After election day, the process will begin that will lead to the 13th term and a new lehendakari. The legislation sets only a few dates, and the deadlines are at the mercy of negotiations between the parties on the formation of a new government.
Eider duck Garaikoetxea O. | EITB media
After the elections for the Basque Parliament are held on Sunday, April 21, the steps for a new legislature in the autonomous chamber begin, and with it the election of the lehendakari. Both the electoral law and the regulations of the Basque parliament outline, in part, the path to follow already established dates and deadlines. However, unlike other parliaments, the institution There is no fixed maximum time to set up the room and invest a lehendakari; Everything is at the expense of negotiations between the groups and their ability to form majorities.
The results of 21A are provisional until the general control, first milestone of the process. The recount, verified by the electoral councils of the three territories, begins five days after the election and counts all votes cast, both at the polling stations, postal votes and CERA voting. The final results must be ready by April 30, from then on the period for possible claims opens.
The Electoral Council of the Basque Autonomous Community has until May 11 to officially distribute seats the 75 elected people proclaim who will be part of the new parliament.
Once these procedures are completed, so should those chosen prove your status as a parliamentarianalthough no maximum term. This freedom of time is usually used by the groups to negotiate and secure the majority needed to win the Lehendakaritza. To be sworn in as a Lehendakari, the candidate needs an absolute majority in parliament (38 out of 75 seats) on the first ballot and a simple majority of votes cast on the final ballot.
All factions that wish to do so can nominate a candidate, and you can only vote ‘yes’ or choose to abstain (you cannot vote against a candidate, as happens in Congress, for example).
According to previous elections between 2 and 3 months
It would be necessary to dig into the newspaper archives to be able to provide an estimated time frame for the election of the lehendakari: the average time is about two months. The lehendakari Carlos Garaikoetxea He was inaugurated on April 9, 1980, one month after the first elections to the Basque Parliament.
On the other side would be the recently deceased Jose Antonio Ardanza (PNV). The Jeltzale candidate exceeded this average term twice, in 1986 and 1990. In his first elections, he had to wait almost three months before being declared lehendakari. On that occasion, the PNV was the party with the most votes, but it was the Socialists who won the seats, with Txiki Benegas as the candidate. It was precisely the frustrated ‘three-way negotiations’ between the PSE, EA and Euskadiko Ezkerra (EE) that extended the time of election of the lehendakari. Finally, PNV and PSE governed in coalition.
At the next election (1990), the period was extended slightly, as Ardanza was not elected until more than three months after the October elections, namely on February 1, 1991.
The rest of the lehendakaris have adhered to the rule of about 60 days. So, Juan José Ibarretxe It took just over two months for (PNV) to be declared by the Basque Parliament (1998), a period that was repeated in the 2001 and 2005 elections.
For his part, Patxi Lopez (PSE-EE) was sworn in as Lehendakari two months and four days after the October 21, 2009 elections.
In the three legislatures of Inigo Urkullu (PNV) was elected within the average period of two months after the polling stations closed.
The accreditation of one third of the Chamber, key
The time elapsed between the elections and the inauguration has thus been used by the parties to reach agreements that would allow them to elect the Lehendakari to the House and support subsequent governments.
If the negotiations come to a successful conclusion, the elected people will begin to hand over their credentials to the General Secretariat of the Basque Parliament. There, the rules indeed stipulate that the process of establishing the Basque Parliament begins when one-third of the House is accredited.
With 25 of the 75 accredited representatives, the Presidency of the Permanent Representation of the Basque Parliament (the only active body after the dissolution of the Chamber) calls on the constituent session; has 15 days before.
During this plenary meeting, the board of the Basque Parliament, which also includes the presidency, is elected, and once the chamber is constituted, voting begins. XIII legislature. After this first plenary session, another one must be held to approve the opinion of the Provisional Commission on the Incompatibility of Elected Officials. The next plenary session, the third, would be the inauguration of the lehendakari. Parliament’s legislation does not provide for a time interval between these two.
The only legal term in this context states that, if in the Period of 60 days This has not happened since the plenary session of the investiture was convened; Acting Lehendakari must dissolve parliament and call new elections, something that has never happened before.
It is worth remembering that the outgoing Basque government has been in power since election day to ensure “the proper functioning of the government and the adequate transfer of powers”.
Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
