2003 Aragonese regional election
Election in the Spanish region of Aragon
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A regional election was held in Aragon on 25 May 2003 to elect the 6th Cortes of the autonomous community. All 67 seats in the Cortes were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.
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0.2% 5.8 pp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
25 May 2003
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All 67 seats in the Cortes of Aragon 34 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 1,019,644 0.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 717,457 (70.4%) 5.8 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Constituency results map for the Cortes of Aragon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The election saw the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which had ruled Aragon since the previous election, becoming the largest party in the Courts for the first time since the 1991 election. The PSOE gains came at the expense of the People's Party (PP), which saw a drop of 7 points on its vote share. The Aragonese Union (CHA) made gains and overtook the Aragonese Party (PAR) as the third largest party in the Cortes. For the PAR, this was the fourth consecutive election where it lost ground. United Left (IU) held its single seat, albeit with a slightly reduced vote share.
The PSOE and PAR maintained the coalition administration formed after the previous election. As a result, Marcelino Iglesias was re-elected as President of Aragon.
Overview
Under the 1982 Statute of Autonomy, the Cortes of Aragon was the unicameral legislature of the homonymous autonomous community, having legislative power in devolved matters, as well as the ability to grant or withdraw confidence from a regional president.[1] The electoral and procedural rules were supplemented by national law provisions.[2]
Date
The term of the Cortes of Aragon expired four years after the date of its previous ordinary election, with election day being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The election decree was required to be issued no later than 54 days before the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA).[3] The previous election was held on 13 June 1999, setting the date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which was 25 May 2003.
The regional president had the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Aragon at any given time and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election had been called and that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or during the last year of parliament before its planned expiration, nor before one year after a previous one.[4] In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the Cortes's reconvening, the chamber was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances did not alter the date of the chamber's next ordinary election, with elected lawmakers serving the remainder of its original four-year term.[5]
The election to the Cortes of Aragon was officially called on 1 April 2003 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOA, setting election day for 25 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 20 June.[6]
Electoral system
Voting for the Cortes was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Aragon and with full political rights, provided that they had not been deprived of the right to vote by a final sentence, nor were legally incapacitated.[7]
The Cortes of Aragon had a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 75 seats, with electoral provisions fixing its size at 67. All were elected in three multi-member constituencies—corresponding to the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, each of which was assigned an initial minimum of 13 seats and the remaining 28 distributed in proportion to population (with the seat-to-population ratio in the most populated province not exceeding 2.75 times that of the least populated one)—using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a three percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each constituency.[8] The use of this electoral method resulted in a higher effective threshold depending on district magnitude and vote distribution.[9]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Cortes constituency was entitled the following seats:[10]
The law did not provide for by-elections to fill vacant seats; instead, any vacancies arising after the proclamation of candidates and during the legislative term were filled by the next candidates on the party lists or, when required, by designated substitutes.[11]
Outgoing parliament
The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the chamber at the time of the election call.[12][13]
| Groups | Parties | Legislators | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Total | ||||
| People's Parliamentary Group in the Cortes of Aragon | PP | 28 | 28 | ||
| Socialist Parliamentary Group | PSOE | 23 | 23 | ||
| Aragonese Party's Parliamentary Group | PAR | 10 | 10 | ||
| Aragonese Union Parliamentary Group | CHA | 5 | 5 | ||
| Mixed Parliamentary Group | IU | 1 | 1 | ||
Parties and candidates
The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, alliances and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form an alliance were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within 10 days of the election call, whereas groupings of electors needed to secure the signature of at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list.[14]
Below is a list of the main parties and alliances which contested the election:
| Candidacy | Parties and alliances |
Leading candidate | Ideology | Previous result | Gov. | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vote % | Seats | ||||||||
| PP | List
|
 |
Gustavo Alcalde | Conservatism Christian democracy |
38.2% | 28 |  |
[15] [16] [17] [18] | |
| PSOE | List |
|
Marcelino Iglesias | Social democracy | 30.8% | 23 |  |
[19] | |
| PAR | List
|
.jpg) |
José Ángel Biel | Regionalism Centrism |
13.3% | 10 | |
[20] | |
| CHA | List
|
 |
Chesús Bernal | Aragonese nationalism Eco-socialism |
11.0% | 5 | |
[21] | |
| IU | List
|
.jpg) |
Adolfo Barrena | Socialism Communism |
3.9% | 1 | |
[22] [23] | |
Opinion polls
The tables below list opinion polling results 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 poll.
Voting intention estimates
The table below lists weighted voting intention estimates. Refusals are generally excluded from the party vote percentages, while question wording and the treatment of "don't know" responses and those not intending to vote may vary between polling organisations. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.
- Color key:
Exit poll
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | N/a | 70.4 | 30.7 22 |
37.9 27 |
11.2 8 |
13.7 9 |
3.1 1 |
7.2 |
| Sigma Dos/Antena 3[p 1] | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? 23/25 |
? 24/26 |
? 6/8 |
? 8/10 |
? 1/3 |
? |
| Ipsos–Eco/RTVE[p 2] | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? 23/25 |
? 24/26 |
? 7/8 |
? 9/10 |
? 1 |
? |
| C&J/El Periódico[p 3] | 12–17 May 2003 | ? | ? | 29.0 20/21 |
37.9 27/28 |
13.8 9/10 |
13.3 9/10 |
? 1 |
8.9 |
| CIS[p 4][p 5] | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 1,339 | 68.6 | 30.4 22 |
35.6 26 |
13.9 10 |
14.5 8 |
3.9 1 |
5.2 |
| C&J/El Periódico[p 6] | 27 Apr 2003 | ? | ? | 28.0 19/20 |
38.1 27/28 |
15.2 9/10 |
? 9/10 |
? 0/1 |
10.1 |
| CIS[p 7][p 8][p 9] | 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 | 492 | 71.6 | 35.1 | 33.1 | 10.7 | 15.3 | 4.1 | 2.0 |
| 2000 general election | 12 Mar 2000 | N/a | 71.4 | 47.2 (34) |
31.1 (24) |
5.4 (3) |
10.4 (5) |
3.5 (1) |
16.1 |
| 1999 regional election | 13 Jun 1999 | N/a | 64.6 | 38.2 28 |
30.8 23 |
13.3 10 |
11.0 5 |
3.9 1 |
7.4 |
Voting preferences
The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 regional election[a] | 25 May 2003 | N/a | 21.8 | 26.9 | 7.9 | 9.7 | 2.2 | N/a | 28.7 | 5.1 |
| CIS[p 4] | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 1,339 | 13.0 | 21.7 | 5.0 | 7.2 | 2.1 | 42.1 | 7.4 | 8.7 |
| CIS[p 7] | 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 | 492 | 20.1 | 21.1 | 3.5 | 8.1 | 1.6 | 35.4 | 8.1 | 1.0 |
| 2000 general election[a] | 12 Mar 2000 | N/a | 33.9 | 22.2 | 3.9 | 7.5 | 2.5 | N/a | 27.8 | 11.7 |
| 1999 regional election[a] | 13 Jun 1999 | N/a | 24.9 | 20.0 | 8.6 | 7.2 | 2.5 | N/a | 35.0 | 4.9 |
Victory preferences
The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a municipal election taking place.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | |
|
|
|
|
Other/ None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIS[p 4] | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 1,339 | 16.9 | 29.2 | 6.6 | 9.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 34.8 | 12.3 |
Victory likelihood
The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a municipal election taking place.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | |
|
|
|
|
Other/ None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIS[p 4] | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 1,339 | 9.7 | 43.5 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 43.5 | 33.8 |
Preferred President
The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Government of Aragon.
Results
Overall
 | ||||||
| Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− | ||
| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 270,468 | 37.94 | +7.13 | 27 | +4 | |
| People's Party (PP) | 219,058 | 30.73 | −7.48 | 22 | −6 | |
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 97,763 | 13.71 | +2.67 | 9 | +4 | |
| Aragonese Party (PAR) | 79,670 | 11.18 | −2.07 | 8 | −2 | |
| United Left of Aragon (IU) | 21,795 | 3.06 | −0.80 | 1 | ±0 | |
| The Greens–SOS Nature (LV–SOS)1 | 4,308 | 0.60 | +0.05 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Aragonese Initiative (INAR) | 1,703 | 0.24 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,300 | 0.18 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 1,056 | 0.15 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Republican Left (IR) | 519 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 330 | 0.05 | −0.10 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots | 14,874 | 2.09 | +0.01 | |||
| Total | 712,844 | 67 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 712,844 | 99.36 | +0.07 | |||
| Invalid votes | 4,613 | 0.64 | −0.07 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 717,457 | 70.36 | +5.76 | |||
| Abstentions | 302,187 | 29.64 | −5.76 | |||
| Registered voters | 1,019,644 | |||||
| Sources[12][24][25][26] | ||||||
Footnotes:
| ||||||
Distribution by constituency
Aftermath
Notes
- Does not include non-resident citizens.