The Basque chamber has approved the modification of Law 1/1987, of March 27, on Elections for the General Assemblies of the Historical Territories of Álava, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa; and Law 5/1990, of June 15, on Elections to the Basque Parliament. These reforms of the Basque electoral laws will ensure that the order of the lists is determined by the results of previous elections.
These reforms were approved with the endorsement of the PNV, EH Bildu, and PSE parties, who presented both initiatives as a bill for urgent processing and single reading. The measure also received support from the PP, while the Mixed Group-Sumar and Mixed Group-Vox voted against it.
The Basque Chamber has approved the modification of a single article in both regulations so that candidacies are proclaimed “according to the number of votes obtained by the parties, federations, and coalitions in the last elections.” With this change in the regulations, political parties will no longer have to pull all-nighters to ensure their ballot is listed first.
“"This strengthens legal certainty and provides an objective and homogeneous criterion for a procedural matter of the electoral process."
Conversely, the spokesperson for the Mixed Group-Sumar criticized that the modification “gives a certain advantage to the three groups proposing the initiative,” within “a not very democratic modification to defend their interests,” as it is “scientifically proven that the party whose candidacy appears first has greater visibility among voters.”
