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 PNVâÂÂEA 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 CountryâÂÂBasque Country Left (PSEâÂÂEE) 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 PNVâÂÂEA 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 PNVâÂÂEA list as well as a punishment to the political force because of its leadership's alleged collaboration with the banned separatist group ETA.
Under the 1979 Statute of Autonomy, the Basque Parliament was the unicameral legislature of the homonymous autonomous community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to grant or withdraw confidence from a lehendakari.
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 court ruling, nor being legally incapacitated.
The Basque Parliament had 75 seats. All were elected in three multi-member constituenciesâÂÂcorresponding to the provinces of ÃÂlava, Biscay and Guipúzcoa, each of which was assigned a fixed number of 25 seats to provide for an equal parliamentary representation of the three provincesâÂÂusing 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.
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 the twenty-fifth day prior to the expiration date of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from 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, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, 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 sixty-day period from the Parliament's reconvening, the chamber was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.
The Basque Parliament was officially dissolved on 20 March 2001 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the BOPV, setting election day for 13 May.
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, 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 of candidates.
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
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.
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.
Opinion poll sources
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