Local elections were held in Spain on 8 May 1983 to elect all 67,505 councillors in the 7,781 Spanish municipalities, all 1,177 provincial seats in 41 provinces (including 38 indirectly-elected provincial deputations and the three foral deputations in the Basque Country) and 191 seats in ten island councils (seven Canarian and three Balearic ones). They were held concurrently with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities.
Overview Local government
Under the 1978 Constitution, the governance of municipalities in Spain was centered on the figure of city councils (), local corporations with independent legal personality composed of a mayor, a government council and an elected legislative assembly. ( by ). The mayor was indirectly elected by the local assembly, requiring an absolute majority; otherwise, the candidate from the most-voted party automatically became mayor (ties were resolved by drawing lots).. The concejo abierto system (), under which voters directly elected the local mayor by plurality voting, was reserved for municipalities under 25 inhabitants and some minor local entities..
Provincial deputations were the governing bodies of provinces in Spain—except for single-province autonomous communities—having an administration role of municipal activities and composed of a provincial president, an administrative body, and a plenary. ( by ). For insular provinces, such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, deputations were replaced by island councils in each of the islands or group of islands. For Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma, this figure was referred to in Spanish as cabildo insular, whereas for Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza–Formentera, its name was consejo insular (). ( by (). The three Basque provinces had foral deputations instead (called General Assemblies, or Juntas Generales). ( by ); ; .
Date The term of local assemblies in Spain expired four years after the date of their previous election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the day after the expiration date of the assemblies, with election day taking place within from 55 to 70 days after the decree's publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE). ( by ); ; ; .
Elections to the assemblies of local entities were officially called on 10 March 1983 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 8 May. Subsequent by-elections were called on 29 August, for 6 November.
Electoral system Voting for local assemblies and Canarian island councils was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality or council and with full civil and political rights. ( by ).
Local and island councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a five percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each constituency. Each municipality or council was a multi-member constituency, with a number of seats based on the following scale: ( by ).
Population Councillors Municipalities Canary Islands Balearic Islands <250 5 No island below 5,000inhabitants Fixed number:Ibiza–Formentera: 12Menorca: 12Mallorca: 30 251–1,000 7 1,001–2,000 9 2,001–5,000 11 5,001–10,000 13 11 10,001–20,000 17 13 20,001–50,000 21 17 50,001–100,000 25 21 >100,001 +1 per each 100,000 inhabitants or fraction+1 if total is an even number
Councillors in municipalities between 25 and 250 inhabitants were elected using open-list partial block voting, with voters choosing up to four candidates. ( by ).
Most provincial deputations were indirectly elected by applying the D'Hondt method and a three percent-threshold of valid votes to municipal results—excluding candidacies not electing any councillor—in each judicial district. Seats were allocated to provincial deputations based on the following scale (with each judicial district being assigned an initial minimum of one seat and a maximum of three-fifths of the total number of provincial seats, with the remaining ones distributed in proportion to population): ( by ).
Population Seats <500,000 25 500,001–1,000,000 27 >1,000,001 31 Madrid and Barcelona 51
The General Assemblies of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa were directly elected by voters under their own, specific electoral regulations.; ; .
The law provided for by-elections to fill vacant seats only when results in a constituency were annulled by a final sentence following an electoral petition, or in cases where elections were not held due to a lack of candidates; otherwise, 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 ).
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 a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list:.
At least two percent of the electors in municipalities with a population below 5,000 inhabitants, provided that the number of signers was more than double that of councillors at stake. At least 100 signatures in municipalities with a population between 5,001 and 10,000. At least 200 signatures in municipalities with a population between 10,001 and 50,000. At least 500 signatures in municipalities with a population between 50,001 and 150,000. At least 1,000 signatures in municipalities with a population between 150,001 and 300,000. At least 2,000 signatures in municipalities with a population between 300,001 and 1,000,000. At least 5,000 signatures in municipalities with a population over 1,000,001.
Opinion polls The table 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. 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.
Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size Turnout PNV Ind. Lead 1983 local elections 8 May 1983 68.6 – 41.9 8.0 25.7 4.1 2.2 0.8 0.5 0.4 1.8 – 16.2 Metra Seis/Tiempo 11–15 Apr 1983?? – 49.9 4.2 17.6 6.4 1.3 2.1 32.3 1979 local elections 3 Apr 1979 62.6 30.9 28.2 13.0 3.1 3.1 2.2 1.0 0.6 0.4 – – 2.7
Results Municipal Overall + ← Summary of the 8 May 1983 Spanish municipal election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Councillors Votes % ±pp Total +/− Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 7,883,502 41.87 +13.72 23,729 +11,660 People's Coalition (AP–PDP–UL)1 4,843,665 25.73 +22.66 21,076 +18,693 Communist Party of Spain (PCE) 1,499,907 7.97 −5.08 2,495 −1,230 Convergence and Union (CiU) 763,758 4.06 +0.96 3,329 +1,547 Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) 407,908 2.17 −0.03 1,322 +229 Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) 333,001 1.77 New 658 +658 Galicianist Party–Convergence of Independents of Galicia (PG–CIGA)2 169,711 0.90 +0.48 872 +731 Popular Unity (HB) 158,163 0.84 −0.16 385 +118 Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) 145,982 0.78 New 861 +861 Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) 110,780 0.59 −0.91 146 −113 Regionalist Aragonese Party (PAR) 105,956 0.56 +0.20 1,120 +844 Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) 85,198 0.45 −0.18 155 −55 Basque Country Left (EE) 76,950 0.41 +0.05 121 +37 Party of the Communists of Catalonia (PCC) 67,214 0.36 New 61 +61 Tenerife Group of Independents (ATI) 66,140 0.35 New 85 +85 Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG)3 50,400 0.27 −0.21 118 −140 Canarian People's Union–Canarian Assembly (UPC–AC) 45,534 0.24 −0.10 51 +21 Majorcan Union (UM) 37,956 0.20 New 140 +140 Navarrese People's Union (UPN) 33,111 0.18 +0.11 79 +69 Valencian People's Union (UPV)4 29,389 0.16 +0.09 35 +23 Workers' Socialist Party (PST) 27,168 0.14 New 0 ±0 Independents of León (IL) 23,596 0.13 New 11 +11 Independent Provincial Group of Ciudad Real (APICR) 21,752 0.12 New 77 +77 United Extremadura (EU) 21,513 0.11 New 202 +202 Galician Left (EG) 19,173 0.10 New 22 +22 Valencian Independent Organization (OIV) 16,735 0.09 New 63 +63 United La Coruña (LCU) 16,007 0.09 New 5 +5 Communist Movement–Revolutionary Communist League (MC–LCR)5 15,381 0.08 −0.56 12 −54 Regionalist Party of Cantabria (PRC) 13,644 0.07 −0.08 63 −18 Independent Galician Party (PGI) 12,763 0.07 New 39 +39 Cantonal Party (PCAN) 12,363 0.07 −0.02 5 −2 Socialist Party of Mallorca–Socialist Party of the Islands (PSM–PSI) 11,925 0.06 +0.01 32 +21 United Candidacy of Workers (CUT) 11,691 0.06 +0.03 51 +18 Governing Independent Viguese (VIGO) 10,556 0.06 New 3 +3 Agrarian Bloc–Spanish Ruralist Party (BAR–PRE) 10,298 0.05 +0.02 210 +102 Spanish Communist Workers' Party (PCOE) 10,098 0.05 ±0.00 0 −1 Progressive Riojan Party (PRP) 9,788 0.05 New 97 +97 Independent Party of Almería (PIDA) 8,823 0.05 New 62 +62 Group of Independent Electors (ADEI) 5,254 0.03 New 67 +67 Majorera Assembly (AM) 5,215 0.03 ±0.00 29 −2 Free Independents (IL) 3,701 0.02 New 6 +6 Gomera Group of Independents (AGI) 3,402 0.02 New 26 +26 Socialist Party of Menorca (PSM) 2,727 0.01 −0.01 7 −1 Independents of Fuerteventura (IF) 2,656 0.01 New 17 +17 Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) n/a n/a −30.87 0 −29,288 Others (lists at <0.05% not securing any provincial or island seat) 1,532,055 8.14 — 9,368 −5,904 Blank ballots 84,973 0.45 +0.33 Total 18,827,482 100.00 67,312 −193 Valid votes 18,827,482 99.89 +1.13 Invalid votes 19,904 0.11 −1.13 Votes cast / turnout 18,847,386 68.60 +5.98 Abstentions 8,627,534 31.40 −5.98 Registered voters 27,474,920 Sources
City control The following table lists party control in provincial capitals (highlighted in bold), as well as in municipalities above 75,000. Gains for a party are highlighted in that party's colour.