1986 Spanish NATO membership referendum
# 1986 Spanish NATO membership referendum

A referendum on the Spanish NATO membership was held in Spain on Wednesday, 12 March 1986. Voters were asked whether they ratified the national Government's proposal for the country remaining a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which it had joined in 1982.

The question asked was "The Government considers it convenient, for national interests, for Spain to remain in the Atlantic Alliance, and agrees that such permanence be established in the following terms: (1) Non-incorporation into NATO's military structure; (2) Prohibition on the installation, storage or entry of nuclear weapons on Spanish territory; (3) Gradual reduction of the United States' military presence in Spain. Question: In your view, should Spain continue to be a member of the Atlantic Alliance subject to the terms agreed by the national Government?" (Spanish: El Gobierno considera conveniente, para los intereses nacionales, que España permanezca en la Alianza Atlántica, y acuerda que dicha permanencia se establezca en los siguientes términos: 1.º La participación de España en la Alianza Atlántica no incluirá su incorporación a la estructura militar integrada. 2.º Se mantendrá la prohibición de instalar, almacenar o introducir armas nucleares en territorio español. 3.º Se procederá a la reducción progresiva de la presencia militar de los Estados Unidos en España. ¿Considera conveniente para España permanecer en la Alianza Atlántica en los términos acordados por el Gobierno de la Nación?).

The referendum resulted in 56.9% of valid votes in favour of remaining within NATO on a turnout of 59.4%.

## 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 choice's colour. The "Lead" column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the "Remain" and "Leave" choices in a given poll.

| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Remain | Leave | Invalid/ Blank | N | ? | Lead |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1986 referendum | 12 Mar 1986 | — | 31.2 | 23.7 | 4.5 | 40.6 | – | 7.5 |
| CIS | 10–11 Mar 1986 | 1,188 | 33.0 | 27.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 25.0 | 5.0 |
| CIS | 7 Mar 1986 | 2,410 | 31.0 | 29.0 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 27.0 | 2.0 |
| ECO/CIS | 3–4 Mar 1986 | 2,500 | 27.0 | 35.0 | – | 12.0 | 26.0 | 8.0 |
| Alef/El País | 28 Feb–3 Mar 1986 | 3,000 | 26.2 | 36.2 | 37.6 | 37.6 | 37.6 | 10.0 |
| Sofemasa/La Vanguardia | 25–28 Feb 1986 | 3,100 | 24.8 | 35.5 | 2.6 | 12.3 | 24.8 | 10.7 |
| CIS | 27 Feb 1986 | ? | 29.0 | 28.0 | 2.0 | 13.0 | 24.0 | 1.0 |
| Alef/El País | 18–20 Feb 1986 | 1,525 | 25.2 | 34.2 | 3.6 | 19.1 | 17.9 | 9.0 |
| CIS | 15–19 Feb 1986 | 2,500 | 27.0 | 31.0 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 29.0 | 4.0 |
| CIS | 15 Feb 1986 | ? | 25.0 | 32.0 | – | 12.0 | 32.0 | 7.0 |
| CIS | 10 Feb 1986 | ? | 25.0 | 27.0 | – | 15.0 | 33.0 | 2.0 |
| ECO/CIS | 7–10 Feb 1986 | ? | 30.0 | 38.0 | – | 13.0 | 19.0 | 8.0 |
| Alef/El País | 2–4 Feb 1986 | 1,532 | 21.0 | 39.0 | 3.1 | 18.5 | 18.4 | 18.0 |
| CIS | 18–25 Jan 1986 | 10,632 | 30.0 | 28.0 | – | 10.0 | 32.0 | 2.0 |
| CIS | 1 Jan 1986 | ? | 29.0 | 27.0 | – | 12.0 | 32.0 | 2.0 |
| CIS | 13–16 Dec 1985 | 2,457 | 32.0 | 27.0 | – | 10.0 | 31.0 | 5.0 |
| CIS | 1 Oct 1985 | 1,232 | 30.0 | 25.0 | – | 9.0 | 36.0 | 5.0 |
| CIS | 17–20 Jul 1985 | 2,479 | 26.0 | 34.0 | – | 7.0 | 33.0 | 8.0 |
| CIS | 7–11 Jun 1985 | 3,435 | 24.0 | 34.0 | – | 9.0 | 33.0 | 10.0 |
| CIS | 10 Sep 1984 | ? | 25.0 | 47.0 | – | 1.0 | 27.0 | 22.0 |
| CIS | 10 Sep 1984 | ? | 31.0 | 42.0 | – | 9.0 | 18.0 | 11.0 |
| CIS | 10 Sep 1984 | ? | 19.0 | 57.0 | – | 9.0 | 15.0 | 38.0 |
| CIS | 1 Sep 1984 | 2,466 | 22.0 | 35.0 | – | 7.0 | 36.0 | 13.0 |
| CIS | 1 Sep 1984 | 2,466 | 22.0 | 34.0 | – | 7.0 | 37.0 | 12.0 |
| CIS | 1 Sep 1984 | 2,466 | 15.0 | 44.0 | – | 7.0 | 34.0 | 29.0 |
| CIS | 25–28 Apr 1984 | 2,474 | 20.0 | 43.0 | – | 6.0 | 31.0 | 23.0 |
| CIS | 25–28 Apr 1984 | 2,474 | 19.0 | 46.0 | – | 7.0 | 29.0 | 27.0 |
| CIS | 25–28 Apr 1984 | 2,474 | 11.0 | 54.0 | – | 6.0 | 29.0 | 43.0 |
| CIS | 1 Jan 1984 | 2,495 | 19.4 | 40.9 | – | 8.4 | 31.3 | 21.5 |
| CIS | 1 Jan 1984 | 2,495 | 21.6 | 38.5 | – | 8.5 | 31.5 | 16.9 |
| CIS | 1 Jan 1984 | 2,495 | 13.6 | 50.3 | – | 7.6 | 28.4 | 36.7 |
| CIS | 9–13 Nov 1983 | 2,476 | 15.0 | 44.0 | – | 9.0 | 32.0 | 29.0 |
| CIS | 1 Mar 1983 | 2,488 | 12.6 | 49.2 | – | 8.1 | 30.2 | 36.6 |
| CIS | 9–11 Sep 1981 | 1,193 | 12.0 | 37.0 | – | 11.0 | 40.0 | 25.0 |

## Results

### Overall

* Question
* The Government considers it convenient, for national interests, for Spain to remain in the Atlantic Alliance, and agrees that such permanence be established in the following terms: (1) Non-incorporation into NATO's military structure; (2) Prohibition on the installation, storage or entry of nuclear weapons on Spanish territory; (3) Gradual reduction of the United States' military presence in Spain. In your view, should Spain continue to be a member of the Atlantic Alliance subject to the terms agreed by the national Government?

Referendum results :

| Choice | Votes | % |
| - | - | - |
| Yes | 9,054,509 | 56.85 |
| No | 6,872,421 | 43.15 |
| Valid votes | 15,926,930 | 92.35 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 1,319,522 | 7.65 |
| Total votes | 17,246,452 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 29,024,494 | 59.42 |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior |||

### Results by region

| Region | Region | Electorate | Turnout | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Region | Region | Electorate | Turnout | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Andalusia | 4,810,221 | 61.55 | 1,868,623 | 67.38 | 904,635 | 32.62 |
| | Aragon | 952,361 | 60.17 | 318,640 | 61.72 | 197,608 | 38.28 |
| | Asturias | 907,599 | 56.36 | 273,074 | 57.28 | 203,622 | 42.72 |
| | Balearic Islands | 524,710 | 52.03 | 151,881 | 61.11 | 96,663 | 38.89 |
| | Basque Country | 1,644,108 | 65.41 | 336,518 | 32.45 | 700,539 | 67.55 |
| | Canary Islands | 1,003,385 | 55.39 | 242,015 | 46.31 | 280,639 | 53.69 |
| | Cantabria | 402,339 | 59.64 | 140,251 | 63.96 | 79,031 | 36.04 |
| | Castile and León | 2,071,409 | 56.44 | 627,633 | 61.54 | 392,251 | 38.46 |
| | Castilla–La Mancha | 1,283,563 | 58.30 | 451,729 | 68.42 | 208,484 | 31.58 |
| | Catalonia | 4,614,731 | 62.80 | 1,263,416 | 46.28 | 1,466,639 | 53.72 |
| | Extremadura | 823,281 | 61.96 | 305,219 | 65.79 | 158,723 | 34.21 |
| | Galicia | 2,220,686 | 38.51 | 465,103 | 59.10 | 321,809 | 40.90 |
| | La Rioja | 202,523 | 59.97 | 69,405 | 63.92 | 39,174 | 36.08 |
| | Madrid | 3,591,044 | 60.91 | 1,135,636 | 56.77 | 864,700 | 43.23 |
| | Murcia | 723,287 | 61.39 | 254,572 | 62.08 | 155,469 | 37.92 |
| | Navarre | 396,841 | 62.64 | 99,815 | 43.28 | 130,828 | 56.72 |
| | Valencian Community | 2,776,354 | 66.33 | 1,027,648 | 60.73 | 664,465 | 39.27 |
| | Total | 29,024,494 | 59.42 | 9,054,509 | 56.85 | 6,872,421 | 43.15 |
| Sources ||||||||
