Asturias (Spanish Congress electoral district)

Asturias is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. The method of election is the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a minimum threshold of 3%.

The largest municipalities are Gijón and Oviedo, with a population of over 200,000. The next municipalities in size, with a population over 40,000, are Avilés, Siero, Langreo and Mieres.

Overview

Boundaries and electoral system

Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution ^[1] the boundaries must be the same as the province of Asturias and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. 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% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.

Eligibility

Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from Regional Assemblies if elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible.^[1]

Number of members

In the general elections of 1977, 1979 and 1982 Asturias returned 10 members. That figure was reduced to 9 members for the 1986 General Election. It lost a further seat for the 2004 election and now elects 8 members, although at the 2004 election its electorate was larger than Vizcaya which elected nine members.^[2]

Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population.^[3] These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this law has been to overrepresent smaller provinces at the expense of larger provinces like Asturias.

In 2008 for example Spain had 35,073,179 voters giving an average of 100,209 voters per deputy.^[4] In Asturias however the number of voters per deputy was 122,779^[5] one of the largest ratios. In contrast the ratio was 38,685 and 38,071 respectively in the smallest provinces of Soria^[6] and Teruel.^[7]

Seat summary (1977–2016)

General elections

2016

2015

2011

2008

2004

2000

1996

1993

1989

1986

1982

1979

1977

References

Coordinates: 43°20′N 6°00′W / 43.333°N 6.000°W / 43.333; -6.000