2011 Madrilenian regional election


The 2011 Madrilenian regional election was held on Sunday, 22 May 2011, to elect the 9th Assembly of the Community of Madrid. All 129 seats in the Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The election was won by the People's Party, which had formed the regional government since the 1995 election. Overall, the PP under incumbent President Esperanza Aguirre won 72 seats, although the party's overall vote share decreased. In contrast, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party under former Mayor of Parla Tomás Goméz had their worst result in terms of votes and seats up until that date. The third largest party, United Left, polled their highest share of the vote since 1995, whereas Union, Progress and Democracy, a party formed after the 2007 election, surpassed the 5% threshold and entered the Assembly for the first time.

Overview

Electoral system

The Assembly of Madrid was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Madrid, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Madrilenian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a President of the Community. Voting for the Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over eighteen, registered in the Community of Madrid and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Madrilenians abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote.
All members of the Assembly of Madrid were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of 5 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Parties not reaching the threshold were not taken into consideration for seat distribution. The Assembly was entitled to one member per each 50,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 25,000.
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 0.5 percent of the electors registered in the Community of Madrid. 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

The term of the Assembly of Madrid expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Assembly were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 27 May 2007, setting the election date for the Assembly on Sunday, 22 May 2011.
The President of the Community had the prerogative to dissolve the Assembly of Madrid and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Assembly was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.

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. 65 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Assembly of Madrid.

Results

Overall

Elected legislators

The following table lists the elected legislators sorted by order of election.

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture processes to elect the President of the Community of Madrid required for an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 48 hours later requiring of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If none of such majorities were achieved, successive candidate proposals could be processed under the same procedure. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional President within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Assembly would be automatically dissolved and a snap election called.

2012 investiture

On 17 September 2012, Esperanza Aguirre announced her resignation as President of the Community of Madrid, being succeeded by Ignacio González.