2001 Basque regional election

2001 Basque regional election
← 1998
13 May 2001
2005 →
All 75 seats in the Basque Parliament
38 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered1,813,356 Decrease 0.5%
Turnout1,431,996 (79.0%)
Increase 9.0 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Juan José Ibarretxe Jaime Mayor Oreja Nicolás Redondo
Party PNV–EA PP PSE–EE (PSOE)
Leader since 31 January 1998 26 February 2001 20 October 1997
Leader's seat Álava Biscay Biscay
Last election 27 seats, 36.2% 18 seats, 21.1% 14 seats, 17.4%
Seats won 33 19 13
Seat change Increase 6 Increase 1 Decrease 1
Popular vote 604,222 326,933 253,195
Percentage 42.4% 22.9% 17.8%
Swing Increase 6.2 pp Increase 1.8 pp Increase 0.4 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Arnaldo Otegi Javier Madrazo
Party EH IU/EB
Leader since 14 February 1998 14 May 1994
Leader's seat Guipúzcoa Biscay
Last election 14 seats, 17.7% 2 seats, 5.6%
Seats won 7 3
Seat change Decrease 7 Increase 1
Popular vote 143,139 78,862
Percentage 10.0% 5.5%
Swing Decrease 7.7 pp Decrease 0.1 pp
Lehendakari before election

Juan José Ibarretxe
EAJ/PNV

 Lehendakari after election

Juan José Ibarretxe
EAJ/PNV

A regional election was held in the Basque Country on 13 May 2001 to elect the 7th Parliament of the autonomous community. All 75 seats in the Parliament were up for election.

The PNV–EA alliance, established by the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and Basque Solidarity (EA) parties which had formed the Basque government since 1998, won a landslide victory with 33 seats and 42.4% of the share, which represented their best combined result in history as well as the best performance for the top voted list in a Basque regional election, outperforming the PNV's own record in 1984. The People's Party (PP), which for this election ran in coalition with Alavese Unity (UA), came second with 22.9% of the share and 19 seats, whereas the Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE) came in third with 13 seats and 17.8% of the vote. Together, they fell well short of their intended aim of commanding an overall majority in parliament that was able to oust the ruling PNV from power, but also one seat behind the PNV–EA result. The abertzale left Basque Citizens (EH) coalition obtained 7 seats and 10.0% of the vote, in what was seen as a mix of both tactical voting in favour of the PNV–EA list as well as a punishment to the political force because of its leadership's alleged collaboration with the banned separatist group ETA.

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 25 October 1998, which meant that the chamber's term would have expired on 25 October 2002. The election decree was required to be published in the BOPV no later than 1 October 2002, setting the latest possible date for election day on 24 November 2002.

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 final months of 2000 had seen the government of the incumbent lehendakari, Juan José Ibarretxe, struggle to maintain a working parliamentary majority, with him barely surviving two motions of no confidence tabled by both the People's Party and the Socialist Party of the Basque Country in October 2000. After several weeks of speculation and of Ibarretxe rejecting a snap election, he finally acknowledged such possibility on 11 January 2001, tentatively setting election day for either "before or after the summer". The Basque Parliament was officially dissolved on 20 March 2001 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOPV, setting election day for 13 May.

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.

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 three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency. The use of this electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold depending on district magnitude and vote distribution.

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.

Outgoing parliament

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

Parliamentary composition in March 2001
Groups Parties Legislators
Seats Total
Basque Nationalists Parliamentary Group EAJ/PNV 21 21
Basque People's Parliamentary Group PP 16 16
Basque Citizens' Parliamentary Group EH 14 14
Basque Socialists Parliamentary Group PSE–EE (PSOE) 14 14
Basque Solidarity Parliamentary Group EA 6 6
Mixed Group IU/EB 2 4
UA 2

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.

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

Candidacy Parties and
alliances		 Leading candidate Ideology Previous result Gov. Ref.
Vote % Seats
PNV–EA Juan José Ibarretxe Basque nationalism
Christian democracy
Conservative liberalism
36.2%
 27 Yes
PP
List
 Jaime Mayor Oreja Conservatism
Christian democracy
21.1%
 18 No
EH
List
 Arnaldo Otegi Basque independence
Abertzale left
Revolutionary socialism		 17.7% 14 No
PSE–EE
(PSOE)		 Nicolás Redondo Social democracy 17.4% 14 No
IU/EB
List
 Javier Madrazo Socialism
Communism		 5.6% 2 No

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.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Victory preferences

The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Victory likelihood

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.

Preferred Lehendakari

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become lehendakari.

Predicted Lehendakari

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood for each leader to become lehendakari.

Results

Overall

← Summary of the 13 May 2001 Basque Parliament election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Basque Nationalist Party–Basque Solidarity (PNV–EA)1 604,22242.38+6.19 33+6
People's Party (PP)2 326,93322.93+1.84 19+1
Socialist Party of the Basque Country–Basque Country Left (PSE–EE (PSOE)) 253,19517.76+0.41 13−1
Basque Citizens (EH) 143,13910.04−7.62 7−7
United Left (IU/EB) 78,8625.53−0.07 3+1
Humanist Party (PH) 3,7080.26±0.00 0±0
Party of the Democratic Karma (PKD) 2,0000.14New 0±0
Workers for Democracy Coalition (TD) 1,0170.07New 0±0
Freedom (Askatasuna) 6630.05New 0±0
Carlist Party (EKA/PC) 5300.04New 0±0
Blank ballots 11,5080.81−0.58
Total 1,425,777 75±0
Valid votes 1,425,77799.57+0.10
Invalid votes 6,2190.43−0.10
Votes cast / turnout 1,431,99678.97+8.98
Abstentions 381,36021.03−8.98
Registered voters 1,813,356
Sources
Footnotes:
Popular vote
PNV–EA
 
 42.38%
PP
 
 22.93%
PSE–EE (PSOE)
 
 17.76%
EH
 
 10.04%
IU/EB
 
 5.53%
Others
 
 0.56%
Blank ballots
 
 0.81%
Seats
PNV–EA
 
 44.00%
PP
 
 25.33%
PSE–EE (PSOE)
 
 17.33%
EH
 
 9.33%
IU/EB
 
 4.00%

Distribution by constituency

Constituency PNV–EA PP PSE–EE EH IU/EB
% S % S % S % S % S
Álava 33.6 9 32.5 9 20.4 5 6.1 1 5.9 1
Biscay 43.4 12 23.4 6 18.1 4 8.0 2 5.6 1
Guipúzcoa 44.3 12 18.0 4 16.1 4 15.1 4 5.2 1
Total 42.4 33 22.9 19 17.8 13 10.0 7 5.5 3
Sources

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot → 11 July 2001 12 July 2001
Required majority → 38 out of 75 Simple
  • • PNV (26)
  • • EA (7) (6 on 12 Jul)
  • • IU/EB (3) (on 12 Jul)
33 / 75
 X mark
35 / 75
 check
Abstentions/Blank ballots
35 / 75
32 / 75
Absentees
  • • EA (1) (on 12 Jul)
0 / 75
1 / 75
Sources

Notes

  1. 1 2 Results for EAJ/PNV (27.6%, 21 seats) and EA (8.6%, 6 seats) in the 1998 election.
  2. 1 2 Results for PP (19.9%, 16 seats) and UA (1.2%, 2 seats) in the 1998 election.
  3. ↑ Amendments in 2000 had seen the electoral threshold being lowered from five to three percent.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Within PNV.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Within PP.
  6. ↑ Undecided and/or abstentionists excluded.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Does not include non-resident citizens.
  8. 1 2 7 EH MPs did not participate in any of the votes.

References

Opinion poll sources

  1. 1 2 3 "Los sondeos dan más crecimiento a PNV-EA que a PP-UA y PSE". El Mundo (in Spanish). 13 May 2001.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "La coalició PNB-EA guanya clarament els comicis a Euskadi". Racó Català (in Catalan). 13 May 2001.
  3. 1 2 3 "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco de 13 de mayo de 2001: ¿Unas elecciones sorprendentes?". Revista de Derecho Político (in Spanish). 2001.
  4. ↑ "Encuestas y previsiones". La Razón (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  5. ↑ "PP y PSE podrían quedarse a un solo escaño de la mayoría absoluta en el País Vasco". ABC (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  6. ↑ "Encuesta de Ipsos-Eco Consulting para ABC". ABC (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  7. ↑ "PP y PSOE se acercan a la mayoría absoluta pese al alza de PNV-EA". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 4 May 2001. Archived from the original on 30 June 2001.
  8. ↑ "Portada: PP y PSE rozan la mayoría suficiente para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  9. ↑ "PP y PSE rozan la mayoría suficiente para gobernar". El País (in Spanish). 6 May 2001.
  10. ↑ "Un tercio de los votantes del PP apuesta por un diálogo con ETA para lograr la paz". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 5 May 2001.
  11. ↑ "Los sondeos colocan una alianza entre PP y PSE al borde de la mayoría absoluta". Última Hora (in Spanish). 7 May 2001.
  12. ↑ "Los nacionalistas rozarían la mayoría mientras que PP-PSOE necesitarían a IU". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 1 May 2001.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Preelectoral del País Vasco elecciones autonómicas, 2001 (Estudio nº 2414. Abril 2001)". CIS (in Spanish). 9 May 2001.
  14. ↑ "El PNV no hace ascos al voto de Otegi". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 10 May 2001.
  15. ↑ "PP y PSE se acercan a su objetivo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
  16. ↑ "Los populares confían en los más de 45.000 votos por correo". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 "El PNV gana, pero sólo podría gobernar con EH". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 April 2001.
  18. ↑ "Previsiones de voto para Elecciones Autonómicas (Abril 2001)" (PDF). Basque Government (in Spanish). 11 April 2001.
  19. ↑ Uriona, Alberto (12 April 2001). "Un sondeo del Gobierno vasco coloca al PP y al PSOE a dos escaños de la mayoría absoluta". El País (in Spanish).
  20. ↑ "Elecciones en el País Vasco". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 6 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "Intención de voto". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "Ficha técnica". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 26 January 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "El PNV y EA parten en la precampaña como ganadores, seguidos del Partido Popular". El País (in Spanish). 23 March 2001.
  24. ↑ "IU, posible llave para un Gobierno no nacionalista, según un sondeo del PSOE". ABC (in Spanish). 7 April 2001.
  25. ↑ Casqueiro, Javier (5 March 2001). "Aznar: 'Mayor ha renunciado a estar en el Gobierno para jugársela'". El País (in Spanish).
  26. ↑ "El frente nacionalista pierde entre tres y cinco diputados y PP-PSE ganan hasta seis". ABC (in Spanish). 25 February 2001.
  27. ↑ "Encuesta de Ipsos-Eco Consulting sobre las Elecciones Vascas". ABC (in Spanish). 25 February 2001.
  28. 1 2 3 4 "Situación social y política del País Vasco, XIII (Estudio nº 2407. Enero-Febrero 2001)". CIS (in Spanish). 20 March 2001.
  29. ↑ "El CIS pronostica que el cambio de mayoría en el País Vasco es difícil pero no imposible". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 March 2001.
  30. ↑ "El PP se ve en condiciones de ganar las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 February 2001.
  31. ↑ "Mayor, Alonso y San Gil, cabezas de candidatura del PP a las vascas". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 1 March 2001.
  32. ↑ "Arenas afirma que el PP está en posición de ganar en Euskadi, según los sondeos". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 17 February 2001.
  33. ↑ "Previsiones de voto para Elecciones Autonómicas (Diciembre 2000)" (PDF). Basque Government (in Spanish). 28 December 2000.
  34. ↑ "Atutxa no ve más salida que las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 December 2000.
  35. ↑ "La alianza de PP y UA podría igualar al PNV en las elecciones". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 16 December 2000.
  36. ↑ "Empate técnico en intención de voto entre nacionalistas y no nacionalistas". El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 December 2000.
  37. ↑ "El Euskobarómetro augura un empate entre nacionalistas y constitucionalistas". El País (in Spanish). 16 December 2000.
  38. ↑ "Euskal Etxeak. Nº 49 Año 2001. El Lehendakari convoca elecciones en Euskadi para el día 13 de mayo" (PDF). Basque Government (in Spanish). 2001.
  39. ↑ "El PNV volvería a ganar las elecciones, según una encuesta". El País (in Spanish). 15 November 2000.
  40. ↑ "Un sondeo pone al PP a un solo escaño del PNV y deja a los nacionalistas sin mayoría". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 29 July 2000.
  41. ↑ Martínez, Isabel C. (29 July 2000). "Ibarretxe admite que la apuesta por el diálogo ha fracasado y se impone una nueva etapa". El País (in Spanish).

Other

  1. ↑ Statute (1979), arts. 25 & 27–28.
  2. ↑ LEPV (1990), final prov. 1.
  3. ↑ Statute (1979), art. 26; LEPV (1990), art. 46.
  4. ↑ LGV (1981), arts. 7 & 50–51.
  5. ↑ LGV (1981), art. 6.
  6. ↑ Martínez, Isabel Cristina (11 December 2000). "El PNV cree que Ibarretxe ha superado "lo peor" e intentará demorar las elecciones hasta abril". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Gorospe, Pedro (24 December 2000). "Los partidos dan por hecho que la Cámara vasca se disolverá en enero". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  8. ↑ Gorospe, Pedro (28 December 2000). "Ibarretxe pide a sus consejeros que estudien si la ofensiva de PP y PSE le aboca a las elecciones". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Gorospe, Pedro (6 October 2000). "Ibarretxe supera las dos mociones y advierte de que seguirá gobernando "durante meses"". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Uriona, Alberto (29 November 2000). "Ibarretxe insiste en que las elecciones no son "un elixir mágico"". El País (in Spanish). Bilbao. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ibarretxe eludió toda referencia al anticipo electoral en su mensaje de fin de año". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. 2 January 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  12. ↑ Martínez, Isabel Cristina (7 January 2001). "Ibarretxe y el PNV apuestan por no disolver la Cámara vasca y retomar la actividad en febrero". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Martínez, Isabel Cristina (12 January 2001). "Ibarretxe admite por primera vez el adelanto de las elecciones pero deja la fecha en el aire". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  14. ↑ Decree 2/2001 (2001), art. 1.
  15. ↑ "Ibarretxe firma el decreto que disuelve la Cámara vasca y convoca elecciones". El País (in Spanish). Vitoria. 20 March 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Statute (1979), art. 26; LEPV (1990), arts. 2–3 (suppl. by LOREG (1985), art. 42).
  17. ↑ Statute (1979), art. 26; LEPV (1990), arts. 9–12; Decree 2/2001 (2001), art. 2.
  18. ↑ Gallagher, Michael (30 July 2012). "Effective threshold in electoral systems". Dublin: Trinity College Dublin. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  19. ↑ LEPV (1990), arts. 12 & 65 (suppl. by LOREG (1985), arts. 46 & 48).
  20. 1 2 3 4 Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones al Parlamento Vasco / Eusko Legebilitzarra (desde 1980)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  21. ↑ "Parlamentarios y Órganos. Grupos. Composición. Históricos - VI Legislatura (1998-2001)" (in Spanish). Basque Parliament. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  22. ↑ LEPV (1990), art. 53 (suppl. by LOREG (1985), art. 44).
  23. ↑ Guenaga Bidaurrazaga, Aitor (25 February 2001). "La asamblea del PNV proclama a Ibarretxe como candidato". El País (in Spanish). Bilbao. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "PNV y EA ultimaron ayer la coalición electoral en Euskadi". Cinco Días (in Spanish). 3 March 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Castaño, Federico (27 February 2001). "El PP vasco propone a Mayor Oreja como candidato a 'lehendakari'". Cinco Días (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  26. 1 2 "Resultados Electorales" (in Spanish). Basque Government. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  27. 1 2 "Acuerdo de la Junta Electoral de la Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, por la que se acuerda la publicación de los resultados correspondientes al escrutunio general de las elecciones al Parlamento Vasco" (PDF). Official Gazette of the Basque Country (in Spanish) (105): 10979–10982. 4 June 2001. ISSN 2483-5366. Retrieved 12 March 2026.

Bibliography