2007 Aragonese regional election
Election in the Spanish region of Aragon
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A regional election was held in Aragon on 27 May 2007 to elect the 7th 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% 3.9 pp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 May 2007
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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 | 1,017,085 0.2% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 676,491 (66.5%) 3.9 pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Constituency results map for the Cortes of Aragon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which had ruled Aragon since the 1999 election, saw an increase of three seats and obtained its best result since the 1983 election in terms of votes received. The People's Party (PP) also managed to slightly increase its vote share and gained one seat. On the other hand, the Aragonese Union (CHA) lost ground for the first time, losing 5 of its 9 seats and falling behind the Aragonese Party (PAR), which regained third place and increased its vote share for the first time since the 1987 election. United Left (IU) held its single seat and increased its vote share for the first time since 1995.
The PSOE and PAR renewed their coalition administration for a third consecutive time, resulting in Marcelino Iglesias being re-elected as regional President for a third term in office.
Overview
Under the 2007 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 election. Amendments earlier in 2007 abolished fixed-term elections, instead allowing the term of the Cortes to expire after an early dissolution. The election decree was required to be issued no later than 25 days before the scheduled expiration date of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA), with election day taking place 54 days after the decree's publication.[3] The previous election was held on 25 May 2003, which meant that the chamber's term would have expired on 25 May 2007. The election decree was required to be published in the BOA no later than 1 May 2007, setting the latest possible date for election day on 24 June 2007.
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 and that dissolution did not occur 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.[5]
The election to the Cortes of Aragon was officially called on 3 April 2007 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOA, setting election day for 27 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 21 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 65 and a maximum of 80 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 | ||||
| Socialist Parliamentary Group | PSOE | 27 | 27 | ||
| People's Parliamentary Group in the Cortes of Aragon | PP | 22 | 22 | ||
| Aragonese Union Parliamentary Group | CHA | 9 | 9 | ||
| Aragonese Party's Parliamentary Group | PAR | 8 | 8 | ||
| 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] Amendments earlier in 2007 required a balanced composition of men and women in the electoral lists, so that candidates of either sex made up at least 40 percent of the total composition.[15]
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 | ||||||||
| PSOE | List |
|
Marcelino Iglesias | Social democracy | 37.9% | 27 |  |
[16] [17] | |
| PP | List
|
 |
Gustavo Alcalde | Conservatism Christian democracy |
30.7% | 22 |  |
[18] [19] | |
| CHA | List
|
 |
Chesús Bernal | Aragonese nationalism Eco-socialism |
13.7% | 9 | |
[20] | |
| PAR | List
|
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José Ángel Biel | Regionalism Centrism |
11.2% | 8 | |
[21] [22] | |
| IU | List
|
.jpg) |
Adolfo Barrena | Socialism Communism |
3.1% | 1 | |
[23] [24] [25] | |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 regional election | 27 May 2007 | N/a | 66.5 | 41.1 30 |
31.1 23 |
8.1 4 |
12.1 9 |
4.1 1 |
10.0 |
| Ipsos/RTVE–FORTA[p 1] | 27 May 2007 | ? | ? | ? 31/34 |
? 20/23 |
? 4/5 |
? 6/7 |
? 2/3 |
? |
| A+M/Heraldo de Aragón[p 2] | 20 May 2007 | ? | ? | 37.8 26 |
33.1 23 |
11.0 8 |
12.8 9 |
3.6 1 |
4.7 |
| Celeste-Tel/Terra[p 3][p 4] | 9–15 May 2007 | ? | ? | 41.2 29/30 |
28.4 21/22 |
11.5 7 |
10.6 8 |
4.2 1 |
12.8 |
| C&J/El Periódico[p 2][p 5] | 7–12 May 2007 | ? | ? | 39.4 27 |
34.0 23 |
10.9 7 |
12.7 9 |
3.0 1 |
5.4 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 6][p 7] | 27 Apr–8 May 2007 | 850 | ? | 41.4 28/30 |
32.0 22/24 |
10.9 7 |
9.3 7 |
3.4 1 |
9.4 |
| CIS[p 8][p 9] | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | ? | 42.0 30/31 |
27.9 21 |
11.9 6/7 |
10.7 8 |
4.3 1 |
14.1 |
| A+M/DGA[p 10][p 11] | 3–11 Feb 2007 | 2,586 | 67.0 | 36.1 27 |
31.0 23 |
15.8 8 |
11.8 8 |
4.2 1 |
5.1 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo[p 12][p 13] | 16–24 Nov 2006 | ? | ? | ? 27/29 |
? 24/26 |
? 6 |
? 7 |
? 1 |
? |
| 2004 EP election | 13 Jun 2004 | N/a | 47.3 | 45.8 (33) |
40.0 (30) |
6.1 (3) |
2.9 (0) |
3.1 (1) |
5.8 |
| 2004 general election | 14 Mar 2004 | N/a | 77.0 | 41.3 (31) |
36.5 (27) |
12.1 (6) |
4.7 (3) |
2.8 (0) |
4.8 |
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | N/a | 70.4 | 37.9 27 |
30.7 22 |
13.7 9 |
11.2 8 |
3.1 1 |
7.2 |
Voting preferences
The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 regional election[a] | 27 May 2007 | N/a | 27.7 | 21.0 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 2.8 | N/a | 32.0 | 6.7 |
| CIS[p 8] | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 24.5 | 11.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 41.6 | 10.6 | 13.3 |
| A+M/DGA[p 10] | 3–11 Feb 2007 | 2,586 | 24.2 | 16.6 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 29.6 | 11.5 | 7.6 |
| 2004 EP election[a] | 13 Jun 2004 | N/a | 21.8 | 19.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 1.5 | N/a | 52.1 | 2.7 |
| 2004 general election[a] | 14 Mar 2004 | N/a | 32.0 | 28.3 | 9.4 | 3.6 | 2.2 | N/a | 22.0 | 3.7 |
| 2003 regional election[a] | 25 May 2003 | N/a | 26.9 | 21.8 | 9.7 | 7.9 | 2.2 | N/a | 28.7 | 5.1 |
Victory preferences
The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | |
|
|
|
|
Other/ None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIS[p 8] | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 36.3 | 16.6 | 4.5 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 9.4 | 24.8 | 19.7 |
Victory likelihood
The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | |
|
|
|
|
Other/ None |
|
Lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIS[p 8] | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 53.7 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 35.2 | 45.7 |
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) | 276,415 | 41.14 | +3.20 | 30 | +3 | |
| People's Party (PP) | 208,642 | 31.06 | +0.33 | 23 | +1 | |
| Aragonese Party (PAR) | 81,135 | 12.08 | +0.90 | 9 | +1 | |
| Aragonese Union (CHA) | 54,752 | 8.15 | −5.56 | 4 | −5 | |
| United Left of Aragon (IU) | 27,440 | 4.08 | +1.02 | 1 | ±0 | |
| The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon (LV–FIA)1 | 4,417 | 0.66 | +0.06 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA) | 2,463 | 0.37 | New | 0 | ±0 | |
| Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,105 | 0.16 | −0.02 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Humanist Party (PH) | 577 | 0.09 | +0.04 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Blank ballots | 14,890 | 2.22 | +0.13 | |||
| Total | 671,836 | 67 | ±0 | |||
| Valid votes | 671,836 | 99.31 | −0.05 | |||
| Invalid votes | 4,655 | 0.69 | +0.05 | |||
| Votes cast / turnout | 676,491 | 66.51 | −3.85 | |||
| Abstentions | 340,594 | 33.49 | +3.85 | |||
| Registered voters | 1,017,085 | |||||
| Sources[12][26][27][28] | ||||||
Footnotes:
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Distribution by constituency
Aftermath
Notes
- Does not include non-resident citizens.