An election was held in Spain on 15 June 1989 as part of the EU-wide election to elect the 3rd European Parliament. All 60 seats allocated to the Spanish constituency as per the 1985 Treaty of Accession were up for election.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) emerged as the largest party, followed by the newly amalgamated People's Party (PP) and Adolfo Suárez's Democratic and Social CentreâÂÂboth of which scoring far below expectationsâÂÂ, as well as left-wing United Left (IU), which improved slightly on its 1987 performance. Ruiz-Mateos Group was the election surprise by winning two seats, with former Rumasa CEO and party leader José MarÃÂa Ruiz Mateos being elected as MEPâÂÂwhich granted him immunity from criminal prosecution, as he had been a fugitive from Spanish justice at the time of his electionâÂÂ. Registered turnout was a record low at the time for a nationwide election held in Spain, with abstention peaking at 45.3%.
The election was largely influenced by a recent string of PPâÂÂCDS agreements to vote no confidence motions on PSOE local governments, which included the Madrid city council and regional governments. This was said to have influenced the election's outcome, which had resulted in a sizeable PSOE win and a collapse in support for both the PP and CDS. His party's showing in this election was said to be one of the reasons that led Prime Minister Felipe González to call a snap general election for 29 October 1989.
Voting for the European Parliament in Spain was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age and in full enjoyment of their political rights, provided that they were not sentencedâÂÂby a final court rulingâÂÂto deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated.
60 Parliament seats were allocated to Spain as per the 1985 Treaty of Accession. All members were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with no electoral threshold being applied to be entitled to enter seat distribution. Seats were allocated to a single multi-member constituency comprising the entire national territory. The use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.
The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes.
The table below shows the composition of the Spanish delegation in the chamber at the time of the election call.
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 ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within ten days of the election call. In order to be entitled to run, parties, federations, alliances and groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least 15,000 registered electors; this requirement could be lifted and replaced through the signature of at least 50 elected officialsâÂÂdeputies, senators, MEPs or members from the legislative assemblies of autonomous communities or from local city councils. Electors and elected officials were disallowed from signing for more than one list of candidates.
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
The table below lists voting intention estimates 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 given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font.