Historical Background
The electoral system in Spain has a long history. It began early in the 19th century, in extraordinary circumstances arising from the invasion of the country by the Napoleonic army. The power vacuum created opened the way for a call for a national assembly (las Cortes) by a Central Council (Junta) - the leaders of the resistance - in the Andalusian city-port of Cadiz. The deputies, who came from all regions of Metropolitan Spain and abroad, were elected by popular vote (according to the 'Instructions for the election of deputies' of 1810, which was attached to the notice of meeting and was the embryo of electoral law). This assembly, at its first meeting, declared itself a sovereign and constitutive body and became the first modern parliament in Spanish history. It ended with the enactment of the Constitution of 1812. The text of the Constitution clearly drew its inspiration from liberal thinking (the term 'liberal', applied to politics, has its origin internationally in the name
that was given to the group of progressive deputies in the Cadiz parliament) and for Spanish people has always been the symbol of political freedom. The drafting of this first Constitution in the Spanish language, which incorporated many ideas from the French revolution and models from the Constitution of the United States, also found inspiration in the old democratic traditions of the Spanish municipalities. In the constitutional text of 1812, the latter regained their former status of elective institutions (the municipalities in the historical and political history of Spain have always played a key role in the defence of freedom).
The 'Cortes de Cadiz' (the Cadiz Parliament) have been regarded as the starting-point for democratic ideas and the right to vote, not only in Spain but also in the whole of the Hispanic world. This was because, together with the deputies from Metropolitan Spain, those from the then Spanish provinces of America (one of the three groups of representatives who met in Cadiz called itself the party of the 'Americans'), participated in drafting the text. Some of the latter would later be leaders of movements for independence in Latin America. The Constitution of Cadiz would thus inspire not only subsequent Spanish constitutions, but would also serve as the basis for the first constitutions of the new independent Latin American states. (We would say in passing that in almost all Latin American countries the process of independence began in the struggles for the democratization of power in the town councils.) It is interesting that, for this reason, many of the first electoral laws in
the 19th century in Spanish-speaking countries on both sides of the Atlantic had as their common point of reference the same constitutional text.
Following from this essential introduction, the electoral laws that were to govern the right to vote began formally in Spain from 1837, with universal suffrage being established in 1869, and were consolidated by the law of 1907. However, Spain's stormy history throughout the 19th century and part of the 20th century meant resounding retreats and advances in the process towards the exercise of democratic liberties and hence towards the functioning of the electoral system.
The Second Republic, proclaimed in 1931 after the results of the municipal elections that forced the king to abdicate, also introduced women's suffrage. Spanish women, who voted from the General Elections of 1931 onwards, did so long before this happened in other countries of Western Europe (before France for example). The triumph of the Popular Front in the elections of 1936, the results of which were doubted by none, within a few months unleashed an anti-democratic reaction and the outbreak of the civil war from 1936-39. It ended in victory for General Franco made possible by the internecine conflicts of the republican forces and by the strong external military support from fascist regimes.
It is a known fact that the establishment of a dictatorship imposed for nearly 40 years an interruption in the exercise of democratic rights. Nevertheless, these nearly four decades were not sufficient, as the Spanish political transition later came to prove, to wipe either the past or the accumulated experience of a century of electoral legislation, from historic memory: between 1810 and 1936 twelve electoral laws had been passed and many other regulations governing the holding of 55 parliamentary elections in Spain over this long period.
The fact was, even before the death of Franco and within Spain, that in intellectual circles and among members of the democratic opposition parties who were beginning to come out of political hiding, the subject of the most appropriate electoral system for the country was already being discussed and studied. Immediately after the death of Franco in November 1975, this question leapt into the media and an extensive debate was begun on the advantages and disadvantages of both the electoral system operated during the Second Republic and of the different systems used in other countries.
Development Within The Political Transition
Following the death of the aged dictator, an almost general consensus agreed on the necessity of reaching a pact between the political forces, including the reformist wing of the old regime. A peaceful transition had to be made by means of just, transparent, and reliable elections through an electoral system which would give suitable opportunities to the whole of the wide political spectrum, including the nationalist parties, to compete for representation in the future parliament.
One year after Franco's death, in December 1976, the Spanish people were asked to approve by referendum the law for the Political Reform of the state. Avoiding any break with old institutions, this signified a first recognition of the principle of popular sovereignty, enabling citizens to declare themselves freely and to choose either a political system based on democracy, or a continuation of the dictatorship. In the first alternative, by voting 'Yes', legitimacy and a free mandate would be given by the vote to the calling of a democratic constitutive parliament, which would have to be elected six months later. It would be based on an electoral system that would have to be approved should the result of the referendum be 'Yes' to democracy. The results were overwhelming for the 'Yes' vote, as only two-percent of the Spanish electorate voted 'No' to democracy.
Approved by referendum, the political reform set up a bi-cameral parliament, comprising a Congress of 350 deputies (based on a ratio of 1 deputy per 100,000 inhabitants) and a Senate of 297 senators (this number having altered subsequently). The debate on the establishment of an electoral system to form these chambers revolved around the two principal aspects which are the foundation of all electoral systems: on what territorial basis should the constituencies be established; and which electoral formula was it appropriate to adopt in the historic/political context of the country?
The strong influence of history upon the various Spanish regions meant that the electoral system adopted as from 1977 had to balance the purely 'population' component (i.e. had to assign to each territorial demarcation a number of deputies for election in accord with the number of inhabitants with the right to vote) with a formula which would allow the population of each territory to have a minimum representation in accord with the variable of territorial size. We should point out that Spain is a country characterized by great demographic imbalances over its land area. Hence, the electoral system adopted in regard to assignment of seats per constituency was based on a 'two-tier' mixed system of proportional representation, combining elections at the provincial level with national party lists.
The territorial demarcation of each constituency was linked to the division of Spain into provinces (there are 50 provinces), to which were added two constituencies covering two Spanish cities situated outside the peninsula. The distribution of the 350 Congressional seats was made in such a way that each constituency would have two seats permanently assigned to it on a territorial basis, with the rest of the seats being distributed by assignment to each constituency in accord with the variable of 'population'. This is the variable which makes it possible that in some cases, from one election to another, the number of deputies which each constituency may elect can vary slightly, the Constitution subsequently determined the number of seats able to be held in the Congress of Deputies at between 300 and 400. In practice, however, the initial 350 parliamentary seats have been maintained to date, divided between the 52 constituencies according to the system described.
To compensate for the effects of assigning seats to the constituencies on the basis of this 'territorial/population' system (which favoured some candidacies more than others assign), the electoral system sought a corrective element in the formula for turning votes into seats. The simple majority systems such as FPTP or TRS, which would have accentuated the disproportional effects of the 'two-tier' mixed system, were ruled out, and the system of closed party-list PRs was chosen, with the d'Hondt formula used to allocate seats. Multiple ballot papers containing closed blocked lists and Hondt's Law on proportionality was instituted for the adjudication of seats per province, which could in this case favour other candidacies. At the same time, the exclusion barrier against a candidacy entering into the distribution of seats was established at a minimum of three percent of the vote in each constituency.
The system for the Senate, which is a chamber of territorial representation, currently composed of 257 senators (this can vary by one more or one less), is organized very differently, since only 208 seats are elected by direct election. These are assigned by the distribution of four seats to each of the provincial constituencies, independently of their population, the elector being able to vote for three of the candidates who appear on a single ballot paper (on which each political grouping presents three candidates for election and has three boxes). Under this system of 'open list' PR for example, it is possible to choose to vote for a single candidate or for three candidates of three different parties. The remainders of the senators (49 in the current legislature) are elected by indirect vote by the parliaments of the 17 autonomous regions ('Communities').
With regard to active voting rights (to be able to elect) and passive voting rights (to be eligible), the Spanish electoral system gave both practically without restriction to all citizens of full age (18 years), excluding only those convicted by final sentence of the courts or, in the case of candidates for election, those who actively exercise certain public functions (judges, the military, high positions in the administration, etc.) Furthermore, candidates would not be obliged to make any kind of financial deposit to compete in the elections. It was considered preferable to eliminate any kind of discrimination in the submission of candidacies for financial reasons, even at the risk of some possible abuses, although they would have to be presented by a legally registered party (to register a political party is extremely easy) or by a group of electors. Finally, regarding participation in an election, the elector was left entirely free to decide whether to exercise his right to vote or not - the imposition of compulsory voting in the context of transition from a dictatorship to a democracy would have been an ideological contradiction.
According to the planned time-scale, three months after the constitutional referendum, the first electoral rules (as described above) were provisionally approved, and three months later the general elections to appoint the constitutive parliament took place. The integrative capacity of the electoral system described - fundamental for a political transition to be truly viable - despite imperfections such as are found in any electoral system, was proven by the fact that the right, the centre, the socialists, the communists, and the Basque and Catalan nationalists obtained a parliamentary representation sufficiently aligned to their expectations. This parliamentary plurality, obtained without excessive fragmentation and which reflected the great ideological currents within the country, was fundamental to a real consensus on the Constitution text. Its complex preparation required more than a year and there is no doubt that from the standpoint of comparative law, it can be considered from many aspects to be one of the most advanced in the world.
Among the provisions of the Constitution (Article 8), perhaps one of the most important and far-reaching was that of granting Parliament exclusive power to draw up the electoral rules, and also that of establishing that electoral law should have the status of constitutional law. Any amendment, however minuscule, should be submitted to the scrutiny of the Constitutional Commission of Parliament and follow the formal procedures reserved for constitutional laws.
After approval by referendum in 1978 of the new Spanish Constitution, the constitutive Parliament, which had fulfilled its function of drawing up the basic law of the State, was immediately dissolved. New General Elections were called which would pave the way for the first ordinary legislature, and also the first municipal elections of the democracy, so bringing to an end the initial phase of the Spanish political transition.
Legal And Functional Focus Of The Electoral System
The Spanish electoral system, as essentially an instrument for guaranteeing an egalitarian and democratic vote and translating votes in terms of political representation, has been a truly effective model, so much so that it has continued to remain virtually consolidated and unaltered for twenty years after its principal outlines were approved by consensus in the initial phase of transition. (It has made possible majorities and relatively stable governments, as well as the changeover in 1982 and in 1996.) The first Constitutional Electoral Law passed in 1985 ratified the bases of the system devised in 1977 and expanded the development of the regulations applied during the period of political transition.
It is quite true that a certain debate has recently been opened on the opportunity of introducing a few modifications into the electoral system and adopting the system of open lists instead of closed lists, with timid proposals being heard favouring the establishment of single-member constituencies and candidacies. However, it seems very unlikely that in the complex context of Spanish politics/elections, the advantages of other systems will compensate for the difficulties that would arise, especially regarding single-member constituencies, of which all political circles are aware.
This being said, the validity of the Spanish electoral system lies both in its being politically functional (within the framework of Spanish society) and in the legitimacy that it has gradually acquired throughout the numerous electoral processes organized in the twenty-year life span of the system. No political force of any persuasion has ever brought a global accusation of electoral fraud, and the irregularities complained of have always been very parochial. All candidates accept the provisional electoral results announced by the Home Office on the night of the ballot as reliable, by the media and by the electorate.
The reason for this was the deep-rooted conviction held by those who drafted Spanish electoral legislation, that any electoral system, which theoretically might be considered the best in the world, could in practice be useless. If the procedures for its application left any margin for manipulation in such essential areas as the compilation of electoral lists, the registration of candidacies, the counting of votes and many others, both technical and administrative, which directly affected the democratic validity of the electoral process.
To avoid risks of this kind, both in the Constitution and in the first draft of the Electoral Law (L.O.R.E.G.), Electoral Law was considered to be a branch of Constitutional Law. A legalistic approach was established, imposing maximum guarantees and restraining subjective interpretations facilitated by silence or ambiguities in the rules and preventing the executive power from dictating 'ad hoc' rules which might lead to possible manipulations in any phase of the process of establishing the right to vote.
In Spain therefore, by virtue of this philosophy, the Government or the administration in its wider sense has no legal power to regulate or introduce provisions affecting the electoral regulations. The executive is merely able to approve a decree calling an election or technical decrees to be applied to the law. Ever since the Constitution was drafted, the executive and the administration have only played an instrumental role, and are merely organizers of the electoral process. This premise is now embedded in Spanish electoral culture, and although the electoral system has not changed fundamentally, the aspect that is developing through parliamentary debate is that of the actual functioning of electoral regulations in relation to the organization of the electoral process, its control, and technical modernization.
It is to be noted also that the concept of Spanish Electoral Law, since its adoption as constitutional/organic law, is as a unit and, as stated in its preamble, responds to 'the need to treat in a unified and global manner' all aspects of the electoral process. There are no lack of examples in western Europe of models of the 'puzzle' type of legislation, where the Law or Electoral Code is a general regulating framework which needs to be accompanied or completed either by other laws or by a body of laws, or else by decree, regulations, circulars, etc. emanating from the executive. (Instead of facilitating transparency these finish by creating a legal labyrinth). However, the Spanish parliament at that time ruled out the use of any outdated model of fragmented electoral legislation as a reference and decided to incorporate all provisions into the same text, so that it would be functional and coherent, and clearly and concisely written. In this sense, the Electoral Law constitutes a veritable manual of procedure, covering in ordered fashion not only the constitutional principles guiding the electoral system, but also the precise provisions and their time schedules which must regulate the control, financing, management, and administration of any electoral process, taking into account also their different classification (parliamentary, local etc. elections).
Description of the Functional Elements of the System
Operations of Supervision and Control of the Electoral Process:
The body that is charged with these functions has been created with the name of Electoral Council, which in some Latin American countries is called 'electoral power.' The Electoral Council has its own hierarchy and is based on territory: Central Electoral Council; Provincial and Area Councils; and Electoral Councils of the Autonomous Communities (in Spain there is a system of practically federal decentralization, with 17 autonomous regions). The composition of this Body is mixed one part of its members being appointed by the Council of Judicial Power and the other by Parliament.
The Central Electoral Council is permanent; it has 13 members of whom eight are judges of the Supreme Court appointed by lot and the other five members, appointed by Parliament, hold University Chairs in the fields of Law, Political Sciences, or Sociology. The President is elected from among the judges and the Secretary (without vote) is the General Secretary of the Congress of Deputies. The Central Electoral Council is renewed 90 days after the constitution of a new Parliament following the elections. Its office is within the Parliamentary buildings. Electoral Councils, within their respective territorial ambit, have absolute power over all matters relating to elections and to the organization of the process, although for reasons of efficiency they do not take on the specific tasks of physically organizing the elections, but devote their services entirely to the validation of the operations and to the control and supervision of their legality.
Operations of preparation and revision of the Electoral Census: Spanish citizens acquire the capacity to vote and their eligibility to do so on attaining 18 years of age, and are automatically included on the electoral lists. Spaniards ordinarily resident abroad are also included on special electoral lists. Foreigners of member countries of the European Union and of Norway, ordinarily resident in Spain, are also entered on the electoral lists, are able to vote and are eligible in municipal elections. Those who have attained 17 years of age are included on an attached list, so that they can vote if they have reached 18 years on polling day. No elector's card is issued since identity is checked at the electoral tables; this is by identity card or passport. Electors (currently some 30 million) receive a card at their home address, which is not valid for voting, but shows that they are registered on the Census, and the electoral table to which they belong. The management of the Electoral Census is in the hands of the Electoral Census Office, an organization which is under the direct supervision of the Electoral Councils and financially dependent on the National Statistics Council (attached to the Ministry of Finance). The basic information for the census is supplied by the City Councils (there are just over 8,000 municipalities which must compulsorily declare increases and decreases in population, changes of address, and changes in cartography), and by Consulates and Civil Registers in the case of deaths.
An important step in the modernization of the management of the Electoral Census has been taken recently with the reform of the Electoral Law of 1995; instead of the previous yearly updating of the electoral lists, a monthly updating has been imposed. The considerable investment in the relevant computerization placed upon the executive by the actual reform of the Law means that in the short term the margin of error is minimal. Currently, every election takes as its basis the electoral census of the month before it was called, and the lists for each electoral month are exhibited publicly at the polling stations one-week after the call is made. Electors can object immediately in cases of error or non-registration.
Operations of organizations relating to the electoral process: The Home Office is responsible for the logistics and financial management of expenses incurred in the organization of elections. It must also, of course, attend to security for the peaceful running of the electoral campaign and the free exercise of the right to vote. The various police and Civil Guard corps receive training in their academies on these matters and on polling day carry a pocket card which reminds them of the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Law. Regarding logistics and financial management, a Deputy Manager is charged with organizing the elections and planning the electoral time schedule in accordance with the provisions of the various articles of the Electoral Law which, as has been said, are very precise and determine all time periods, including the hours of opening and closing of the polling stations.
In the areas of electoral management within its remit, the Home Office has a dependent relationship vis-a-vis the Central Electoral Council, and always consults the latter on any problem or query that may arise in the various phases of the electoral process. The instructions of the Electoral Council - even if sometimes the election technical workers have different opinions when their practical application poses problems - are heeded without delay.
At territorial level, on the instructions of the Home Office, the State administrative services in each province take charge of the specific tasks of storage and distribution of electoral material, as well as of the printing of ballot papers and envelopes. The Home Office also contracts with publicity agents on audiovisual campaigns which are broadcast during the process to inform or remind electors of certain matters (display of lists, procedure for voting by post, identity papers required to vote, etc.).
A very important function of the Home Office is that of providing the public with the provisional results of the vote-count, to which enormous human resources are devoted. Once the counting of votes is over, thousands of electoral agents representing the administration take a copy of the results at each one of approximately 50,000 electoral tables distributed throughout the country, and send them by telephone to regional computerized centers, which process the information and send it to the central computer. In Spain the speed of transmission of the provisional results is greatly assisted by the fact that all the electoral colleges have a telephone on the premises or close by. Considerable funds are also devoted to this operation (a figure of some US$5,000,000 could be indicated.)
The result of all this great effort on the night of the election has been to make ever shorter the time taken to inform the country of the detailed results of the elections, so that four hours after the close of the voting operations at the 50,000 electoral tables, the detailed count is computerized and made known practically one hundred percent. The competing political groupings and the communication media have direct lines connected to the central computer at the Home Office, giving them access in real time and from the beginning, to the development of the vote count. From 1996 the counting process has been made known worldwide on the Internet. Currently, the feasibility of introducing the electronic vote is being studied, although it is not yet very clear if the investment in this new technology - some testing has already been done - is worthwhile, as it would only reduce by some three hours the speed record that Spain has achieved with the present system of processing the provisional vote count. Another uncertain aspect is that of the maintenance and inspection of the thousands of electronic voting devices which would have to be monitored before a new election. The 'web' vote is also being studied.
Operations of control of electors and candidates in the electoral process: In Spain the presence of international observers was not formally requested by any political party during the first elections of the transition twenty years ago. This was because, on the one hand, the now legalized principal political parties already had an infrastructure and organization sufficient to guarantee, with militants and sympathizers, the development of the campaign. They could also ensure proper conduct of the vote by the presence of their legally accredited delegates in almost all of the voting stations in the respective constituencies. On the other hand, the Spanish electoral system introduced from the outset the principle that the sovereignty of the people should translate into active control of the sovereign act of voting by the electors themselves, they being the ones who should preside over and organize the process of voting and vote-counting. The Electoral Law, as subsequently developed, has continued to define these two aspects in greater detail.
Regarding the ability to control candidates in the electoral process, Spanish legislation offers nothing new. The candidacies are submitted to the Electoral Councils in each constituency, which use objective criteria in assessing their validity; it is compulsory also for each political grouping competing in the elections to appoint a Representative to the Central Electoral Council within a maximum of nine days after the election is called, to act as legal spokesperson for the candidacies. This does not mean that these Representatives participate in the deliberations of that organization.
In regard to control of the vote by the electorate itself, it may in fact be new for some people that it is compulsory for the three members of the electoral tables (one President and two Members) to be electors registered on the electoral tables' list. The procedure for their appointment endeavours to avoid any manipulation, as a public drawing of lots is held at a plenary meeting held in each Town Hall between 25 and 29 days after the elections are called. At this meeting three titular members are appointed and six alternate members, who must all be present at the table on polling day in case the titular members are absent. The Presidents are those with the highest educational level. Electors appointed by lot have a legal obligation to take up these duties and the appointments are notified to them by official letter from the Electoral Council, delivered to their home address. Together with this notification they receive an Instructions Manual supervised by the Central Electoral Council. These manuals, like the rest of the electoral documents, are published by the Home Office in bilingual editions for those constituencies, which have Catalan, Basque, or Galician as their official language, as well as in Castilian, which is the official language for the whole State. In Spain the Spanish language does not exist officially in the Constitution, which only refers to what is historically called the Castilian language; it is known abroad as the Spanish language, since in Article Three of the Constitution, the other languages cited are considered Spanish languages.
The appointment of the members of the tables by lot from among the electorate and the guarantees given for them to exercise their mandate in sovereign fashion, which is generally done with a great sense of responsibility, have also been a key factor in ensuring that fraud is actually very difficult at the voting stage, the counting stage, (a public count on the same premises as the vote), and the subsequent delivery by the President and another member of the table, of the original and a copy in a sealed envelope to the nearest Judge. The representatives of the candidacies (who each have a copy of the electoral list of the table and must sign the Minutes of proceedings, of which they receive a copy) also play a part. On public display at the voting station is a notice with the results, whilst a further copy in a sealed envelope is handed by the waiting third member of the table to the Postal worker who collects it at each voting station for onward transmission to the Area or Provincial Electoral Council which will carry out the final count.
In view of the key function of electoral tables, the Electoral Law has introduced specific requirements regarding the number of electors at the tables, and has established sections or areas comprising a minimum of 500 electors and a maximum of 2,000 who are subdivided into tables (in practice the maximum limit of electors per table is set at 1,000 electors). Also a territorial criterion is imposed, that in each municipality, however few inhabitants it may have, at least one table is established even though the electors may be fewer than 500. The electoral list of each table is in alphabetical order of surnames. The Electoral Law also determines that the duration of voting is 11 hours (ample time as voting formalities are carried out very quickly) and voting stations may not close between 9.00 hours and 20.00 hours, even if all the electors on the list have voted.
Operations of financial management of the electoral process: this is an important area of management throughout the phases of the electoral process. According to the Spanish Electoral Law, the State must subsidize not only the actual organizational and logistical expenses incurred by any election but also, in compliance with the Constitutional Law on the Funding of Political Parties, it must subsidize the electoral expenses of the political groupings which compete in elections to the Central, Local, or European Parliaments. The expense of elections to the regional autonomous Parliaments must be borne by each Autonomous Community along the same principles. The Home Office department in charge of running the elections is responsible both for the preparation of the budget and for the administration of public electoral funds according to the precise provisions of the Electoral Law. In fact, the Home Office acts as the administrative body empowered to contract for the external materials and services needed to organize the elections; it also acts simply as the intermediary between the Treasury and the active participants competing in the elections.
The Electoral Law provides - within the financial limit approved by Parliament - that after the 29 days for publication of the decree calling an election, the parties or political groupings which have previously obtained representation, may have an advance of funds equivalent to 30 percent of the total subsidies which they obtained in the previous election. The total subsidy that they receive at the end of the new electoral process, provided they gain representation, will depend on the number of votes. The money is paid by the State after expiry of the period allowed for contentious claims and after submitting (100 days after the ballot) detailed documents covering all electoral income and expenses on accounts opened for this purpose by the candidacies, which can be inspected throughout the electoral process by the Electoral Councils and the National Audit Office. The Electoral Law prohibits private or company donations to the electoral campaign of a political party or grouping of electors other than in a very small individual amount (approximately US $7,000). Should they not obtain representation or obtain fewer votes than those used for the initial computation, candidatures must return the subsidies advanced either wholly or in part.
The expenses subsidized by the State that are connected with the electoral activity of the candidatures are general: voting papers and envelopes; advertising and publicity expenses to gain votes; hire of premises and offices for the campaign; financial indemnities paid to non-permanent staff of the parties, taken on during the campaign; transport and travel expenses of the candidates, leaders and support staff of the campaign; and correspondence or mailing expenses. In addition, bank interest on financial loans legally made to the campaign organization up to the date on which the State pays the total subsidy relating to each candidacy according to its electoral results.
We would clarify that there is a possible modification of electoral legislation currently under discussion regarding the subsidizing of political parties and electoral campaigns, due to problems of corruption. Spain, like many other countries in Western Europe, has suffered from this in recent years. It is generated above all by the secret and illegal financing of some electoral campaigns, where the costs are too high and where the legal limits of maximum expenses established for public funds are not normally observed. The debate is tending towards greater possibility of financing by private persons or companies, by substantially raising the maximum level of such contributions currently contemplated in the Law. However, should the electoral legislation be modified, private financial contributions would always be subject, by parliamentary consensus, to compulsory publication and control.
The Transition from Territorial State
It would not be possible to conclude a description of the Spanish
political regime and of its electoral system without briefly mentioning something just as important historically as the transition from authoritarian state par excellence to an exemplary democratic one. We refer to the transition that was made in parallel with that previously described, from super-centralized State to strongly decentralized State - a transition which at the political and sociological level has undoubtedly been more difficult and complex than that from dictatorship to democracy. Perhaps it was the toughest problem that the 1978 Constitution had to tackle.
In practice, for many Spanish people whom we could call ultra-conservative, just as for many who have a progressive political ideology, it has been, and still is, difficult to accept the recognition accorded to nationalists, linguistic diversity, and the creation of self-government in the various Spanish regions which have been invested with ever wider powers. Furthermore, the arrival of democracy facilitated an explosion of strong nationalist claims, which have since been largely assimilated into the political system through the electoral mechanisms underpinning the decentralization process. Notably, the system even allows HB, the political candidacy linked with the terrorist group ETA, to stand lawfully in all elections (legislative, municipal, Basque Country/Autonomous, and European). Everyone has always accepted the results, although for some years they have shown a strong decline in the HB vote.
Within the framework of all these tensions, the Spanish pattern of decentralization was original, in that it took account of the existence of different demands for autonomy vis-a-vis central power. These were very strong in Catalonia and in the Basque country, moderate in other areas, and practically nil in quite a number of regions, and it was able to devise a long-term strategy for the steady harmonization of the self-governing capacities of each territory.
On these principles the division of Spain was organized into 17 Autonomous Communities, each having a Parliament elected by universal suffrage. These parliaments were instituted successively, the transition from the State model beginning with the autonomous elections of the Basque Country and of Catalonia held at the beginning of 1980. The parliaments of Galicia and Andalucia were elected subsequently, in 1981 and 1982 respectively. These four regions are the ones called 'historic nationalities'. The remaining 13 autonomous parliaments were established as from the autonomous elections held simultaneously with the local elections of 1983.
In the State decentralizing process, one of the basic features of the general harmonization was precisely the adoption of a similar electoral system throughout the land: the election of the autonomous parliaments (although their deputies vary in number) is governed by the same rules for distribution of seats as for the election of deputies to the central Parliament (las Cortes). Each Autonomous Community has its own Electoral Law, which should align with the General Electoral Law in its basic procedures.
Based on these autonomous parliamentary assemblies elected by universal suffrage, a phenomenon of moderately developing regionalism has been generated in many places where this consciousness did not exist. However, there is also a phenomenon of integration of nationalisms within a robust and organized framework, which allows the central and autonomous powers to negotiate on bases of legitimacy, which both obtain at the ballot box. It is these negotiations which have allowed a high degree of decentralization (much greater than that within many states formally termed 'federal') which today is accepted by the majority.
