exceeded the number of voters. Finally, the Superior Court of Andalusia ruled that the election in Melilla was void, but dismissed the appeal on Ceuta where it declared the election validity. González's government announced that it would appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court which, on 25 January 1990, provisionally suspended the scheduled by-elections in Murcia, Pontevedra and Melilla. From 15 to 19 February, the Court overruled the Superior Courts of Justice of Murcia and Galicia and annulled the by-elections for Murcia and Pontevedra, declaring the 29 October results in these as valid and final. For Melilla, it determined that the magnitude of the irregularities found was such that a new, full election was required in the constituency. The election in Melilla on 25 March 1990 gave the constituency's single deputy and its two senators to the PP, thus reducing the PSOE's deputy count to 175. A by-election was also held on 7 October 1990 in a polling station in Mamblas, Ávila, as the consequence of a judicial conflict between the PP and the CDS over one senator in the constituency, which resulted in the PP winning the disputed senator from the CDS. Irregularities were found to be a consequence of flawed electoral registers, lack of knowledge on election rules by those appointed to integrate the polling bureaus, a lack of means for the active monitoring of the election process and an inefficient structure of the electoral administration, all of which was coupled with the detection of some illicit votes in several wards. While these flaws had been present in past elections, the closeness of results in the 1989 election and the fact that the PSOE overall majority relied on a single seat meant that these were abruptly exposed. As a result, the electoral law was subsequently amended in 1991 in order to improve the efficiency of the electoral administration. Investiture On 5 December 1989, Felipe González was re-elected as Prime Minister in the first round of voting with an absolute majority of votes. As a consequence of seat disputes, only 332 deputies had been sworn in for the investiture, as results for the remaining 18 seats had been temporarily suspended by the Superior Courts. After all 350 seats had been allocated, Prime Minister Felipe González voluntarily submitted himself to a vote of confidence to rectify the atypical investiture vote. The result was essentially a repeat of the December 1989