Soria (Senate constituency)

Soria
Senate of Spain
Electoral constituency
Location of Soria within Spain
ProvinceSoria
Autonomous communityCastile and León
PopulationIncrease 90,150 (2024)[1]
ElectorateDecrease 75,768 (2023)
Major settlementsSoria
Current constituency
Created1977
Seats4
Members
  •   PP (3)
  •   PSOE (1)

Soria is one of the 59 constituencies represented in the Senate of Spain, the upper chamber of the Spanish parliament, the Cortes Generales. The constituency (whose boundaries correspond to those of the homonymous province) elects four senators. The electoral system uses open list partial block voting, with electors voting for individual candidates instead of parties. Electors can vote for up to three candidates.

Electoral system

The constituency was created as per the Political Reform Law and was first contested in the 1977 general election. The Law provided for the provinces of Spain to be established as multi-member districts in the Senate,[2] with this regulation being maintained under the Spanish Constitution of 1978.[3] Additionally, the Constitution requires for any modification of the provincial limits to be approved under an organic law, needing an absolute majority in the Cortes Generales.[4]

Voting is based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age with full political rights, provided that they have not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence.[5] The only exception was in 1977, when this was limited to nationals over 21 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political and civil rights.[6][7] Amendments in 2011 required non-resident citizens to apply for voting, a system known as "begged" voting (Spanish: Voto rogado).[8][9] which was abolished in 2022.[10] Further, amendments in 2018 granted the right to vote to those legally incapacitated.[11] 209 Senate seats (207 in 1977, 208 from 1978 to 2026) are elected using open-list partial block voting: voters in constituencies electing four seats can choose up to three candidates; in those with two or three seats, up to two; and in single-member districts, one. Each of the 47 peninsular provinces is allocated four seats, while in insular provinces—such as the Balearic and Canary Islands—the districts are the islands themselves, with the larger ones (Mallorca, Gran Canaria and Tenerife) being allocated three seats each, and the smaller ones (Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote and La Palma) one each.[a] Ceuta and Melilla elect two seats each.[14][15] Until 1985, the law also provided for by-elections to fill Senate seats vacated up to two years into the legislature; subsequently, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term are filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes.[16]

The electoral law allows 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 are required to inform the relevant electoral commission within 10 days of the election call—15 before 1985—whereas groupings of electors need to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they seek election—one permille of the electorate, with a compulsory minimum of 500 signatures, until 1985—disallowing electors from signing for more than one list. Also since 2011, parties, federations or alliances that have not obtained a mandate in either chamber of the Cortes at the preceding election are required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of electors in the aforementioned constituencies.[17] Amendments in 2007 required a balanced composition of men and women in the electoral lists, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition; further amendments in 2024 required the use of a zipper system.[18]

Senators

Senators for Soria 1977–
Key to parties
  PSOE
  IDS/ADEI
  UCD
  PP
  CP
  AP
Legislature Election Distribution
Constituent 1977
4
1st 1979
3 1
2nd 1982
2 1 1
3rd 1986
1 3
4th 1989
1 3
5th 1993
1 3
6th 1996
1 3
7th 2000
1 3
8th 2004
1 3
9th 2008
1 3
10th 2011
1 3
11th 2015
1 3
12th 2016
1 3
13th 2019 (Apr)
2 2
14th 2019 (Nov)
2 2
15th 2023
1 3

General elections

2023

Summary of the 23 July 2023 Senate of Spain election results
Candidates Parties and coalitions Popular vote
Votes %
check José Manuel Hernando García PP 18,144 36.92
check Javier Jiménez Santamaría PP 17,510 35.63
check María Cristina Rubio Blasco PP 16,993 34.58
check Javier Antón Cacho PSOE 14,368 29.24
• Ana María Romero Rupérez PSOE 13,572 27.62
• Jesús María Cedazo Mínguez PSOE 12,847 26.14
• Carlos Vallejo Muñoz SY 11,226 22.84
• Fernando Arévalo Jiménez SY 10,016 20.38
• Silvia Largo Del Barrio SY 9,583 19.50
• Alberto Enrique Peñuelas Felipe Vox 4,486 9.13
• María Montserrat Rubio Blázquez Vox 3,932 8.00
• Carlos Alonso Omeñaca Vox 3,706 7.54
• Nicasio Martínez Gracia Sumar 2,320 4.72
• María Milagros Solano Rodrigo Sumar 1,552 3.15
• Mario Calonge Calvo Sumar 1,306 2.65
• Ana María Carrión de la Llana PACMA 232 0.47
• Cesar Dominguez Baños PCTE 124 0.25
• Álvaro Galera Arias PUM+J 75 0.15
• Lua Buera Ayllón Recortes Cero 60 0.12
Blank ballots 6331.28
Total 142,685
Valid votes 49,13298.13
Invalid votes 9361.86
Votes cast / turnout 50,06873.36
Abstentions 18,17626.63
Registered voters 68,244
Sources[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ La Gomera and El Hierro comprised a single constituency for the 1977 election. A constitutional reform in 2026 awarded Formentera an independent senator separate from Ibiza.[12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Real Decreto 1210/2024, de 28 de noviembre, por el que se declaran oficiales las cifras de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal referidas al 1 de enero de 2024". Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  2. ↑ Law 1/1977 (1977), trans. prov. 1.
  3. ↑ Constitution (1978), art. 69.
  4. ↑ Constitution (1978), art. 141.
  5. ↑ LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3.
  6. ↑ Law 1/1977 (1977), art. 2 & trans. prov. 1; Royal Decree-Law 20/1977 (1977), art. 2.
  7. ↑ Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
  8. ↑ LOREG (1985), art. 75.
  9. ↑ Reig Pellicer, Naiara (16 December 2015). "Spanish elections: Begging for the right to vote". cafebabel.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  10. ↑ Araque Conde, Pilar (8 June 2022). "El Congreso acaba con el voto rogado: diez años de trabas burocráticas para los residentes en el extranjero". Público (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  11. ↑ Marcos, José (18 October 2018). "El Congreso reconoce el derecho a votar de 100.000 discapacitados intelectuales". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "The Congress gives the green light to the constitutional reform that grants Formentera its own senator". Demócrata. Agencias. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 26 March 2026.
  13. ↑ Constitution (1978), art. 69.
  14. ↑ Constitution (1978), art. 69; Law 1/1977 (1977), art. 2 & trans. prov. 1; Royal Decree-Law 20/1977 (1977), arts. 19 & 21 LOREG (1985), arts. 162 & 165–166.
  15. ↑ Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1083.
  16. ↑ Royal Decree-Law 20/1977 (1977), arts. 20 & 29–30; LOREG (1985), arts. 46, 48, 166 & 170–171.
  17. ↑ Royal Decree-Law 20/1977 (1977), arts. 30–31 & 34; LOREG (1985), arts. 44 & 169.
  18. ↑ LOREG (1985), art. 44 bis.
  19. ↑ "Electoral Results Consultation. Senate. 2023". Ministry of the Interior (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 August 2023.

Bibliography

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