1987 Valencia municipal election

1987 Valencia municipal election

←  1983 10 June 1987 1991  →
All 33 seats in the City Council of Valencia 17 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	551,507 0.3%
Turnout	394,449 (71.5%) 1.6 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ricard Pérez Casado Vicente González Lizondo Martín Quirós Party PSOE UV AP Leader since 5 October 1979 30 August 1982 1987 Last election 18 seats, 48.8% 2 seats (CP–UV) [a] 8 seats (CP–UV) [a] Seats won 13 7 7 Seat change 5 5 1 Popular vote 143,037 77,353 73,830 Percentage 36.8% 19.9% 19.0% Swing 12.0 pp n/a n/a   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Manuel del Hierro Carmen Arjona Ángel Villanueva Pareja Party CDS IU–UPV PDP–CV Leader since 1987 1986 1987 Last election 0 seats, 1.9% 2 seats, 9.1% [b] 2 seats (CP–UV) [a] Seats won 4 2 0 Seat change 4 0 2 Popular vote 44,133 30,963 1,096 Percentage 11.3% 8.0% 0.3% Swing 9.4 pp 1.1 pp n/a
Mayor before election Ricard Pérez Casado PSOE Elected mayor Ricard Pérez Casado PSOE

A municipal election was held in Valencia on Wednesday, 10 June 1987, to elect the 3rd City Council of the municipality. All 33 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, as well as the 1987 European Parliament election.

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. ^{[2] [3]} In the case of Valencia, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Valencia. ^[4]

Electoral system

Voting for local assemblies was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered and residing in the municipality of Valencia and in full enjoyment of their political rights (provided that they were not sentenced—by a final court ruling—to deprivation of the right to vote, nor being legally incapacitated), as well as resident non-nationals whose country of origin allowed Spanish nationals to vote in their own elections by virtue of a treaty. ^{[3] [5] [6]}

Local councillors were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional voting system, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes (which included blank ballots) being applied in each municipality. ^[7] Each municipality constituted a multi-member constituency, entitled a number of seats based on the following scale: ^[8]

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 vacated seats; instead, any vacancies that occurred after the proclamation of candidates and into the legislative term were to be covered by the successive candidates in the list and, when required, by the designated substitutes. ^[9]

The mayor was indirectly elected by the local assembly. ^[3] A legal clause required candidates to earn the vote of an absolute majority of councillors, or else the candidate of the most-voted party was to be automatically appointed to the post. In the event of a tie, the appointee was to be determined by lot. ^[10]

Election date

The term of city councils in Spain expired four years after the date of their previous election. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of the city councils and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE), with election day taking place between the fifty-fourth and the sixtieth day from publication. ^[11] The previous local elections were held on 8 May 1983, which meant that the city councils' terms would have expired on 8 May 1987. The election decree was required to be published in the BOE no later than 14 April 1987, with the election taking place up to the sixtieth day from publication, setting the latest possible date for election day on Saturday, 13 June 1987.

Local councils could not be dissolved before the expiry 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—agree to call a by-election. ^[12]

Elections to local councils were officially called on 14 April 1987 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 10 June. ^[13]

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 ahead of an election were required to inform the relevant electoral commission within ten 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 of candidates. In the case of Valencia, as its population was between 300,001 and 1,000,000, at least 5,000 signatures were required. ^[14]

Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:

Candidacy		Parties and alliances	Leading candidate		Ideology	Previous result		Gov.	Ref.
						Vote %	Seats
	PSOE	List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)		Ricard Pérez Casado	Social democracy	48.8%	18		[15] [16]
	AP	List People's Alliance (AP)		Martín Quirós	Conservatism Christian democracy	37.1% [c]	13
	UV	List Valencian Union (UV)		Vicente González Lizondo	Blaverism Conservatism
	PDP–CV	List People's Democratic Party (PDP)		Ángel Villanueva Pareja	Christian democracy				[17]
	IU–UPV	List United Left (EU) – Communist Party of the Valencian Country (PCPV) – Socialist Action Party (PASOC) – Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) – Progressive Federation (FP) – Republican Left (IR) Valencian People's Union (UPV)		Carmen Arjona	Socialism	9.1% [b]	2
	CDS	List Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)		Manuel del Hierro	Centrism Liberalism	1.9%	0

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; 17 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Valencia.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout									Lead
1987 municipal election	10 Jun 1987	—	71.5	36.8 13	–	[d]	11.3 4	[d]	19.9 7	19.0 7	8.0 2	16.9
Demoscopia/El País [p 1]	22–26 May 1987	?	73	40.4 14	–	[d]	12.3 4	[d]	8.7 3	31.0 10	6.2 2	9.4
1986 general election	22 Jun 1986	—	75.7	40.6 (16)	30.5 (12)	4.8 (0)	9.2 (3)	1.7 (0)	7.6 (2)	[e]	–	10.1
1983 municipal election	8 May 1983	—	69.9	48.8 18	37.1 13	7.6 [f] 2	1.9 0	1.5 0	[e]	[e]	–	11.7

Results

← Summary of the 10 June 1987 City Council of Valencia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	143,037	36.75	−12.08	13	−5
	Valencian Union (UV)1	77,353	19.87	n/a	7	+5
	People's Alliance (AP)1	73,830	18.97	n/a	7	−1
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	44,133	11.34	+9.41	4	+4
	United Left–Valencian People's Union (IU–UPV)2	30,963	7.96	−1.09	2	±0
	Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity (PTE–UC)	5,608	1.44	New	0	±0
	Spanish Vertex Ecological Development Revindication (VERDE)	3,278	0.84	New	0	±0
	Valencian Electoral Coalition (CEV)	2,370	0.61	New	0	±0
	People's Democratic Party–Valencian Centrists (PDP–CV)1	1,096	0.28	n/a	0	−2
	Humanist Platform (PH)	879	0.23	New	0	±0
	Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)	860	0.22	New	0	±0
	Communist Unification of Spain (UCE)	800	0.21	New	0	±0
	Republican Popular Unity (UPR)3	601	0.15	+0.01	0	±0
	Liberal Party (PL)1	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	−1
Blank ballots		4,406	1.13	+0.70
Total		389,214			33	±0
Valid votes		389,214	98.67	−0.07
Invalid votes		5,235	1.33	+0.07
Votes cast / turnout		394,449	71.52	+1.60
Abstentions		157,058	28.48	−1.60
Registered voters		551,507
Sources [18] [19] [20] [21]
Footnotes: 1 Within the People's Coalition–Valencian Union alliance in the 1983 election. 2 United Left–Valencian People's Union results are compared to the combined totals of Communist Party of the Valencian Country and Valencian People's Union in the 1983 election. 3 Republican Popular Unity results are compared to Popular Struggle Coalition totals in the 1983 election.

Popular vote

PSOE			36.75%
UV			19.87%
AP			18.97%
CDS			11.34%
IU–UPV			7.96%
PTE–UC			1.44%
Others			2.54%
Blank ballots			1.13%

Seats

PSOE			39.39%
UV			21.21%
AP			21.21%
CDS			12.12%
IU–UPV			6.06%

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot →		30 June 1987
Required majority →		17 out of 33
	Ricard Pérez Casado (PSOE) • PSOE (13)	13 / 33	Y
	Vicente González Lizondo (UV) • UV (7)	7 / 33	N
	Martín Quirós (AP) • AP (7)	7 / 33	N
	Manuel del Hierro (CDS) • CDS (4)	4 / 33	N
	Abstentions/Blank ballots • IU–UPV (2)	2 / 33
	Absentees	0 / 33
Sources [22]

1989 investiture

Investiture
Ballot →		13 January 1989
Required majority →		17 out of 33
	Clementina Ródenas (PSOE) • PSOE (13) • INDEP (1)	14 / 33	Y
	Vicente González Lizondo (UV) • UV (7) • AP (5) • INDEP (1)	13 / 33	N
	Abstentions/Blank ballots • CDS (3) • IU–UPV (2) • INDEP (1)	6 / 33
	Absentees	0 / 33
Sources [23]

Notes

1. Within the CP–UV alliance in the 1983 election: AP (8 seats), PDP (2 seats), UV (2 seats) and UL/PL (1 seat). ^[1]
2. Results for PCE–PCPV (7.6%, 2 seats) and UPV (1.5%, 0 seats) in the 1983 election.
3. Results for CP–UV in the 1983 election.
4. Within IU–UPV.
5. Within AP–PDP–UL–UV/AP–PDP–PL.
6. Result for Communist Party of the Valencian Country.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "El CDS e IU-UPV, partidos 'bisagra'" (PDF). El País (in Spanish). 4 June 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2017.

Other

1. "Juntas Electorales de Zona de Valencia y de Sagunto. Candidaturas proclamadas (BOP Valencia núm. 83 supl., de 9 de abril de 1983)" (PDF). Official Gazette of the Province of Valencia (in Spanish) (83): 26. 9 April 1983. ISSN   2483-1867 . Retrieved 29 November 2025.
2. Constitution (1978) , art. 140.
3. LBRL (1985) , art. 19.
4. LBRL (1985) , add. prov. 6.
5. Constitution (1978) , art. 13.
6. LOREG (1985) , arts. 2–3 & 176.
7. LOREG (1985) , arts. 163 & 180.
8. LOREG (1985) , art. 179.
9. LOREG (1985) , arts. 46, 48 & 182.
10. LOREG (1985) , art. 196.
11. LOREG (1985) , arts. 42 & 194.
12. LBRL (1985) , art. 61.
13. Real Decreto 508/1987, de 13 de abril, de convocatoria de elecciones locales (PDF) (Royal Decree 508/1987). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 13 April 1987. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
14. LOREG (1985) , arts. 44 & 187.
15. Villena, Miguel Ángel (25 March 1987). "Joan Lerma obstaculiza la candidatura de Pérez Casado a la alcaldía de Valencia". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
16. Muñoz, Manuel (27 March 1987). "El alcalde de Valencia se presentará a la reelección". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
17. "Alzaga descarta cualquier coalición del PDP con Alianza Popular". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. 28 January 1987. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
18. Lozano, Carles. "Eleccions municipals a València (des de 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Catalan). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
19. "Consultes electorals. 1. Eleccions municipals" (PDF). City Council of Valencia (in Catalan). Retrieved 27 November 2025.
20. "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
21. "Resultados de las elecciones municipales celebradas el 10 de junio de 1987" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish) (172): 1–565. 20 July 1987. ISSN   0212-033X . Retrieved 26 November 2025.
22. "Pérez Casado fue reelegido alcalde con los votos socialistas". El País. Valencia. 1 July 1987. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
23. García del Moral, Juanjo (14 January 1989). "La socialista Clementina Ródenas accede a la alcaldía de Valencia gracias a la abstención del CDS". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 28 November 2025.

Bibliography

• Constitución Española (Constitution). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 27 December 1978 [version as of 29 December 1978]. BOE-A-1978-31229. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
• Ley 7/1985, de 2 de abril, Reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local (Law 7/1985). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 2 April 1985 [version as of 3 April 1985]. BOE-A-1985-5392. Retrieved 4 November 2025.
• Ley Orgánica 5/1985, de 19 de junio, del Régimen Electoral General (Organic Law 5/1985). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 19 June 1985 [version as of 3 April 1987]. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 4 November 2025.