A regional election was held in the Basque Country on 25 October 1998 to elect the 6th Parliament of the autonomous community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

The Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) won 21 seats, the People's Party (PP) came second for the first time with 16 seats, the Basque Citizens (EH) coalition and the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE) won 14 seats each.

Overview Under the 1979 Statute of Autonomy, the Basque Parliament was the unicameral legislature of the Basque Autonomous Community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to grant or withdraw confidence from a lehendakari.. The electoral and procedural rules were supplemented by national law provisions..

Date The term of the Basque Parliament expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The election decree was required to be issued no later than 25 days before the scheduled expiration date of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV), with election day taking place 54 days after the decree's publication.; . The previous election was held on 23 October 1994, which meant that the chamber's term would have expired on 23 October 1998. The election decree was required to be published in the BOPV no later than 29 September 1998, setting the latest possible date for election day on 22 November 1998.

The lehendakari had the prerogative to dissolve the Basque Parliament at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process.. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a lehendakari within a 60-day period from the Parliament's reconvening, the chamber was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called..

The Basque Parliament was officially dissolved on 1 September 1998 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOPV, setting election day for 25 October..

Electoral system Voting for the Parliament was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Basque Country and with full political rights, provided that they had not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence, nor were legally incapacitated.; ( by ).

The Basque Parliament had 75 seats. All were elected in three multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Álava, Biscay and Guipúzcoa, each of which was assigned a fixed number of 25 seats to provide for an equal parliamentary representation of the three provinces—using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a five percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each constituency.; ; .

The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term were filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes. ( by ).

Outgoing parliament The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of dissolution.

+ Parliamentary composition in September 1998 Groups Parties Legislators Seats Total Basque Nationalists Parliamentary Group EAJ/PNV 22 22 Basque Socialists Parliamentary Group PSE–EE (PSOE) 12 12 Popular Unity's Parliamentary Group HB 11 11 Basque People's Parliamentary Group PP 11 11 Basque Solidarity Parliamentary Group EA 8 8 Alavese Foralist Parliamentary Group UA 4 4 Mixed Group IU/EB 5 7 Berdeak 1 DFA 1

Parties and candidates The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within 10 days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list. ( by ).

Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy Parties andalliances Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Vote % Seats EAJ/PNV Juan José Ibarretxe Basque nationalismChristian democracyConservative liberalism 29.3% PSE–EE(PSOE) Nicolás Redondo Social democracy 16.8% EH Arnaldo Otegi Basque independenceAbertzale leftRevolutionary socialism 16.0% PP Carlos Iturgaiz ConservatismChristian democracy 14.2% EA Carlos Garaikoetxea Basque nationalismSocial democracy 10.1% IU/EB Javier Madrazo SocialismCommunism 9.0% UA Pablo Mosquera Alavese regionalismChristian democracy 2.7%

Opinion polls The tables below list opinion polling results 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.

Voting intention estimates The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. Refusals are generally excluded from the party vote percentages, while question wording and the treatment of "don't know" responses and those not intending to vote may vary between polling organisations. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 38 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Basque Parliament.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout Lead 1998 regional election 25 Oct 1998 70.0 27.6 17.4 17.7 19.9 8.6 5.6 1.2 7.7 Eco Consulting/EITB 25 Oct 1998 21,000? 28.9 16.0 20.9 14.7 8.6 6.2 1.0 8.0 Sondaxe/Tele 5 25 Oct 1998 2,250????????? Sigma Dos/Antena 3 25 Oct 1998?????????? Demoscopia/El País 18 Oct 1998? 65–67 30.4 17.4 15.8 16.8 9.7 8.7 1.2 13.0 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 14–16 Oct 1998 1,000? 30.2 14.7 16.6 17.8 9.9 7.8 1.5 12.4 Gallup/ABC 9–14 Oct 1998 1,506 76.0 30.8 18.6 15.3 15.4 9.5 8.3 0.9 12.2 Ábaco/Tele 5 13 Oct 1998?????????? Opina/La Vanguardia 12–13 Oct 1998 1,500 70 29.0 19.0 15.0 18.0 9.0 7.0 1.0 10.0 Bergareche/El Correo 8–12 Oct 1998 4,650? 27.2 19.5 14.9 17.1 8.4 8.4 1.3 7.7 PP 9 Oct 1998?????????? Siadeco/GPS 2–9 Oct 1998 2,000 66.0 29.0 16.1 18.4 15.3 9.7 8.5 1.4 10.6 CIS 25 Sep–8 Oct 1998 2,097 64.7 29.3 18.4 16.1 16.7 8.7 7.7 1.4 10.9 PSOE 6–7 Oct 1998 1,354????????? Siadeco/GPS 21–26 Sep 1998 2,000 67.0 29.4 15.9 17.7 15.3 9.9 8.7 1.5 11.7 Siadeco/GPS 7–15 Sep 1998 2,000 65.0 29.6 16.5 15.8 15.5 10.0 9.3 1.5 13.1 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 28 Aug–3 Sep 1998 900? 30.0 16.2 15.2 16.5 9.2 9.1 2.0 13.5 CPS/EHU 1–15 Jun 1998 1,400 64 29.0 21.0 13.0 17.0 9.0 7.0 1.0 8.0 Bergareche/El Correo 4–9 Jun 1998 2,625? 28.3 20.1 12.6 17.4 7.7 8.8 1.1 8.2 Siadeco/GPS 11–20 May 1998 2,846 62.5 29.5 17.0 14.9 16.0 10.0 9.1 1.4 12.5 CIS 6–31 Mar 1998 2,099 61.4 29.2 18.4 15.3 16.5 9.7 7.6 1.5 10.8 Bergareche/El Correo 6–13 Mar 1998 2,636? 26.6 20.0 12.2 18.6 7.4 9.0 1.4 6.6 Siadeco/GPS 30 Jan–7 Feb 1998 1,500 65.0 29.6 16.6 14.4 16.4 10.2 9.1 1.3 13.0 Bergareche/El Correo 9 Nov 1997 2,682? 29.6 19.2 12.0 16.7 8.1 7.5 1.3 10.4 Siadeco/GPS 16–24 Sep 1997? 66.0 29.9 16.6 14.0 16.2 10.2 9.0 1.4 13.3 Sigma Dos/El Mundo 16–17 Jul 1997 800? 32.5 15.6 12.9 17.9 9.7 8.8 2.2 14.6 CPS/EHU 8 Jun 1997 1,400? 29.1 18.5 12.5 14.0 9.2 9.4 2.0 10.6 Siadeco/GPS 25 Mar 1997? 64.0 29.6 16.8 13.7 15.6 10.1 9.8 1.5 12.8 1996 general election 3 Mar 1996 71.5 25.0 23.7 12.3 18.3 8.2 9.2 – 1.3 1995 foral elections 28 May 1995 63.9 28.4 16.7 14.4 15.5 10.9 8.1 2.1 11.7 1994 regional election 23 Oct 1994 59.7 29.3 16.8 16.0 14.2 10.1 9.0 2.7 12.5

Voting preferences The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Lead 1998 regional election 25 Oct 1998 19.1 12.0 12.3 13.8 5.9 3.9 0.9 29.4 5.3 CIS 25 Sep–8 Oct 1998 2,097 24.2 5.2 9.0 3.0 4.6 2.6 0.2 35.9 12.0 15.2 1996 general election 3 Mar 1996 17.9 16.9 8.8 13.1 5.9 6.6 – 28.1 1.0 1995 foral elections 28 May 1995 18.0 10.6 9.1 9.8 6.9 5.1 1.3 36.1 7.4 1994 regional election 23 Oct 1994 17.3 9.9 9.5 8.3 6.0 5.3 1.6 40.1 7.4

Results Overall + ← Summary of the 25 October 1998 Basque Parliament election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % ±pp Total +/− Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 350,322 27.62 −1.70 21 −1 People's Party (PP) 251,743 19.85 +5.69 16 +5 Basque Citizens (EH)1 224,001 17.66 +1.65 14 +3 Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE)) 220,052 17.35 +0.52 14 +2 Basque Solidarity (EA) 108,635 8.57 −1.56 6 −2 United Left (IU/EB) 71,064 5.60 −3.39 2 −4 Alavese Unity (UA) 15,738 1.24 −1.44 2 −3 Natural Law Party (PLN/LNA) 4,858 0.38 New 0 ±0 Humanist Party (PH) 3,288 0.26 New 0 ±0 Basque Country Greens (EHB) 864 0.07 New 0 ±0 Blank ballots 17,641 1.39 −0.35 Total 1,268,206 75 ±0 Valid votes 1,268,206 99.47 +0.06 Invalid votes 6,802 0.53 −0.06 Votes cast / turnout 1,275,008 69.99 +10.30 Abstentions 546,600 30.01 −10.30 Registered voters 1,821,608 Sources

Distribution by constituency Constituency PNV PP EH PSE–EE EA IU/EB UA % S % S % S % S % S % S % S Álava 21.6 6 26.7 7 12.1 3 16.8 5 6.3 1 5.6 1 8.4 2 Biscay 32.6 9 20.2 5 14.6 4 18.3 5 6.0 1 6.2 1 0.1 – Guipúzcoa 21.7 6 16.4 4 25.2 7 16.0 4 13.9 4 4.6 – 0.1 – Total 27.6 21 19.9 16 17.7 14 17.4 14 8.6 6 5.6 2 1.2 2 Sources

Aftermath Government formation Investiture Ballot → 29 December 1998 Required majority → 38 out of 75 Sources

2000 motions of no confidence

Motion of no confidence Ballot → 5 October 2000 Required majority → 38 out of 75 Abstentions Sources

Motion of no confidence Ballot → 5 October 2000 Required majority → 38 out of 75 Abstentions Sources

Notes

References Opinion poll sources

Other

Bibliography Legislation

Other