Province Province of Cuenca Population 203,841 (2016) Major settlements Cuenca | Autonomous community Castilla-La Mancha Electorate 157,835 (2016) Created 1977 | |
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Cuenca 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 five electoral districts which correspond to the provinces of Castilla La Mancha. Cuenca's electorate fell between 1996 and 2000 and again between 2000 and 2004 - one of only three districts along with Burgos and Vizcaya where the electorate fell in 2004. This decline continued at the 2008 and 2011 elections.
At the time of the 2008 election, Cuenca was the only municipality with more than 10,000 voters, although it still accounted for only 36,000 voters out of the total of 165,000.
Boundaries and electoral system
Under Article 68 of the Spanish constitution, the boundaries of the electoral district must be the same as the province of Cuenca, 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
Cuenca initially elected four members at the 1977 General Election, however this was reduced to three members for the 1986 General Election and has remained at that figure since then.
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 over represent smaller provinces like Cuenca at the expense of larger provinces. Cuenca had a ratio of 55,192 voters per deputy in 2004 a figure below the Spanish average of 98,777 voters per deputy