Province Province of Cantabria Population 585,179 (2016) Seats 5 (1977–) Seat 5 (1977–) | Autonomous community Cantabria Electorate 498,203 (2016) Region Cantabria Major settlements Santander, Torrelavega | |
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Created Spanish general election, 1977 | ||
Cantabria 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%. Until the 1982 election, the district name was Santander.
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It corresponds to the autonomous community of Cantabria. Santander is the largest municipality with 165,000 voters - 35% of the total electorate. Torrelavega is the second largest municipality with almost 50,000 voters.
Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution the boundaries must be the same as the autonomous community of Cantabria 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
Cantabria has returned five 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 at the expense of larger provinces.