2003 Barcelona City Council election

2003 Barcelona City Council election

←  1999 25 May 2003 2007  →
All 41 seats in the City Council of Barcelona 21 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	1,281,534 5.3%
Turnout	759,197 (59.2%) 7.7 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Joan Clos Xavier Trias Alberto Fernández Díaz Party PSC–PM CiU PP Leader since 26 September 1997 17 May 2002 17 July 2002 Last election 20 seats, 45.2% 10 seats, 21.7% 6 seats, 14.9% Seats won 15 9 7 Seat change 5 1 1 Popular vote 254,223 162,010 121,991 Percentage 33.6% 21.4% 16.1% Swing 11.6 pp 0.3 pp 1.2 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Jordi Portabella Imma Mayol Party ERC–AM ICV–EA–EPM Leader since 1999 1998 Last election 3 seats, 6.5% 2 seats, 7.6% [a] Seats won 5 5 Seat change 2 3 Popular vote 96,868 91,286 Percentage 12.8% 12.1% Swing 6.3 pp 4.4 pp
Mayor before election Joan Clos PSC Elected Mayor Joan Clos PSC

A municipal election was held in Barcelona on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 7th City Council of the municipality. All 41 seats in the City Council were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in thirteen autonomous communities and local elections all throughout 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] [2]} In the case of Barcelona, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Barcelona. ^[3]

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 Barcelona 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), as well as resident non-national European citizens and those whose country of origin allowed Spanish nationals to vote in their own elections by virtue of a treaty. ^{[2] [4] [5]}

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. ^[6] Each municipality constituted a multi-member constituency, entitled a number of seats based on the following scale: ^[7]

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. ^[8]

The mayor was indirectly elected by the local assembly. ^[2] 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. ^[9]

Election date

The term of city councils 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 (as of 2025, this has been the year before a leap year). ^[10] 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. ^[11]

Elections to local councils not bound to the open council system were officially called on 1 April 2003 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 25 May. ^[12]

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 Barcelona, as its population was over 1,000,001, at least 8,000 signatures were required. ^[13]

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
	PSC–PM	List Socialists' Party of Catalonia (PSC–PSOE)		Joan Clos	Social democracy	45.2%	20		[14]
	CiU	List Convergence and Union (CiU) – Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC) – Democratic Union of Catalonia (UDC)		Xavier Trias	Catalan nationalism Centrism	21.7%	10		[15] [16] [17]
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Alberto Fernández Díaz	Conservatism Christian democracy	14.9%	6		[18] [19]
	ERC–AM	List Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC)		Jordi Portabella	Catalan independence Left-wing nationalism Social democracy	6.5%	3		[20]
	ICV– EA–EPM	List Initiative for Catalonia Greens (ICV) United and Alternative Left (EUiA) – Party of the Communists of Catalonia (PCC) – Living Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSUC viu) – Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR) – Workers' Revolutionary Party–Revolutionary Left (PRT–IR)		Imma Mayol	Regionalism Eco-socialism Green politics	7.6% [a]	2		[21] [22]

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; 21 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Barcelona.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout							Lead
2003 municipal election	25 May 2003	—	59.2	33.6 15	21.4 9	16.1 7	12.8 5	12.1 5	[b]	12.2
Sigma Dos/Antena 3 [p 1] [p 2]	25 May 2003	?	?	? 17/18	? 9	? 5/6	? 4/5	? 4/5	[b]	?
Ipsos–Eco/RTVE [p 3]	25 May 2003	?	?	? 15/16	? 8/9	? 5/6	–	–	[b]	?
Opina/El País [p 4]	19 May 2003	?	?	40.5 18	25.0 11	12.5 5	9.0 4	7.5 3	[b]	15.5
Vox Pública/El Periódico [p 5] [p 6] [p 7]	12–13 May 2003	803	?	42.5– 43.5 18/19	19.5– 20.5 8/9	12.5– 13.5 5/6	10.0– 11.0 4/5	10.5– 11.5 4/5	[b]	23.0
Noxa/La Vanguardia [p 8]	1 May 2003	?	?	42.2 18/19	22.1 9/10	12.3 5	11.2 5	8.0 3	[b]	20.1
CIS [p 9] [p 10]	22 Mar–28 Apr 2003	715	?	43.8 19	18.5 8	11.5 5	12.0 5	9.4 4	[b]	25.3
Noxa/La Vanguardia [p 11]	20 Jan 2003	?	?	45.0 19/20	26.1 11/12	10.6 4	10.4 4	5.8 2	[b]	18.9
2000 general election	12 Mar 2000	—	65.6	37.6 (17)	34.6 (16)	12.8 (5)	8.2 (3)	3.2 (0)	1.3 (0)	3.0
1999 regional election	17 Oct 1999	—	62.3	45.2 20	21.7 10	14.9 6	6.5 3	6.3 2	1.3 0	23.5
1999 municipal election	13 Jun 1999	—	51.5	45.2 20	21.7 10	14.9 6	6.5 3	6.3 2	1.3 0	23.5

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size							?	N	Lead
2003 municipal election	25 May 2003	—	19.8	12.6	9.5	7.6	7.1	[b]	—	40.8	7.2
Vox Pública/El Periódico [p 5]	12–13 May 2003	803	34.9	13.7	7.0	7.8	7.6	[b]	22.2	3.7	21.2
CIS [p 9]	22 Mar–28 Apr 2003	715	28.8	12.3	4.9	8.7	5.7	[b]	27.4	8.3	16.5
City Council [p 12]	Sep 2002	800	23.5	12.6	6.0	6.4	2.9	[b]	34.0	11.5	10.9
City Council [p 12]	Jun 2002	800	23.1	12.1	5.9	5.3	4.5	–	33.3	10.9	11.0
City Council [p 12]	Mar 2002	800	26.3	12.0	7.1	3.9	4.6	–	30.1	13.4	14.3
City Council [p 12]	Dec 2001	800	25.8	13.0	8.3	6.0	3.6	–	26.6	12.0	12.8
City Council [p 12]	Sep 2001	800	28.9	10.4	6.1	4.8	3.4	–	28.0	13.6	18.5
City Council [p 12]	Jun 2001	800	26.3	11.9	7.0	4.9	2.5	–	32.6	10.3	14.4
City Council [p 12]	Mar 2001	800	30.9	9.5	6.0	3.0	2.9	–	33.1	10.9	21.4
City Council [p 12]	Nov 2000	800	29.6	11.5	4.5	3.8	2.4	–	32.4	12.4	18.1
City Council [p 12]	Sep 2000	800	29.5	9.6	5.0	3.5	2.5	–	37.5	9.9	19.9
City Council [p 12]	Jun 2000	800	30.6	11.8	7.4	4.0	3.1	–	28.9	11.6	18.8
2000 general election	12 Mar 2000	—	20.4	17.7	17.2	3.7	2.8	1.4	—	34.4	2.7
City Council [p 12]	Mar 2000	800	28.0	13.5	4.6	3.5	1.9	–	33.7	11.6	14.5
1999 regional election	17 Oct 1999	—	23.4	21.5	7.9	5.1	2.0	0.8	—	37.7	1.9
1999 municipal election	13 Jun 1999	—	23.2	11.1	7.6	3.3	3.3	0.7	—	48.5	12.1

Victory preferences

The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a municipal election taking place.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None	?	Lead
CIS [p 9]	22 Mar–28 Apr 2003	715	38.9	17.8	5.2	9.1	6.3	2.9	19.9	16.5

Victory likelihood

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a municipal election taking place.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None	?	Lead
Noxa/La Vanguardia [p 8]	1 May 2003	?	58.0	15.0	–	–	–	27.0		43.0
CIS [p 9]	22 Mar–28 Apr 2003	715	70.5	9.5	1.0	0.3	0.1	0.1	18.4	61.0
Noxa/La Vanguardia [p 8]	20 Jan 2003	?	51.0	26.0	–	–	–	23.0		25.0

Preferred Mayor

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become mayor of Barcelona.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Clos PSC	Trias CiU	F. Díaz PP	Portabella ERC	Mayol ICV–EUiA
Vox Pública/El Periódico [p 5]	12–13 May 2003	803	39.5	13.3	4.1	6.2	6.7	10.1	20.0	26.2

Predicted Mayor

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood for each leader to become mayor.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Clos PSC	Trias CiU	F. Díaz PP	Portabella ERC	Mayol ICV–EUiA
Vox Pública/El Periódico [p 5]	12–13 May 2003	803	70.4	3.2	0.5	0.1	0.5	0.3	24.9	67.2

Results

← Summary of the 25 May 2003 City Council of Barcelona election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Socialists' Party of Catalonia–Municipal Progress (PSC–PM)	254,223	33.60	−11.59	15	−5
	Convergence and Union (CiU)	162,010	21.41	−0.28	9	−1
	People's Party (PP)	121,991	16.12	+1.25	7	+1
	Republican Left of Catalonia–Municipal Agreement (ERC–AM)	96,868	12.80	+6.28	5	+2
	Initiative–Alternative Left–Agreement for Municipal Progress (ICV–EA–EPM)1	91,286	12.07	+4.44	5	+3
	The Greens–Eco-pacifists of Catalonia (EV–Eco)	5,449	0.72	New	0	±0
	The Greens and More (ViM)	3,955	0.52	New	0	±0
	The Greens–Green Alternative (EV–AV)	3,209	0.42	New	0	±0
	Another Democracy is Possible (ODeP)	1,143	0.15	New	0	±0
	Unsubmissive Seats (Ei)	731	0.10	New	0	±0
	The Phalanx (FE)	604	0.08	−0.01	0	±0
	Catalan State (EC)	582	0.08	±0.00	0	±0
	Democratic and Social Centre (CDS)	539	0.07	−0.04	0	±0
	Humanist Party of Catalonia (PHC)	503	0.07	±0.00	0	±0
	Platform for Catalonia (PxC)	333	0.04	New	0	±0
	Internationalist Struggle (LI (LIT–CI))	264	0.03	New	0	±0
	European Nation State (N)	198	0.03	±0.00	0	±0
Blank ballots		12,679	1.68	−0.21
Total		756,567			41	±0
Valid votes		756,567	99.65	+0.09
Invalid votes		2,630	0.35	−0.09
Votes cast / turnout		759,197	59.24	+7.71
Abstentions		522,337	40.76	−7.71
Registered voters		1,281,534
Sources [23] [24] [25] [26]
Footnotes: 1 Initiative–Alternative Left–Agreement for Municipal Progress results are compared to the combined totals of Initiative for Catalonia–Greens–Agreement for Municipal Progress and United and Alternative Left in the 1999 election.

Popular vote

PSC–PM			33.60%
CiU			21.41%
PP			16.12%
ERC–AM			12.80%
ICV–EA–EPM			12.07%
Others			2.31%
Blank ballots			1.68%

Seats

PSC–PM			36.59%
CiU			21.95%
PP			17.07%
ERC–AM			12.20%
ICV–EA–EPM			12.20%

Aftermath

Government formation

Investiture
Ballot →		14 June 2003
Required majority →		21 out of 41
	Joan Clos (PSC) • PSC (15) • ERC (5) • ICV–EUiA (5)	25 / 41	Y
	Xavier Trias (CiU) • CiU (9)	9 / 41	N
	Alberto Fernández Díaz (PP) • PP (7)	7 / 41	N
	Blank ballots	0 / 41
	Absentees	0 / 41
Sources [23] [27]

2006 investiture

Investiture
Ballot →		8 September 2006
Required majority →		21 out of 41
	Jordi Hereu (PSC) • PSC (15) • ERC (5) • ICV–EUiA (5)	25 / 41	Y
	Xavier Trias (CiU) • CiU (9)	9 / 41	N
	Alberto Fernández Díaz (PP) • PP (7)	7 / 41	N
	Blank ballots	0 / 41
	Absentees	0 / 41
Sources [23] [28]

Notes

1. Results for IC–V–EPM (6.3%, 2 seats) and EUiA (1.3%, 0 seats) in the 1999 election.
2. Within ICV.

References

1. Constitution (1978) , art. 140.
2. LBRL (1985) , art. 19.
3. LBRL (1985) , add. prov. 6.
4. Constitution (1978) , art. 13.
5. LOREG (1985) , arts. 2–3 & 176.
6. LOREG (1985) , arts. 163 & 180.
7. LOREG (1985) , art. 179.
8. LOREG (1985) , arts. 46, 48 & 182.
9. LOREG (1985) , art. 196.
10. LOREG (1985) , arts. 42 & 194.
11. LBRL (1985) , art. 61.
12. Real Decreto 374/2003, de 31 de marzo, por el que se convocan elecciones locales y a las Asambleas de Ceuta y Melilla (PDF) (Royal Decree 374/2003). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 31 March 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
13. LOREG (1985) , arts. 44 & 187.
14. Cia, Blanca (22 April 2002). "Las municipales también calientan motores". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
15. N., R. (28 March 2002). "Xabier Trías, candidato de CiU al ayuntamiento de Barcelona". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
16. "CDC refrenda con el 96% de los votos a Trias como 'alcaldable'". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. 25 April 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
17. "Xavier Trias asegura que Barcelona será su 'parada final'". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. 18 May 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
18. Casqueiro, Javier (17 July 2002). "El PP recupera como alcaldable de Barcelona a Alberto Fernández y renueva a 23 candidatos". El País (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
19. "El PP designa a sus candidatos a las municipales en Cataluña". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. 18 July 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
20. "Portabella, elegido candidato de ERC a la alcaldía de Barcelona". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. 16 June 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
21. "Mayol, candidata a la alcaldía de Barcelona y Comas a la de Tarragona por ICV". El País (in Spanish). Barcelona. 9 June 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
22. "ICV y EUiA serán coalición electoral para ser la tercera fuerza política". ABC (in Spanish). Barcelona. 15 June 2002. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
23. Lozano, Carles. "Eleccions municipals a Barcelona (des de 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Catalan). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
24. "Resultats electorals. Eleccions Municipals 2003. Barcelona (Municipi)". Government of Catalonia (in Catalan). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
25. "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
26. "Acuerdo de 20 de junio de 2003, 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 374/2003, de 31 de marzo, y celebradas el 25 de mayo, 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) (158 (Supplement)): 1–700. 3 July 2003. ISSN   0212-033X . Retrieved 6 November 2025.
27. "Joan Clos, proclamado por tercera vez alcalde de Barcelona". La Vanguardia. Barcelona. Europa Press. 14 June 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
28. "Jordi Hereu, elegido nuevo alcalde de Barcelona". El Mundo. Barcelona. EFE. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2025.

1. "El sondeo de Sigma Dos determina una lucha codo a codo entre populares y socialistas en Madrid". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
2. "El PP retiene la mayoría en Madrid, Valencia, Málaga y Valladolid, pero pierde Zaragoza". ABC (in Spanish). 25 May 2003.
3. "Sondeo a pie de urna de Ipsos Eco Consulting para TVE". ABC Sevilla (in Spanish). 25 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
4. "Los socialistas mantienen su hegemonía en Barcelona". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 2003.
5. "Barcelona". El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). 18 May 2003.
6. "La izquierda tendrá más poder en Barcelona". El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). 18 May 2003.
7. "La izquierda aumentará su mayoría en Barcelona". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 18 May 2003.
8. "Clos pierde fuelle y a Trias le cuesta subir". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 1 May 2003.
9. "Preelectoral elecciones municipales, 2003. Ciudad de Barcelona (Estudio nº 2499. Marzo-Abril 2003)". CIS (in Spanish). 17 May 2003.
10. "La guerra pasa factura electoral al PP". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 May 2003.
11. "Clos se mantiene pero Trias va al alza". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 20 January 2003.
12. "Baròmetre municipal de Barcelona". City Council of Barcelona (in Catalan). Retrieved 8 November 2025.

Bibliography

• Constitución Española (Constitution). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 29 December 1978 [version as of 28 August 1992]. 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 11 March 2003]. 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 11 March 2003]. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 4 November 2025.