2004 European Parliament election in Spain

An election was held in Spain on 13 June 2004 as part of the concurrent EU-wide election to the 6th European Parliament. All 54 seats allocated to the Spanish constituency as per the Treaty of Nice were up for election.

The election saw a close race between the centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which had accessed power earlier in April in the wake of the 11M train bombings leading up to the 14 March general election, and the centre-right People's Party (PP), still reeling from its election defeat. It marked the only time the PSOE emerged as the largest party in a European Parliament election in Spain between 1989 and 2019. It also saw a considerable drop in turnout down to 45.1%, the lowest up until that point—a figure that would be outmatched by the turnout in the two subsequent European Parliament elections, 2009 (44.9%) and 2014 (43.8%).

Overview

Electoral system

Voting for the European Parliament in Spain was based on universal suffrage, which comprised all Spanish nationals and resident non-national European citizens over 18 years of age with full political rights, provided that they had not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence, nor were legally incapacitated.

54 European Parliament seats were allocated to Spain as per the Treaty of Nice. All were elected in a single multi-member constituency—comprising the entire national territory—using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with no electoral threshold. The use of this electoral method resulted in an 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 delegation

The table below shows the composition of the Spanish delegation in the chamber at the time of the election call.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"

|+ Delegation composition in May 2004

! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Groups

! rowspan="2" colspan="2"| Parties

! colspan="2"| MEPs

! Seats

! Total

| width="1" rowspan="3" bgcolor=""|

| rowspan="3"| European People's Party–European Democrats

| width="1" style="color:inherit;background:"|

| PP

| 26

| rowspan="3"| 28

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| UPN

| 1

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| UDC

| 1

| rowspan="2" style="color:inherit;background:"|

| rowspan="2"| Party of European Socialists

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| PSOE

| 23

| rowspan="2"| 24

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| LV

| 1

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| European United Left–Nordic Green Left

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| IU

| 4

| rowspan="4" style="color:inherit;background:"|

| rowspan="4"| Greens–European Free Alliance

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| BNG

| 1

| rowspan="4"| 4

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| ERC

| 1

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| PAR

| 1

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| BNV

| 1

| rowspan="3" style="color:inherit;background:"|

| rowspan="3"| European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| CDC

| 1

| rowspan="3"| 3

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| EAJ/PNV

| 1

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| UV

| 1

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| Non-Inscrits

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| INDEP

| 1

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. 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 officials—deputies, 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.

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

{| class="wikitable" style="line-height:1.35em; text-align:left;"

! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| Candidacy

! rowspan="2"| Parties and alliances

! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| Leading candidate

! rowspan="2"| Ideology

! colspan="2"| Previous result

! rowspan="2"|

! Vote %

! Seats

| width="1" style="color:inherit;background:"|

| align="center"| PP

| 50px

| Jaime Mayor Oreja

| Conservatism Christian democracy

| align="center"| 39.7%

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| align="center"| PSOE

| 50px

| Josep Borrell

| Social democracy

| align="center"| 35.3%

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| align="center"| Galeusca

| 50px

| Ignasi Guardans

| Peripheral nationalism

| align="center"| 8.0%

|

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| align="center"| IU–ICV–EUiA

| 50px

| Willy Meyer

| Socialism Communism

| align="center"| 6.5%

|

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| align="center"| CE

| 50px

| Alejandro Rojas-Marcos

| Regionalism

| align="center"| 3.4%

| style="color:inherit;background:"|

| align="center"| EdP

| 50px

| Bernat Joan

| Peripheral nationalism

| align="center"| 1.1%

The abertzale left tried to run under the umbrella of the Herritarren Zerrenda list (Basque for "Citizens' List"). However, the Spanish Supreme Court annulled HZ lists and banned them from running on 22 May 2004, as it considered that the candidacy's promoters and half of its candidates had links with the outlawed Batasuna and with the ETA environment.

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.

;

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%; line-height:16px;"

|- style="height:42px;"

! style="width:250px;" rowspan="2"| Polling firm/Commissioner

! style="width:125px;" rowspan="2"| Fieldwork date

! style="width:50px;" rowspan="2"| Sample size

! style="width:45px;" rowspan="2"| Turnout

! style="width:35px;"| 33px|link=People's Party (Spain)|PP

! style="width:35px;"| 25px|link=Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE

! style="width:35px;"| GEC

! style="width:35px;"| 25px|link=United Left (Spain)|IU

! style="width:35px;"| CE

! style="width:35px;"| EP

! style="width:30px;" rowspan="2"| Lead

! style="color:inherit;background:;"|

| colspan="11" style="background:#A0A0A0"|

|- style="background:#EFEFEF;"

| 2004 EP election

| 13 Jun 2004

| 45.1

| 41.2

| | 43.5

| 5.1

| 4.1

| 1.3

| 2.5

| style="background:; color:white;"| 2.3

| colspan="11" style="background:#A0A0A0"|

|- style="background:#EAFFEA;"

| Sigma Dos/Antena 3

| 13 Jun 2004

| 39.5– 41.5

| | 42.0– 44.0

| 6.0

| 5.0

| 1.6

| 2.4

| style="background:; color:white;"| 2.5

|- style="background:#EAFFEA;"

| Ipsos–Eco/RTVE

| 6 Jun 2004

| 1,202

| 37.2

| | 46.1

| 5.2

| 4.6

| 1.3

| 3.0

| style="background:; color:white;"| 8.9

| Noxa/La Vanguardia

| 31 May–3 Jun 2004

| 1,200

| 37.4

| | 46.1

| 4.9

| 4.8

| 1.5

| 2.4

| style="background:; color:white;"| 8.7

| Sigma Dos/El Mundo

| 1–2 Jun 2004

| 1,000

| 37.9

| | 42.6

| 5.2

| 1.7

| 3.1

| style="background:; color:white;"| 4.7

| TNS Demoscopia/ABC

| 31 May–2 Jun 2004

| 2,005

| 55–60

| 38.4

| | 46.7

| 4.6

| 3.7

| 1.1

| 2.2

| style="background:; color:white;"| 8.3

| CIS

| 19–26 May 2004

| 4,781

| 76.7

| 36.7

| | 46.3

| 5.0

| 4.4

| 1.5

| 3.1

| style="background:; color:white;"| 9.6

| Opina/El País

| 24 May 2004

| 1,000

| 37.0

| | 43.0

| 6.0

| 5.0

| 1.5

| 2.5

| style="background:; color:white;"| 6.0

| Opina/Cadena SER

| 13 May 2004

| 1,000

| 37.0

| | 45.0

| 6.0

| 5.0

| 1.5

| 2.5

| style="background:; color:white;"| 8.0

| Sigma Dos/El Mundo

| 26 Apr 2004

| 39.2

| | 45.1

| 2.1

| 3.6

| –

| style="background:; color:white;"| 5.9

| Vox Pública/El Periódico

| 13–15 Apr 2004

| 1,501

| 36.5

| | 42.2

| 5.7

| 5.8

|?

| 2.3

| style="background:; color:white;"| 5.7

| Burson-Marsteller

| 13 Apr 2004

| | 38.6

| 35.5

| –

| style="background:; color:white;"| 3.1

| Opina/El País

| 30 Mar 2004

| 1,000

| 38.8

| | 45.9

| 4.2

| 5.3

| –

| style="background:; color:white;"| 7.1

| Celeste-Tel

| 14 Feb 2001

| 1,156

| | 38.4

| 37.9

| 4.5

| 4.1

| 3.3

| –

| style="background:; color:white;"| 0.5

| colspan="11" style="background:#A0A0A0"|

|- style="background:#EFEFEF;"

| 1999 EP election

| 13 Jun 1999

| 63.0

| | 39.7

| 35.3

| 8.0

| 6.5

| 3.4

| 1.1

| style="background:; color:white;"| 4.4

| colspan="11" style="background:#A0A0A0"|

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; line-height:14px;"

|- style="height:42px;"

! style="width:250px;" rowspan="2"| Polling firm/Commissioner

! style="width:125px;" rowspan="2"| Fieldwork date

! style="width:50px;" rowspan="2"| Sample size

! style="width:35px;"| 33px|link=People's Party (Spain)|PP

! style="width:35px;"| 25px|link=Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE

! style="width:35px;"| GEC

! style="width:35px;"| 25px|link=United Left (Spain)|IU

! style="width:35px;"| CE

! style="width:35px;"| EP

! style="width:35px;" rowspan="2"|

! style="width:30px;" rowspan="2"| Lead

! style="color:inherit;background:;"|

| colspan="12" style="background:#A0A0A0"|

|- style="background:#EFEFEF;"

| 2004 EP election

| 13 Jun 2004

| 18.8

| | 19.7

| 2.4

| 1.9

| 0.6

| 1.1

| 54.1

| style="background:; color:white;"| 0.9

| colspan="12" style="background:#A0A0A0"|

| TNS Demoscopia/ABC

| colspan="7" style="text-align:left; max-width:790px;"|

Maps

File:2004 European election in Spain - Vote Strength.svg|Vote winner strength by province.

File:2004 European election in Spain - AC results.svg|Vote winner strength by autonomous community.

</gallery>

Distribution by European group

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"

|+ Summary of political group distribution in the 6th European Parliament (2004–2009)

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible collapsed""

|- background-color:#E9E9E9"

! colspan="4"| Elected legislators

|- background-color:#E9E9E9"

! width="10px"| #

! width="280px"| Name

! width="80px" colspan="2"| List

| 1 || Josep Borrell Fontelles || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 2 || Jaime María Mayor Oreja || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 3 || Rosa María Díez González || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 4 || Luisa Fernanda Rudi Úbeda || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 5 || Enrique Barón Crespo || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 6 || José Gerardo Galeote Quecedo || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 7 || Raimon Obiols i Germá || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 8 || Alejo Vidal-Quadras Roca || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 9 || María Elena Valenciano Martínez-Orozco || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 10 || Ana Mato Adrover || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 11 || Luis Yáñez-Barnuevo García || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 12 || Cristóbal Ricardo Montoro Romero || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 13 || Bárbara Dührkop Dührkop || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 14 || José Manuel García-Margallo Marfil || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 15 || Carlos Carnero González || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 16 || María del Carmen Fraga Estévez || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 17 || Ignasi Guardans Cambó || bgcolor="" | || Galeusca

| 18 || Manuel Medina Ortega || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 19 || José Javier Pomes Ruiz || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 20 || Inés Ayala Sender || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 21 || Willy Meyer Pleite || bgcolor="" | || IU–ICV–EUiA

| 22 || Pilar del Castillo Vera || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 23 || Emilio Menéndez del Valle || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 24 || Luis de Grandes Pascual || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 25 || Antolín Sánchez Presedo || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 26 || Luis Herrero-Tejedor Algar || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 27 || Iratxe García Pérez || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 28 || Agustín Díaz de Mera García Consuegra || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 29 || Joan Calabuig Rull || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 30 || Fernando Manuel Fernández Martín || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 31 || Francisca Pleguezuelos Aguilar || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 32 || Carlos José Iturgaiz Angulo || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 33 || Alejandro Cercas Alonso || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 34 || Antonio López-Istúriz White || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 35 || Josu Ortuondo Larrea || bgcolor="" | || Galeusca

| 36 || Antonio Masip Hidalgo || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 37 || Bernat Joan i Marí || bgcolor="" | || EdP

| 38 || Francisco José Millán Mon || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 39 || María Badía i Cutxet || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 40 || Íñigo Méndez de Vigo Montojo || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 41 || Miguel Ángel Martínez Martínez || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 42 || David Hammerstein Mintz || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 43 || María del Pilar Ayuso González || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 44 || Raül Romeva Rueda || bgcolor="" | || IU–ICV–EUiA

| 45 || Rosa Miguélez Ramos || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 46 || José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 47 || Javier Moreno Sánchez || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 48 || Cristina Gutiérrez-Cortines Corral || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 49 || Teresa Riera Madurell || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 50 || Salvador Garriga Polledo || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 51 || María Isabel Salinas García || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 52 || Daniel Luis Varela Suanzes-Carpegna || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

| 53 || María Sornosa Martínez || bgcolor=""| || PSOE

| 54 || María Esther Herranz García || width="1" bgcolor=""| || PP

Notes

References

;Opinion poll sources

;Other

Bibliography

External links

European elections Spain in Europe Politique.