1983 Spanish regional elections

For the local elections held concurrently, see 1983 Spanish local elections.
1983 Spanish regional elections
← 1979 8 May 1983 1987 →
764 seats in the regional parliaments of Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castilla–La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre and Valencian Community
Registered14,888,251
Turnout10,374,787 (69.7%)
Regional administrations after the 1983 regional elections

Regional elections were held in Spain in 1983 to elect the regional parliaments of thirteen of the seventeen autonomous communities (namely, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castilla–La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre and the Valencian Community). 764 of 1,139 seats in the regional parliaments were up for election. The 6 May 1983 elections were held simultaneously with local elections all throughout Spain.

The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) emerged as the largest party in 11 out of the 13 autonomous communities holding elections, reaching or nearing the absolute majority in 9 (Aragon, Asturias, Castilla–La Mancha, Castile and León, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia and Valencian Community) and winning a plurality in the Canary Islands and Navarre.[1][2] The conservative People's Coalition (AP–PDP–UL) was victorious in the Balearic Islands and Cantabria, securing a majority of seats in the later.[3][4] The Communist Party of Spain (PCE) saw an improvement of its results over those obtained in the October 1982 general election, while other minor national parties, such as the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) and the Liberal Democratic Party (PDL) failed to make significant inroads.[5][6][7]

The elections resulted in the full institutionalization—for the first time in the history of Spain—of an administrative structure of political power between that of the state and of the local councils, represented in the figure of the new autonomous communities.[8]

  1. ^ "El PSOE domina 12 de las 17 comunidades autónomas". El País (in Spanish). 9 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Los resultados de Córdoba, Cantabria, Castilla-León y Navarra empañaron la victoria esperada por el PSOE". El País (in Spanish). 9 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Fraga: "Me retiraré cuando Dios y el pueblo me lo exijan"". El País (in Spanish). 9 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Serán necesarios pactos para gobernar en cuatro comunidades autónomas". El País (in Spanish). 11 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Euforia en el PCE, que ha visto duplicados los votos con respecto al 28-O". El País (in Spanish). 9 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Suárez y Garrigues, entre la satisfacción y la resignación". El País (in Spanish). 9 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Para Europa, crece el predominio socialista". El País (in Spanish). 10 May 1983. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Las elecciones autonómicas institucionalizan por primera vez, en toda España un nuevo escalón de poder político". El País (in Spanish). 16 April 1983. Retrieved 14 December 2019.