2007 Aragonese regional election


The 2007 Aragonese regional election was held on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 7th Cortes of the autonomous community of Aragon. All 67 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in 12 other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, 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 also managed to slightly increase its vote share and gained one seat. On the other hand, the Aragonese Union lost ground for the first time, losing 5 of its 9 seats and falling behind the Aragonese Party, which regained third place and increased its vote share for the first time since the 1987 election. United Left 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

Electoral system

The Cortes of Aragon were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Aragon, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Aragonese Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Government. Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in Aragon and in full enjoyment of their political rights.
The 67 members of the Cortes of Aragon were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 3 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied being applied in each constituency. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. Additionally, the use of the D'Hondt method might result in an effective threshold over three percent, depending on the district magnitude. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza. Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of 13 seats, with the remaining 28 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations on the condition that the seat to population ratio in the most populated province did not exceed 2.75 times that of the least populated one.
The electoral law provided that parties, federations, coalitions and groupings of electors were allowed to present lists of candidates. However, groupings of electors were required to secure the signature of at least 1 percent of the electors registered in the constituency for which they sought election. Electors were barred from signing for more than one list of candidates. Concurrently, parties and federations intending to enter in coalition to take part jointly at an election were required to inform the relevant Electoral Commission within ten days of the election being called.

Election date

After legal amendments in 2007, fixed-term mandates were abolished, instead allowing the term of the Cortes of Aragon to expire after an early dissolution. The election Decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon, with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 25 May 2003, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 25 May 2007. The election Decree was required to be published no later than 1 May 2007, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes on Sunday, 24 June 2007.
The President of the Government had the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Aragon and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.

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 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 given poll. When available, seat projections are also displayed below the voting estimates in a smaller font. 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.

Results

Overall

Distribution by constituency

Aftermath