Chamber:
	Senado
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	12 March 2000
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats of the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	On 17 January 2000, the Prime Minister, Mr. José María Aznar, dissolved the two Chambers of the Cortes and announced that legislative elections would be held on 12 March. The electoral campaign, which began on 26 February, was marked by acts of violence committed by the separatist organisation Euzkadi Ta Azkatasuna (ETA) which, less than one week before the election, set off a car bomb wounding seven, including two members of the Armed Forces. It was the third bombing by the armed Basque separatist organisation since the truce broke down on 3 December 1999. On election day, 70 per cent of the registered voters turned out to choose the 350 deputies and 208 senators elected by direct vote. Some 773 candidates were vying for seats in the Congress of Deputies, as compared with 752 for the Senate. The leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Mr. Joaquin Almunia, resigned on the day of the elections, following the official announcement of the results giving an absolute majority to the People's Party (PP), in power since 1996. The PP consolidated its absolute majority in the Senate, winning 127 seats out of the 208 elected by direct vote (15 more than in 1996), in addition to the 20 seats designated by the 17 autonomous communities. The PSOE lost 20 seats, ending up with 53, in addition to 16 seats designated by the autonomous community. The Catalan Nationalist Party of Mr. Jordi Pujol, Convergence and Union (CiU), won 8 seats plus 3 appointed seats, keeping the same number of seats as in 1996. On 5 April 2000, the Senate held its first sitting and elected Mrs Esperanza Aguirre as its new Speaker.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (12 March 2000): Elections results
Number of registered electors	33 045 318
Voters	23 125 773 (70 %)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	522 157
Valid votes	22 603 616

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Elected Seats	Appointed by the Autonomous Communities
People's Party (PP)	150	127	23
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	69	53	16
Convergence and Union (CiU)	11	8	3
Progressive Catalan Group (ECP)	11	8	3
Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)	8	6	2
Canarian Coalition	6	5	1
Others	4	1	3

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	196
Women:	63
Percent of women:	24.32

Distribution of seats according to age:
21 to 30 years	7
31 to 40 years	36
41 to 50 years	98
51 to 60 years	89
61 to 70 years	24
Over 70 years	5