The 1934 Catalan local elections were held on 14 January to elect the municipal councils in all the 1,029

municipalities of Catalonia Catalonia is (as of 2018) divided into 947 Municipalities of Spain, municipalities. Each municipality typically represents one significant urban settlement, of any size from village to city, with its surrounding land. This is not always the cas ...

. These elections were only held in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, as the 1932 Statute of Autonomy devolved the competences on local elections to the

Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

. These were the first and only election to be organised by the

Catalan Government The Generalitat de Catalunya (; oc, label= Aranese, Generalitat de Catalonha; es, Generalidad de Cataluña), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia politically organizes its self-government. It is formed ...

, since this administration was suppressed by the Dictatorship of Francisco Franco in 1939, after winning the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. The following free local elections were not held until

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

, during the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

Electoral system

The electoral system was determined by the Municipal Law, which was approved by the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 mem ...

in August 1933. The elections were scheduled to be held in November 1933, but they were delayed to January in order not to interfere with the 1933 general election. The municipal council seats of all the 1,029

were up for election. The population-seat relationship on each municipality was to be established on the following scale:Llei Municipal. DOGC 15 d'agost de 1933
/ref> All the councillors were elected in single multi-member districts, consisting of the municipality's territory, using closed lists. The allocation of seats depended on the population: * In municipalities under 10,000 inhabitants: the winning list obtained two-thirds to four-fifths of the seats in the council, the second party obtained the remaining seats. * In municipalities over 10,000 inhabitants: the winning list obtained 65% of the seats in the council, the second party obtained the 65% of the remaining seats, the third party obtained the 65% of the remaining seats and so on. If at the end there were still unfilled seats, these would be won by the last party having received a seat. The mayors were elected on the first plenary session by the councillors. Candidates obtaining an absolute majority on a first or second round were elected. If none of the candidates had achieved an absolute majority, a third round would have been held, where the candidate with plurality would be elected.

Results

Overall

Turnout was 59.8%, lower than the 1931 elections, but similar to the 1933 general election. The highest abstention rates were found in towns across the Pyrenees. The left-wing parties got a majority of votes, specially in

Penedès Penedès () is a natural and historical region of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range (''Serralada Pre-litoral'') and the Mediterranean Sea. The comarcal division of ...

and in the

metropolitan area of Barcelona The Barcelona urban area is an urban area in Catalonia (Spain) centered on the city of Barcelona and located less than 100 km south of the border with France. With a population of over 5 million, it is the most populous urban area on the Med ...

. The right-wing parties made their best results in

Solsonès Solsonès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of historic county of Urgell Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (co ...

Segarra Segarra () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Catalonia, Spain, situated on a high plain. Historically, the name referred to a larger area than the current comarca. It has a continental climate, wi ...

and Alt Urgell, and they won in cities like

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

, Vic, Olot or

El Vendrell El Vendrell () is a town located in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, in the wine-growing region of Penedès. It is wedged between the Mediterranean and the coastal range. El Vendrell is the capital of the Baix Penedès '' comarca'' an ...

Juditial district capitals

Vote share In the following table, background-coloured rows indicate the winning list in a municipality. Elected councillors by political party In the following table, background-coloured rows indicate the ruling parties in a municipality.

References

External links

1934 local elections in Catalonia
{{Catalan elections

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...