joaquín Ruiz Mendoza, Manuel Santolaya Juesas, Enrique Sapena Granell Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) 334,705 30.99 5 Francisco Aguirre de la Hoz, Emilio Attard Alonso, Francisco Burguera Escrivá, Joaquín Muñoz Peirats, José Pin Arboledas Communist Party of Spain (Partido Comunista de España) 106,133 9.83 1 Emérito Bono Martínez Popular Alliance (AP) 60,410 5.59 1 Alberto Jarabo Payá Popular Socialist Party (PSP) 58,654 5.43 1 Manuel Sánchez Ayuso Christian Democratic Electoral Coalition (FDC-EDC) 34,788 3.22 0 Socialist Party of the Valencian Community (PSPV) 27,411 2.54 0 National Alliance 18th of July (AN18) 14,275 1.32 0 Others 46,574 4.30 0

Turnout=84.7%

Source:

External links

• List of members by year

References