1983 Asturian regional election

1983 Asturian regional election
8 May 1983 1987 →
All 45 seats in the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
23 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered873,690
Turnout568,271 (65.0%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Pedro de Silva Francisco Álvarez Cascos Francisco Javier Suárez
Party PSOE AP–PDP–PL PCE
Leader since 15 March 1983 1983 1983
Leader's seat Central Central Central
Seats won 26 14 5
Popular vote 293,320 170,654 62,855
Percentage 52.0% 30.2% 11.1%
Constituency results map for the General Junta of the Principality of Asturias
President before election

Rafael Fernández
PSOE

Elected President

Pedro de Silva
PSOE

The 1983 Asturian regional election was held on Sunday, 8 May 1983, to elect the 1st General Junta of the Principality of Asturias. All 45 seats in the General Junta were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) scored a landslide victory by securing a comfortable absolute majority of 26 out of 45 seats, with 52% of the vote. The People's Coalition, headed by the conservative People's Alliance and joined by the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Liberal Union (UL) became the second political force and the main opposition party in the General Junta with 14 seats and 30.2%. The Communist Party of Spain (PCE) obtained 5 seats and 11.1%, whereas the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) was left as an extra-parliamentary party after failing to reach the 5% regional threshold.[1] The former ruling party of Spain, the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD), had chosen to dissolve itself in February 1983 and did not contest the election as a result.[2]

After the election, Socialist Pedro de Silva replaced Rafael Fernández as president of the Principality of Asturias.[3] The election remains, together with 1999, the only occasion to date in which a party has obtained an absolute majority of seats on its own in an Asturian regional election.

  1. ^ "Pedro de Silva dirigirá la autonomía". El País (in Spanish). 10 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  2. ^ "La crisis de UCD culmina con la decisión de disolverse como partido político". El País (in Spanish). 19 February 1983. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Pedro de Silva, elegido presidente del Gobierno regional asturiano". El País (in Spanish). 18 June 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.