2007 Valencia municipal election

2007 Valencia municipal election

←  2003 27 May 2007 2011  →
All 33 seats in the City Council of Valencia 17 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	609,221 3.5%
Turnout	416,802 (68.4%) 0.1 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Rita Barberá Carmen Alborch Amadeu Sanchis Party PP PSPV–PSOE EUPV–V–IR Leader since 1991 7 October 2006 2004 Last election 19 seats, 51.2% 12 seats, 33.4% [a] 2 seats, 8.1% [b] Seats won 21 12 0 Seat change 2 0 2 Popular vote 235,158 140,187 19,808 Percentage 56.7% 33.8% 4.8% Swing 5.5 pp 0.4 pp 3.3 pp
Mayor before election Rita Barberá PP Elected mayor Rita Barberá PP

A municipal election was held in Valencia on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 8th 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 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 Valencia, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Valencia. ^[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 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), 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). The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the scheduled election date and published on the following day in the Official State Gazette (BOE). ^[10] The previous election was held on 25 May 2003, setting the date for election day on Sunday, 27 May 2007.

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 3 April 2007 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 27 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 Valencia, as its population was between 300,001 and 1,000,000, at least 5,000 signatures were required. ^[13] Amendments to the electoral law in 2007 introduced requirements for 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. ^[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
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Rita Barberá	Conservatism Christian democracy	51.2%	19		[15]
	PSPV–PSOE	List Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE) Valencian Nationalist Bloc (Bloc) The Greens–Ecologist Left of the Valencian Country (EV–EE)		Carmen Alborch	Social democracy	30.8%	12		[16] [17] [18]
	EUPV–V–IR	List United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV) – Communist Party of the Valencian Country (PCPV) – Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR) The Greens of the Valencian Country (EV–LV) Republican Left (IR)		Amadeu Sanchis	Socialism Communism	8.1% [b]	2		[19] [20]
	UV–LVEP	List Valencian Union (UV) The Eco-pacifist Greens (LVEP)		Vicente González- Lizondo Sánchez	Blaverism Conservatism	3.6%	0		[21] [22]
	CVa	List Valencian Coalition (CV)		Juan García Sentandreu	Blaverism Anti-immigration	Did not contest			[23]

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.

Color key:

  Exit poll

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout						CVa	Lead
2007 municipal election	27 May 2007	—	68.4	56.7 21	33.8 12	4.8 0	0.8 0	[c]	1.4 0	22.9
PP [p 1]	21 May 2007	818	?	55.9 19	31.9 12	5.7 2	–	[c]	–	24.0
Grup Marest/Levante-EMV [p 2]	10–16 May 2007	?	?	44.4 16	37.5 14	7.4 2	3.3 0	[c]	5.0 1	6.9
Opina/El País [p 3] [p 4]	14 May 2007	600	?	56.0 19	36.0 12	5.5 2	–	[c]	–	20.0
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 5]	2–9 May 2007	400	?	51.7 18/19	34.8 12/13	6.8 2	–	[c]	–	16.9
Grup Marest/Levante-EMV [p 6]	28 Mar–5 Apr 2007	1,000	70	45.2 17	34.4 13	7.6 3	3.7 0	2.7 0	4.5 0	10.8
PP [p 7] [p 8]	12 Mar 2007	?	?	? 19/20	? 11/12	? 2	–	–	–	?
PSPV [p 7] [p 8]	12 Mar 2007	?	?	? 18/19	? 13	? 1/2	–	–	–	?
PP [p 9]	12 Feb 2007	?	?	? 18/19	? 12/13	? 2	–	–	–	?
PP [p 10]	13–24 Oct 2006	818	?	55.9 20	29.6 11	5.9 2	<4.0 0	<4.0 0	–	26.3
PSPV [p 11]	22–29 May 2006	900	?	47.8 17/18	36.5 13/14	7.4 2/3	–	–	–	11.3
PSPV [p 12]	16 Jan 2006	?	?	? 19	? 12	? 2	–	–	–	?
PP [p 13] [p 14] [p 15]	15 Oct–15 Nov 2005	800	?	53.6 19/20	29.3 10/11	9.8 3/4	2.0 0	1.3 0	–	24.3
2004 EP election	13 Jun 2004	—	52.4	53.4 (19)	37.4 (14)	4.6 (0)	0.7 (0)	0.7 (0)	–	16.0
2004 general election	14 Mar 2004	—	77.9	48.5 (17)	39.0 (14)	5.9 (2)	–	1.0 (0)	–	9.5
2003 municipal election	25 May 2003	—	68.5	51.2 19	30.8 12	7.3 2	3.6 0	2.6 0	–	20.4

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						CVa	?	N	Lead
2007 municipal election	27 May 2007	—	38.6	23.0	3.3	0.5	[c]	0.9	—	31.6	15.6
2004 EP election	13 Jun 2004	—	28.0	19.6	2.4	0.4	0.4	–	—	47.6	8.4
2004 general election	14 Mar 2004	—	37.6	30.2	4.6	–	0.8	–	—	22.1	7.4
2003 municipal election	25 May 2003	—	34.9	21.1	5.0	2.5	1.8	–	—	31.5	13.8

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
PP [p 10]	13–24 Oct 2006	818	51.3	24.4	24.3		26.9

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
Grup Marest/Levante-EMV [p 6]	28 Mar–5 Apr 2007	1,000	66.5	–	–	–	?
PP [p 10]	13–24 Oct 2006	818	70.8	15.4	13.8		55.4
PP [p 14]	15 Oct–15 Nov 2005	800	87.0	12.7	0.3		74.3

Preferred Mayor

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

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size					Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Barberá PP	Rubio PSPV	Alborch PSPV	Montalbán EUPV
PP [p 10]	13–24 Oct 2006	818	56.0	–	22.0	–	22.0		34.0
PP [p 14] [p 15]	15 Oct–15 Nov 2005	800	64.0	21.4	–	9.7	4.9		42.6

Results

← Summary of the 27 May 2007 City Council of Valencia election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	235,158	56.67	+5.52	21	+2
	Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE)1	140,187	33.78	+0.36	12	±0
	United Left–The Greens–Republican Left: Municipal Agreement (EUPV–V–IR)2	19,808	4.77	−3.32	0	−2
	Valencian Coalition (CVa)	5,615	1.35	New	0	±0
	Valencian Union–The Eco-pacifist Greens (UV–LVEP)	3,279	0.79	−2.83	0	±0
	Republican Left of the Valencian Country–Municipal Agreement (ERPV–AM)	1,070	0.26	+0.10	0	±0
	Spain 2000 (E–2000)	775	0.19	±0.00	0	±0
	For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	650	0.16	New	0	±0
	Movement for Change and Liberties (MpCL)	546	0.13	New	0	±0
	Social Democratic Party (PSD)	539	0.13	New	0	±0
	Ordinary Citizens (CiCa)	504	0.12	New	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	370	0.09	New	0	±0
	United for Valencia (UxV)	369	0.09	New	0	±0
	National Democracy (DN)	255	0.06	New	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	213	0.05	−0.02	0	±0
	The Greens of Europe (LVdE)	0	0.00	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		5,644	1.36	−0.27
Total		414,982			33	±0
Valid votes		414,982	99.56	−0.16
Invalid votes		1,820	0.44	+0.16
Votes cast / turnout		416,802	68.42	−0.08
Abstentions		192,419	31.58	+0.08
Registered voters		609,221
Sources [24] [25] [26]
Footnotes: 1 Socialist Party of the Valencian Country results are compared to the combined totals of Socialist Party of the Valencian Country and Valencian Nationalist Bloc–Green Left in the 2003 election. 2 United Left–The Greens–Republican Left: Municipal Agreement results are compared to the combined totals of United Left–Valencian Left: Agreement and The Greens of the Valencian Country in the 2003 election.

Popular vote

PP			56.67%
PSPV–PSOE			33.78%
EUPV–V–IR			4.77%
CVa			1.35%
Others			2.07%
Blank ballots			1.36%

Seats

PP			63.64%
PSPV–PSOE			36.36%

Aftermath

Investiture
Ballot →		16 June 2007
Required majority →		17 out of 33
	Rita Barberá (PP) • PP (21)	21 / 33	Y
	Carmen Alborch (PSPV) • PSPV (12)	12 / 33	N
	Blank ballots	0 / 33
	Absentees	0 / 33
Sources [24] [27]

Notes

1. Results for PSPV–PSOE (30.8%, 12 seats) and Bloc–EV (2.6%, 0 seats) in the 2003 election.
2. Results for Entesa (7.3%, 2 seats) and EV–LV (0.8%, 0 seats) in the 2003 election.
3. Within PSPV–PSOE.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Un sondeo propio otorga a Barberá una holgada mayoría absoluta". ABC (in Spanish). 21 May 2007.
2. "Barberá empataría con PSPV-EU y Sentandreu tendría la llave del gobierno local de Valencia". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 21 May 2007.
3. "El PP se crece en Madrid y Valencia y el PSOE amarra Barcelona y Sevilla". El País (in Spanish). 21 May 2007.
4. "Barberá mantiene la mayoría sin signos de fatiga en sus votantes". El País (in Spanish). 21 May 2007.
5. "Elecciones 27-M / Sondeo El Mundo-Sigma Dos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 12 May 2007.
6. "Barberá gobernaría por un solo concejal". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 15 April 2007.
7. "Barberá no afloja y roza ya los veinte concejales". ABC (in Spanish). 12 March 2007.
8. "Foto fija en Valencia". ABC (in Spanish). 3 May 2007.
9. "Rita Barberá sigue "intratable" según los sondeos internos de los populares". ABC (in Spanish). 12 February 2007.
10. "El PP revalidaría su mayoría absoluta en Valencia y "robaría" un concejal al PSPV". ABC (in Spanish). 13 December 2006.
11. "Rubio revela una encuesta que sitúa al PSPV como el preferido por los jóvenes". El País (in Spanish). 24 June 2006.
12. "Una encuesta del PSPV refleja que el PP repetiría mayoría absoluta en Valencia". ABC (in Spanish). 16 January 2006.
13. "Un sondeo del PP revela que Barberá volvería a tener mayoría absoluta". El País (in Spanish). 17 December 2005.
14. "Barberá fideliza electores y revalidaría hoy en Valencia su amplia mayoría absoluta Una encuesta interna del PP apunta que el PSOE perdería uno o dos ediles en favor de EU". ABC (in Spanish). 17 December 2005.
15. "Una encuesta del PP da la mayoría a Barberá con el 53% de votos y quita uno o dos ediles al PSPV". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 17 December 2005.

Other

1. Constitution (1978) , art. 140.
2. LBRL (1985) , art. 19.
3. LBRL (1985) , arts. 121–132.
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 444/2007, de 2 de abril, por el que se convocan elecciones locales y a las Asambleas de Ceuta y Melilla, para el 27 de mayo de 2007 (PDF) (Royal Decree 444/2007). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 2 April 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
13. LOREG (1985) , arts. 44 & 187.
14. LOREG (1985) , art. 44 bis.
15. Ferrandis, Joaquín (11 June 2005). "Barberá anuncia que repetirá como candidata a la alcaldía de Valencia en las elecciones de 2007". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
16. "La ex ministra Alborch, candidata socialista a la alcaldía de Valencia" (in Spanish). Valencia: Cadena SER. EFE. 12 June 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
17. Barcala, Diego (28 February 2007). "El Bloc negocia con el PSPV un pacto electoral en Valencia". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
18. Arabí, Francesc (17 April 2007). "El Bloc acepta el 15 en la lista de Alborch y hará campaña propia". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
19. M., R. (12 July 2006). "EU evita al Bloc en Valencia ciudad y concurrirá en solitario en las elecciones de 2007". ABC (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
20. Bono, Ferran (14 January 2007). "El 77% de los militantes de EU aprueba el pacto con el Bloc para desbancar al PP". El País (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
21. G. Llagües, José Luis (21 July 2006). "UV anuncia hoy la candidatura de Lizondo-Sánchez a la alcaldía de Valencia". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
22. "Unió Valenciana se coaliga con la Unión de Centro Liberal y ecopacifistas para superar el listón electoral del 5%" (in Spanish). Valencia: Europa Press. 6 April 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
23. "CV dice que las "exigencias" de UV imposibilitan alcanzar un acuerdo para las elecciones de 2007" (in Spanish). Valencia: Europa Press. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
24. Lozano, Carles. "Eleccions municipals a València (des de 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Catalan). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
25. "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
26. "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.
27. Velert, Sara (17 June 2007). "Rita Barberá acentúa su apuesta por la Valencia de los grandes eventos". El País. Valencia. Retrieved 9 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 13 April 2007]. 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 20 April 2007]. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 4 November 2025.