Under the
1978 Constitution, the governance of
municipalities in Spain—part of the country's
local government system—was centered on the figure of
city councils (), local corporations with independent
legal personality composed of a
mayor, a
government council and an elected
legislative assembly. The mayor was
indirectly elected by the local assembly, requiring an
absolute majority; otherwise, the candidate from the most-voted party automatically became mayor (ties were resolved by
drawing lots). In the case of
Seville, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the
City Council of Seville.
Date The term of local assemblies in Spain expired four years after the date of their previous election. The election
decree was required to be issued no later than the day after the expiration date of the assemblies, with
election day taking place 65 days after the decree's publication in the
Official State Gazette (BOE). Elections to the assemblies of local entities were officially called on 27 January 1979 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 3 April.
Electoral system Voting for local assemblies was based on
universal suffrage, comprising all
Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality and with full
civil and political rights. Local
councillors were elected using the
D'Hondt method and
closed-list proportional voting, with a five percent-
threshold of valid votes (including
blank ballots) in each municipality. Each municipality was a
multi-member constituency, with a number of seats based on the following scale: The law did not provide for
by-elections to fill
vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term were filled by the next candidates on the
party lists or, when required, by designated
substitutes. ==Parties and candidates==