The Parliament of the Canary Islands was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Canarian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Government. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in the Canary Islands and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 60 members of the Parliament of the Canary Islands were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 20 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Alternatively, parties could also enter the seat distribution as long as they reached 3 percent regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the islands of El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife. Each constituency was allocated a fixed number of seats: 3 for El Hierro, 7 for Fuerteventura, 15 for Gran Canaria, 4 for La Gomera, 8 for La Palma, 8 for Lanzarote and 15 for Tenerife. The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 0.1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election—needing to secure, in any case, the signature of 500 electors—. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within fifteen days of the election being called.
Election date
The Government of Spain, in coordination with the Junta of the Canary Islands, was required to call an election to the Parliament of the Canary Islands within from 1 February to 31 May 1983. 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 snap election called, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.
Parties and alliances
Parliamentary status
The first election to the Parliament of the Canary Islands was officially called on 10 March 1983, after the publication of the election Decree in the Official State Gazette, with the mandate of the Provisional Parliament ending on 8 May. The table below shows the status of the different parliamentary groups in the Provisional Parliament at the time of its expiry.
Opinion polls
The table below lists voting intention estimates in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first and using the dates when the survey fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. Where the fieldwork dates are unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed with its background shaded in the leading party's colour. If a tie ensues, this is applied to the figures with the highest percentages. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the parties with the highest percentages in a given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 31 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of the Canary Islands.
