Electoral system

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, provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated. ^{[2] [3]}

The Parliament of Catalonia was entitled to 135 seats. All members were elected in four multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Barcelona, Gerona, Lérida and Tarragona, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats—using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with a threshold of three percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each constituency. ^{[2] [4]} The use of the electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies. ^[5]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Parliament constituency was entitled the following seats: ^{[2] [6]}

The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes. ^[7]

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 election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Journal of the Government of Catalonia (DOGC), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. ^{[2] [8]} The previous election was held on 29 April 1984, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 29 April 1988. The election decree was required to be published in the DOGC no later than 5 April 1988, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Saturday, 4 June 1988.

Amendments in 1985 granted the regional president 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. ^[9] 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. ^{[10] [11]}

The Parliament of Catalonia was officially dissolved on 4 April 1988 with the publication of the dissolution decree in the DOGC, setting election day for 29 May. ^{[6] [12]}

Overall

← Summary of the 29 May 1988 Parliament of Catalonia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Convergence and Union (CiU)	1,232,514	45.72	−1.08	69	−3
	Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC–PSOE)1	802,828	29.78	−0.36	42	+1
	Initiative for Catalonia (IC)2	209,211	7.76	−1.46	9	+3
	People's Alliance (AP)3	143,241	5.31	−2.39	6	−5
	Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)	111,647	4.14	−0.27	6	+1
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	103,351	3.83	New	3	+3
	Green Alternative–Ecologist Movement of Catalonia (AV–MEC)	16,346	0.61	New	0	±0
	The Ecologist Greens (EVE)	8,730	0.32	New	0	±0
	The Greens (EV)	8,105	0.30	New	0	±0
	Ecologist Party of Catalonia–VERDE (PEC–VERDE)	5,927	0.22	−0.08	0	±0
	Andalusian Party of Catalonia (PAC)	5,815	0.22	New	0	±0
	Workers' Socialist Party (PST)	5,794	0.21	+0.02	0	±0
	Social Democratic Party of Catalonia (PSDC)	5,156	0.19	−0.05	0	±0
	Spanish Juntas (JJEE)	4,524	0.17	New	0	±0
	Communist Unification of Spain (UCE)	3,358	0.12	New	0	±0
	Revolutionary Workers' Party of Spain (PORE)	2,727	0.10	+0.01	0	±0
	Communist Workers' League (LOC)	2,228	0.08	New	0	±0
	Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	2,202	0.08	New	0	±0
	Humanist Party of Catalonia (PHC)	2,195	0.08	New	0	±0
	Alliance for the Republic (AxR)4	1,119	0.04	−0.08	0	±0
	Republican Popular Unity (UPR)5	1,066	0.04	−0.02	0	±0
	Centrist Unity–Democratic Spanish Party (PED)	905	0.03	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		16,946	0.63	+0.13
Total		2,695,935			135	±0
Valid votes		2,695,935	99.49	+0.01
Invalid votes		13,750	0.51	−0.01
Votes cast / turnout		2,709,685	59.37	−4.99
Abstentions		1,854,704	40.63	+4.99
Registered voters		4,564,389
Sources [14] [15] [16] [17]
Footnotes: 1 Socialists' Party of Catalonia results are compared to the combined totals of Socialists' Party of Catalonia and Unity of Aran–Aranese Nationalist Party in the 1984 election. 2 Initiative for Catalonia results are compared to the combined totals of Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia, Party of the Communists of Catalonia and Agreement of the Catalan Left in the 1984 election. 3 People's Alliance results are compared to People's Coalition totals in the 1984 election. 4 Alliance for the Republic results are compared to Internationalist Socialist Workers' Party totals in the 1984 election. 5 Republican Popular Unity results are compared to Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist) totals in the 1984 election.

Distribution by constituency

Government formation

Investiture Nomination of Jordi Pujol (CDC)
Ballot →		22 June 1988
Required majority →		68 out of 135 Y
	Yes • CiU (69)	69 / 135
	No • PSC (41) • IC (9) • ERC (6)	56 / 135
	Abstentions • AP (6) • CDS (3)	9 / 135
	Absentees • PSC (1)	1 / 135
Sources [14] [18]