Province Province of Cáceres Population 406,267 (2016) Major settlements Cáceres, Plasencia | Autonomous community Extremadura Electorate 349,082 (2016) Created 1977 | |
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Cáceresis 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%.
Contents
It is one of two electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Extremadura. Cáceres and Plasencia are the largest municipalities.
Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the province of Cáceres 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
From the 1977 General Election onwards Cáceres returned five members. It was reduced to its current allocation of four members for the 2004 General Election.
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 at the expense of larger provinces. Cáceres had a ratio of 87,312 voters per deputy in 2008, a figure below the Spanish average of 100,210 voters per deputy.