Votes and Seats
Table 1 provides, in absolute numbers and in percentage terms, the relationship
between the votes obtained by the parties and the seats they won as a result.
The share of a party's votes and the corresponding share of the seat won is never quite
proportional. The general elections of 1981, 1987  and 1996 had shown that quite "perverse"
disproportionalities can occur.  The local  election results are no exception, although
the deviations from proportionality have been relatively modest.
The PN has been consistently successful in converting votes into seats. Thus,
as Table 1 shows, it converted 44% of the vote into 47% of the seats in the first round
although this advantage has decreased after the second round of elections.
The Independents, being mainly Labourites in the first two round, achieved the reverse
of the PN.  The MLP, contesting under its own banner beginning with the third round,
has managed a very small advantage in converting votes into seats.  The AD
when it has competed, consistently failed to convert their vote percentages
into a matching percentage of seats won.
Closest to proportionality have come the local groups in the first and second
rounds and MLP in the third round.
	Table 1: Parties' Votes and Seats, by Election Round
			Number			Percentage
			Round 1			Round 1			Seat percentage
			Votes	Seats		Votes	Seats		minus vote percentage
		PN	75,817	198		44.42	47.14		2.72
		Ind	78,404	186		45.94	44.29		-1.65
		MLP
		AD	5,932	8		3.48	1.90		-1.57
		Groups	10,530	28		6.17	6.67		0.50
		All	170,683	420		100.00	100.00
			Round 2			Round 2
			Votes	Seats		Votes	Seats
		PN	81,175	200		49.00	51.02		2.02
		Ind	68,016	155		41.06	39.54		-1.51
		MLP
		AD	519	0		0.31	0.00		-0.31
		Groups	15,959	37		9.63	9.44		-0.19
		All	165,669	392		100.00	100.00
			Round 3			Round 3
			Votes	Seats		Votes	Seats
		PN	96,361	208		48.73	49.64		0.91
		Ind	1,652	1		0.84	0.24		-0.60
		MLP	95,391	203		48.24	48.45		0.21
		AD
		Groups	4,345	7		2.20	1.67		-0.53
		All	197,749	419		100.00	100.00
			Round 4			Round 4
			Votes	Seats		Votes	Seats
		PN	111,684	208		47.04	48.04		1.00
		Ind	1,230	1		0.52	0.23		-0.29
		MLP	116,904	216		49.24	49.88		0.65
		AD	4,845	4		2.04	0.92		-1.12
		Groups	2,772	4		1.17	0.92		-0.24
		All	237,435	433		100.00	100.00
			Round 5			Round 5
			Votes	Seats		Votes	Seats
		PN	85,787	187		43.46	43.90		0.44
		Ind	743	5		0.38	1.17		0.80
		MLP	104,872	228		53.13	53.52		0.39
		AD	3,726	4		1.89	0.94		-0.95
		Groups	2,263	2		1.15	0.47		-0.68
		All	197,391	426		100.00	100.00
		Note:	Tables exclude seats filled without competitive elections:
			5 in the first round; 35 in the second; and 15 in the third;
			5 in the fourth; and 16 in the fifth round.
Table 2 is based on the same data as Table 1, but breaks down the data for each
year in which elections were held and not just for each round of elections.
This presentation of the data is less readable but might be of interest to those who
wish to track over changes over shorter periods of time.
It can be noted that in the electoral rounds, starting with round 2, the localities which
have their elections in the middle year of the various rounds have considerable more
voters. The decline of the local groups is more clearly revealed as a stready trend
rather than a sudden occurrence. And the decline of the AD in the second round
involves a failure of the AD to participate in two of the three years of that round.
Table 2:  Parties's Votes, By Year and Round
		Number				Percentage
		Round 1				Round 1
		1993	1994			1993	1994
	PN	10,567	65,250			49.10	43.74
	Ind	10,516	67,888			48.87	45.51
	MLP
	AD	348	5,584			1.62	3.74
	Groups	89	10,441			0.41	7.00
	All	21,520	149,163			100.00	100.00
		Round 2				Round 2
		1996	1997	1998		1996	1997	1998
	PN	19,572	32,691	28,912		41.50	50.62	53.35
	Ind	23,058	28,484	16,747		48.89	44.10	30.90
	MLP
	AD		519				0.80
	Groups	4,531	2,890	8,538		9.61	4.47	15.75
	All	47,161	64,584	54,197		100.00	100.00	100.00
		Round 3				Round 3
		1999	2000	2001		1999	2000	2001
	PN	26,352	38,959	31,050		48.43	49.32	48.25
	Ind	1,028	328	296		1.89	0.42	0.46
	MLP	25,077	38,531	31,783		46.08	48.78	49.39
	AD
	Groups	1,958	1,167	1,220		3.60	1.48	1.90
	All	54,415	78,985	64,349		100.00	100.00	100.00
		Round 4				Round 4
		2002	2003	2004		2002	2003	2004
	PN	26,247	49,144	36,293		44.90	48.90	46.24
	Ind	184	305	741		0.31	0.30	0.94
	MLP	30,578	47,205	39,121		52.31	46.97	49.85
	AD	681	3,029	1,135		1.16	3.01	1.45
	Groups	769	812	1,191		1.32	0.81	1.52
	All	58,459	100,495	78,481		100.00	100.00	100.00
		Round 5				Round 5
	PN	2005	2006	2007		2005	2006	2007
	Ind	22,132	34,022	29,633		44.06	42.97	43.58
	MLP	450	134	159		0.90	0.17	0.23
	AD	26,715	42,781	35,376		53.18	54.03	52.03
	Groups	867	1,415	1,444		1.73	1.79	2.12
	All	69	815	1,379		0.14	1.03	2.03
		50,233	79,183	67,991		100.00	100.00	100.00