2007 Zaragoza municipal election

2007 Zaragoza municipal election
27 May 2007
All 31 seats in the City Council of Zaragoza
16 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered508,643 Decrease 1.3%
Turnout305,722 (60.1%)
Decrease 6.1 pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Juan Alberto Belloch Domingo Buesa Antonio Gaspar
Party PSOE PP CHA
Leader since 27 June 1998 19 July 2006 1995
Last election 12 seats, 33.9% 11 seats, 32.7% 6 seats, 18.3%
Seats won 13 12 3
Seat change Increase 1 Increase 1 Decrease 3
Popular vote 115,723 103,191 29,230
Percentage 38.1% 33.9% 9.6%
Swing Increase 4.2 pp Increase 1.2 pp Decrease 8.7 pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader José Ángel Biel José Miguel Alonso
Party PAR IU
Leader since 26 October 2006 2 December 2006
Last election 2 seats, 7.0% 0 seats, 4.0%
Seats won 2 1
Seat change Steady 0 Increase 1
Popular vote 25,410 16,148
Percentage 8.4% 5.3%
Swing Increase 1.4 pp Increase 1.3 pp
Mayor before election

Juan Alberto Belloch
PSOE

 Mayor after election

Juan Alberto Belloch
PSOE

A municipal election was held in Zaragoza on 27 May 2007 to elect the 8th City Council of the municipality. All 31 seats in the City Council were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all across Spain.

Overview

Under the 1978 Constitution, the governance of municipalities in Spain—part of the country's local government system—was centered on the figure of city councils (Spanish: ayuntamientos), local corporations with independent legal personality composed of a mayor, a government council and an elected legislative assembly.[1] The mayor was indirectly elected by the local assembly, requiring an absolute majority; otherwise, the candidate from the most-voted party automatically became mayor (ties were resolved by drawing lots).[2] In the case of Zaragoza, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Zaragoza.[3]

Date

The term of local assemblies in Spain expired four years after the date of their previous 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 State Gazette (BOE).[4] The previous local elections were held on 25 May 2003, setting the date for election day on the fourth Sunday of May four years later, which was 27 May 2007.

Local assemblies could not be dissolved before the expiration of their term, except in cases of mismanagement that seriously harmed the public interest and implied a breach of constitutional obligations, in which case the Council of Ministers could—optionally—decide to call a by-election.[5]

Elections to the assemblies of local entities were officially called on 3 April 2007 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 27 May.[6]

Electoral system

Voting for local assemblies was based on universal suffrage, comprising all Spanish nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality 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), as well as resident non-national European citizens, and those whose country of origin allowed reciprocal voting by virtue of a treaty.[7]

Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and closed-list proportional voting, with a five percent-threshold of valid votes (including blank ballots) in each municipality.[8] Each municipality was a multi-member constituency, with a number of seats based on the following scale:[9]

Population Councillors
<250 5
251–1,000 7
1,001–2,000 9
2,001–5,000 11
5,001–10,000 13
10,001–20,000 17
20,001–50,000 21
50,001–100,000 25
>100,001 +1 per each 100,000 inhabitants or fraction
+1 if total is an even number

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.[10]

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 a determined amount of the electors registered in the municipality for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list. In the case of Zaragoza, as its population was between 300,001 and 1,000,000, at least 5,000 signatures were required.[11] 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.[12]

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 Juan Alberto Belloch Social democracy 33.9% 12 Yes [13]
PP
List
 Domingo Buesa Conservatism
Christian democracy		 32.7% 11 No [14]
[15]
CHA
List
 Antonio Gaspar Aragonese nationalism
Eco-socialism		 18.3% 6 Yes [16]
PAR
List
 José Ángel Biel Regionalism
Centrism		 7.0% 2 No [17]
IU José Miguel Alonso Socialism
Communism		 4.0% 0 No [18]

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; 16 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Zaragoza.

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Results

← Summary of the 27 May 2007 City Council of Zaragoza election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes % ±pp Total +/−
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) 115,72338.06+4.16 13+1
People's Party (PP) 103,19133.94+1.28 12+1
Aragonese Union (CHA) 29,2309.61−8.73 3−3
Aragonese Party (PAR) 25,4108.36+1.37 2±0
United Left of Aragon (IU) 16,1485.31+1.34 1+1
The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon (LV–FIA)1 2,0780.68−0.03 0±0
Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA) 1,1920.39New 0±0
Anti-Bullfighting Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) 9160.30New 0±0
Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL) 5250.17New 0±0
For a Fairer World (PUM+J) 5210.17New 0±0
Family and Life Party (PFyV) 4550.15−0.07 0±0
Humanist Party (PH) 2410.08+0.01 0±0
Blank ballots 8,4152.77+0.25
Total 304,045 31±0
Valid votes 304,04599.45+0.01
Invalid votes 1,6770.55−0.01
Votes cast / turnout 305,72260.11−6.08
Abstentions 202,92139.89+6.08
Registered voters 508,643
Sources[19][20][21]
Footnotes:
  • 1 The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon results are compared to The Greens–SOS Nature totals in the 2003 election.
Popular vote
PSOE
 
 38.06%
PP
 
 33.94%
CHA
 
 9.61%
PAR
 
 8.36%
IU
 
 5.31%
Others
 
 1.95%
Blank ballots
 
 2.77%
Seats
PSOE
 
 41.94%
PP
 
 38.71%
CHA
 
 9.68%
PAR
 
 6.45%
IU
 
 3.23%

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot → 16 June 2007
Required majority → 16 out of 31
18 / 31
 check
Domingo Buesa (PP)
  • • PP (12)
12 / 31
 X mark
Abstentions/Blank ballots
  • • IU (1)
1 / 31
Absentees
0 / 31
Sources[22]

Notes

  1. ↑ Undecided and/or abstentionists excluded.
  2. 1 2 Does not include non-resident citizens.

References

Opinion poll sources

  1. ↑ "El PSOE de Belloch mantendría su mayoría en Zaragoza". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 18 May 2007.
  2. ↑ "Informe Zaragoza. Mayo 2007". Opina (in Spanish). 18 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. 1 2 "Belloch podrá repetir y escoger socio de gobierno entre CHA o PAR". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 20 May 2007.
  4. ↑ "Sigma Dos: Los ayuntamientos de las grandes ciudades no cambiarían de manos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 14 May 2007.
  5. ↑ "Elecciones 27-M / Sondeo El Mundo-Sigma Dos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 12 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "El PP supera en intención de voto al PSOE en Zaragoza, según un sondeo". ABC (in Spanish). 13 October 2005.

Other

  1. ↑ Constitution (1978), art. 140; LBRL (1985), art. 19.
  2. ↑ LBRL (1985), art. 19; LOREG (1985), art. 196.
  3. ↑ LBRL (1985), arts. 121–132.
  4. ↑ LOREG (1985), arts. 42 & 194.
  5. ↑ LBRL (1985), art. 61.
  6. ↑ Royal Decree 444/2007 (2007), art. 1.
  7. ↑ Constitution (1978), art. 13; LBRL (1985), art. 19; LOREG (1985), arts. 2–3 & 176.
  8. ↑ LOREG (1985), arts. 163 & 180.
  9. ↑ LOREG (1985), art. 179.
  10. ↑ LOREG (1985), arts. 46, 48 & 182.
  11. ↑ LOREG (1985), arts. 44 & 187.
  12. ↑ LOREG (1985), art. 44 bis.
  13. ↑ "Los partidos aragoneses calientan motores a seis meses de las elecciones" (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 19 November 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "Buesa liderará la lista del PP en Zaragoza". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 8 July 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  15. ↑ Mendal, Héctor (19 July 2006). "El Partido Popular propone a Domingo Buesa como candidato al Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza". Aragón Digital (in Spanish). Zaragoza. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "La ejecutiva de CHA propone a Gaspar para la Alcaldía de Zaragoza". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 1 November 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  17. ↑ "Biel quiere ser alcalde de Zaragoza". 20 minutos (in Spanish). Zaragoza. 27 October 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  18. ↑ Abadía Jiménez, María (2 December 2006). "Adolfo Barrena y José Manuel Alonso serán los candidatos de IU a las Cortes y al Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza". Aragón Digital (in Spanish). Zaragoza. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
  19. ↑ Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones municipales en Zaragoza (desde 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  20. ↑ "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  21. ↑ "Acuerdo de 6 de julio de 2007, de la Junta Electoral Central, por el que se procede a la publicación del resumen de los resultados de las elecciones locales convocadas por Real Decreto 444/2007, de 2 de abril, y celebradas el 27 de mayo de 2007, según los datos que figuran en las actas de proclamación remitidas por cada una de las Juntas Electorales de Zona" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish) (162 (Supplement)): 1–623. 7 July 2007. ISSN 0212-033X. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  22. ↑ Penón García, Begoña (13 June 2003). "Belloch renueva como alcalde en la legislatura de la Expo 2008". Aragón Digital (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 November 2025.

Bibliography

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