The constituency was created as per the Statute of Autonomy of Extremadura of 1983 and was first contested in the 1983 regional election. The Statute provided for the two provinces in Extremadura—Badajoz and Cáceres—to be established as multi-member districts in the Assembly of Extremadura, with this regulation being maintained under the 1987 regional electoral law. Each constituency is entitled to an initial minimum of 20 seats, with the remaining 25 being distributed in proportion to their populations. The exception was the 1983 election, when each constituency was allocated a fixed number of seats: 35 for Badajoz and 30 for Cáceres.[2][3][4]
Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprises all nationals over eighteen, registered in Extremadura and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Extremadurans abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).[5] Seats are elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed listproportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which includes blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Alternatively, parties failing to reach the threshold in one of the constituencies are also entitled to enter the seat distribution as long as they run candidates in both districts and reach five percent regionally.[2][3][4]
The electoral law allows for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition ahead of an election are required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election call—fifteen before 1985—whereas groupings of electors need to secure the signature of at least two percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they seek election—one-thousandth of the electorate, with a compulsory minimum of 500 signatures, until 1985—disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.[4][6][7]
2United Left–Independent Socialists of Extremadura results are compared to the combined totals of United Left–Commitment to Extremadura and Independent Socialists of Extremadura in the 1999 election.
^ ab"Ley Orgánica 1/2011, de 28 de enero, de reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura". Organic Law No. 1 of 28 January 2011 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2017. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)
^ abc"Ley 2/1987, de 16 de marzo, de Elecciones a la Asamblea de Extremadura". Law No. 2 of 16 March 1987 (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2017. ((cite book)): |work= ignored (help)