1980 Catalan regional election

The Parliament of Catalonia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978 and the regional Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.[11]

Transitory Provision Fourth of the Statute established a specific electoral procedure for elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, of application for as long as a specific law regulating the procedures for regional elections was not approved, to be supplemented by the provisions within Royal Decree-Law 20/1977, of 18 March, and its related regulations. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Catalonia and in full enjoyment of their civil and political rights. The 135 members of the Parliament of Catalonia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats: 85 for Barcelona, 17 for Girona, 15 for Lleida and 18 for Tarragona.[11][12][13]

The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.[14]

The Executive Council of the Provisional Generalitat of Catalonia, in agreement with the Government of Spain, was required to call an election to the Parliament of Catalonia within fifteen days after the date of enactment of the Statute, with election day taking place within sixty days after the call. As a result, an election could not be held later than the seventy-fifth day from the date of enactment of the Statute of Autonomy. Additionally, the Parliament was to be dissolved and a snap election called if an investiture process failed to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot.[11]

Initially scheduled for either 13 or 16 March 1980, lack of agreement on the date of the election between the various Catalan political parties resulted in several weeks of speculation that President Josep Tarradellas would choose to trigger a government crisis that could further delay the election in an attempt to ensure his continuity in office.[15][16] However on 17 January, after deliberations by the Executive Council and in agreement with the State Government, President Tarradellas called an election for Thursday, 20 March 1980.[13][17]

On a turnout of 61.3%, which was seen as high by political leaders at the time,[84] Convergence and Union (CiU) emerged as the largest political force with 27.8% of the share and 43 seats,[2] which came as a surprising victory over the Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC–PSOE) which had been widely expected to form the next regional government of Catalonia.[85][86] Instead, the PSC–PSOE secured 22.4% of the vote and 33 seats, losing many votes compared to the previous 1979 general election in what was seen as an electoral punishment to the PSC's ambiguous position on the issue of Catalan nationalism—said to have cost it the support from Catalan centre-left bourgeoisie voters, losing them both to the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC) (which obtained 18.8% of the vote and 25 seats) and to the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) (8.9% of the share and 14 seats)—but also to the ongoing internal tensions between the more pro-Catalan faction made of former Socialist Party of Catalonia–Congress members and the more pro-Spanish faction from the former Catalan Socialist Federation, as well as Joan Reventós's little appeal among working class voters.[3][5]

Results for the Centrists of Catalonia (CC–UCD) alliance were seen as negative, after securing only 10.6% of the vote and 18 seats when compared to the 19.3% it had obtained in the 1979 general election, in what was perceived as a tactical voting from centrist voters in favour of Jordi Pujol's CiU to prevent any chances of a Socialist—Communist government from being formed.[6] The Socialist Party of Andalusia–Andalusian Party (PSA–PA) was able to get elected to parliament with 2.7% and 2 seats, after narrowly surpassing the 3% threshold in the province of Barcelona.[4][5] Incumbent President Josep Tarradellas was said to have cast a blank ballot, after his attempts to run for re-election proved unsuccessful amid his growing mistrust of Catalan political parties.[84]

At the national level, results were seen as a failure in the consolidation of the UCD–PSOE bipartisanship, but also as another in a row of electoral defeats for the UCD: only one year into the legislature resulting from the 1979 election, the governing party in Spain had been trounced in the Andalusian autonomy initiative referendum, had scored a humiliating result in the Basque regional election—where it lost 53.5% of its 1979 voters—and had sizeable losses in Catalonia amounting to about 226,000 out of its 513,000 votes in 1979.[6][87] Eventually, these would be joined by disappointment over the dismal turnout at the 1980 Galician Statute of Autonomy referendum and further electoral setbacks in the November 1980 Senate by-elections in Almería and Seville, with the deterioration of Adolfo Suárez's public figure leading to increasing internal struggling within the party and to his resignation as Prime Minister in January 1981. The enormous losses sustained by the UCD in the 1981 Galician regional election would see the party entering into a state of crisis and decay,[88] culminating in crushing defeats in the Andalusian regional and Spanish general elections held throughout 1982, ultimately leading to the UCD's dissolution in February 1983.[89]

Under Transitory Provision Fifth of the Statute, the first investiture process to elect the president of the Government of Catalonia required of an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 48 hours later requiring also of an absolute majority; and, if not successful, a third and final ballot could be held 48 hours later requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If the proposed candidate was not elected, successive proposals were to be transacted under the same procedure with a different candidate. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called within a fifteen-day timespan.[11]

The election results placed Jordi Pujol as the most likely candidate for the regional premiership, but the parliamentary arithmetic was complex: only a pact between CiU–PSC (76 seats), CiU–UCD–ERC (75), PSC–PSUC–ERC (72) or an unlikely CiU–PSUC (68) would guarantee a successful investiture in either of the first two ballots, with any prospective third ballot still requiring more affirmative than negative votes.[7][90] The first choice—which was also Pujol's preferred one in order for a stable government to be formed—was rejected as the PSC advocated for remaining in opposition, ruling out any agreement with CiU; concurrently, both CiU and PSUC discarded any joint agreement involving each other, as CiU did not wish to pact with the Communists and the PSUC remained unwilling to grant its support to any government where it was not present.[91][92] As a result, two-way negotiations with UCD and ERC ensued: while both parties were favourable to Pujol's investiture, the scope of the parliamentary support to be granted would remain a key issue; whether it would be limited to the investiture, involve a confidence and supply arrangement or a full-fledged coalition government.

UCD was willing to offer support to Pujol in exchange for CiU supporting Suárez's government in the Congress of Deputies,[93][94] amid fears within CC–UCD that this could give the impression of it being a "branch office" of their party in Madrid.[95] Concurrently, CiU was willing to let ERC into the government and parliamentary institutions,[96] but the latter party conditioned such an entry to a CiU–PSC coalition being formed, announcing that it would only provide a "very critical" support to Pujol—limited to his investiture only—should a CiU–UCD government be formed instead.[97][98][99] The Parliament's constitution on 10 April led to the election of Heribert Barrera from ERC as Parliament's speaker with CiU's support,[100][101][102] and eventually to Pujol's success in the second ballot of investiture on 24 April with the support of both UCD and ERC,[9] which had chosen to abstain in the first ballot.[8][103]

Investiture Jordi Pujol (CDC)
Ballot →		22 April 1980	24 April 1980
Required majority →		68 out of 135 N	68 out of 135 Y
	Yes • CiU (43) • CC–UCD (18) (on 24 Apr) • ERC (14) (on 24 Apr)	43 / 135	75 / 135
	No • PSC (33) • PSUC (23) • PSA–PA (2)	59 / 135	59 / 135
	Abstentions • CC–UCD (18) (on 22 Apr) • ERC (13) (on 22 Apr)	31 / 135	0 / 135
	Absentees • PSUC (1) • ERC (1) (on 22 Apr)	2 / 135	1 / 135
Sources[8][9][79]

Despite attempts from outgoing President Tarradellas to delay Pujol's inauguration and hinder his government's powers,[104][105] Pujol would be formally sworn into the office of regional premier on 8 May 1980,[106][107][108] a post he would end up holding for the next 23 years. Pujol would form a minority government, with its members being appointed the next day.[109] Then PSC leader Joan Reventós would later express regret at having rejected the formation of a CiU–PSC coalition because, "had Pujol's proposal been accepted, the political history of Catalonia during this period may have been another"; despite the initial expectations that Pujol's minority government would be short-lived, it would instead provide Pujol of a platform with which to boost his political stand, resulting in the establishment of an electoral hegemony that would last until 2003.[10]