Overview
Electoral system
The Parliament of Catalonia was the Devolution, devolved, unicameral legislature of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution of 1978, Spanish Constitution and the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 1979, Catalan Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Government of Catalonia, regional president. Transitory Provision Fourth of the Statute established a specific electoral procedure for elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, of application for as long as a regional electoral law was not approved, to be supplemented by the provisions within the Elections in Spain#Electoral procedures, national electoral law. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Catalonia and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 135 members of the Parliament of Catalonia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the Provinces of Spain, provinces of Province of Barcelona, Barcelona, Province of Girona, Gerona, Province of Lleida, Lérida and Province of Tarragona, Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats: The use of the D'Hondt method might result in a higher effective threshold, depending on the district magnitude.Election date
The term of the Parliament of Catalonia expired four years after the date of its previous election, unless it was dissolved earlier. The regional president was required to call an election fifteen days prior to the date of expiry of parliament, with election day taking place within sixty days after the call. The 1984 Catalan regional election, previous election was held on 29 April 1984, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 29 April 1988. The election was required to be called no later than 14 April 1988, with it taking place on the sixtieth day from the call, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Monday, 13 June 1988. After legal amendments in 1985, the president was granted the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Catalonia and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since a previous one under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for Political party, parties and Political alliance, federations registered in the Ministry of the Interior (Spain), interior ministry, Electoral alliance, coalitions and Grouping of electors (Spain), groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates. Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a poll. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 68 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia. ;Results
Overall
Distribution by constituency
Aftermath
Notes
References
;Opinion poll sources ;Other {{Regional elections in Spain in the 1980s 1988 regional elections in Spain, Catalonia Regional elections in Catalonia 1988 in Catalonia May 1988 events in Europe