Province Province of Burgos Population 364,002 (2016) Major settlements Burgos Region Castile and León Seat 4 (1977–) | Autonomous community Castile and León Electorate 300,243 (2016) Seats 4 (1977–) Major settlement Burgos | |
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Created Spanish general election, 1977 | ||
Burgos is one of the 52 electoral districts (Spanish: circunscripciones) used for the Congress of Deputies—the lower chamber of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes Generales. The electoral system uses the D'Hondt method and a closed-list proportional representation, with a minimum threshold of 3%.
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It is one of the nine electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Castile and León. Burgos is the largest municipality accounting 139,000 voters - 45% of the total electorate. Miranda de Ebro and Aranda de Duero are the next largest municipalities although both have less than 30,000 voters. Burgos was one of the relatively few districts where the electorate fell between 2000 and 2004.
Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the province of Burgos and under Article 140 this can only be altered with the approval of congress. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage in a secret ballot. The electoral system used is closed list proportional representation with seats allocated using the D'Hondt method. Only lists which poll 3% or more of all valid votes cast, including votes "en blanco" i.e. for "none of the above" can be considered for seats. Under article 12 of the constitution, the minimum voting age is 18.
Eligibility
Article 67.3 of the Spanish Constitution prohibits dual membership of the Cortes and regional assemblies, meaning that candidates must resign from Regional Assemblies if elected. Article 70 also makes active judges, magistrates, public defenders, serving military personnel, active police officers and members of constitutional and electoral tribunals ineligible.
Number of members
Burgos has returned four members at every election since the restoration of democracy.
Under Spanish electoral law, all provinces are entitled to a minimum of 2 seats with a remaining 248 seats apportioned according to population. These laws are laid out in detail in the 1985 electoral law. (Ley Orgánica del Régimen Electoral General) The practical effect of this has been to overrepreseent smaller provinces like Burgos at the expense of larger provinces. Burgos had a ratio of 75,795 voters per deputy in 2004 a figure below the Spanish average of 98,777 voters per deputy.