2007 Zaragoza municipal election

2007 Zaragoza municipal election

←  2003 27 May 2007 2011  →
All 31 seats in the City Council of Zaragoza 16 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	508,643 1.3%
Turnout	305,722 (60.1%) 6.1 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Juan Alberto Belloch Domingo Buesa Antonio Gaspar Party PSOE PP CHA Leader since 27 June 1998 19 July 2006 1999 Last election 12 seats, 33.9% 11 seats, 32.7% 6 seats, 18.3% Seats won 13 12 3 Seat change 1 1 3 Popular vote 115,723 103,191 29,230 Percentage 38.1% 33.9% 9.6% Swing 4.2 pp 1.2 pp 8.7 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader José Ángel Biel José Miguel Alonso Party PAR IU Leader since 26 October 2006 2 December 2006 Last election 2 seats, 7.0% 0 seats, 4.0% Seats won 2 1 Seat change 0 1 Popular vote 25,410 16,148 Percentage 8.4% 5.3% Swing 1.4 pp 1.3 pp
Mayor before election Juan Alberto Belloch PSOE Elected mayor Juan Alberto Belloch PSOE

A municipal election was held in Zaragoza on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 8th City Council of the municipality. All 31 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 Zaragoza, the top-tier administrative and governing body was the City Council of Zaragoza. ^[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 Zaragoza 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 Zaragoza, 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
	PSOE	List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)		Juan Alberto Belloch	Social democracy	33.9%	12		[15]
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Domingo Buesa	Conservatism Christian democracy	32.7%	11		[16] [17]
	CHA	List Aragonese Union (CHA)		Antonio Gaspar	Aragonese nationalism Eco-socialism	18.3%	6		[18]
	PAR	List Aragonese Party (PAR)		José Ángel Biel	Regionalism Centrism	7.0%	2		[19]
	IU	List United Left of Aragon (IU) – Communist Party of Aragon (PCE–A) – Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR)		José Miguel Alonso	Socialism Communism	4.0%	0		[20]

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; 16 seats were required for an absolute majority in the City Council of Zaragoza.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size	Turnout						Lead
2007 municipal election	27 May 2007	—	60.1	38.1 13	33.9 12	9.6 3	8.4 2	5.3 1	4.2
Opina/Cadena SER [p 1] [p 2]	15 May 2007	800	?	40.0 13/14	36.0 12	17.0 5/6	? 0/1	? 0	4.0
C&J/El Periódico [a] [p 3]	7–12 May 2007	?	65.7	36.2 12	35.3 11	12.9 4	13.1 4	2.4 0	0.9
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 4] [p 5]	2–9 May 2007	400	?	36.5 12/13	36.3 12/13	14.1 4/5	6.3 2	4.4 0	0.2
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 6]	13 Oct 2005	?	?	35.1 12	35.7 12	16.2 5	? 2	? 0	0.6
2004 EP election	13 Jun 2004	—	45.3	45.0 (16)	39.2 (13)	7.5 (2)	2.2 (0)	4.0 (0)	5.8
2004 general election	14 Mar 2004	—	77.9	39.3 (14)	34.9 (12)	16.1 (5)	3.5 (0)	3.1 (0)	4.4
2003 municipal election	25 May 2003	—	66.2	33.9 12	32.7 11	18.3 6	7.0 2	4.0 0	1.2

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size						?	N	Lead
2007 municipal election	27 May 2007	—	22.8	20.3	5.7	5.0	3.2	—	39.9	2.5
C&J/El Periódico [p 3]	7–12 May 2007	?	23.8 12	23.2 11	8.5 4	8.6 4	1.6 0	34.3	–	0.6
2004 EP election	13 Jun 2004	—	20.3	17.7	3.4	1.0	1.8	—	54.7	2.6
2004 general election	14 Mar 2004	—	30.4	27.0	12.5	2.7	2.4	—	22.1	3.4
2003 municipal election	25 May 2003	—	22.3	21.5	12.1	4.6	2.6	—	33.8	0.8

Results

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

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	115,723	38.06	+4.16	13	+1
	People's Party (PP)	103,191	33.94	+1.28	12	+1
	Aragonese Union (CHA)	29,230	9.61	−8.73	3	−3
	Aragonese Party (PAR)	25,410	8.36	+1.37	2	±0
	United Left of Aragon (IU)	16,148	5.31	+1.34	1	+1
	The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon (LV–FIA)1	2,078	0.68	−0.03	0	±0
	Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA)	1,192	0.39	New	0	±0
	Anti-Bullfighting Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)	916	0.30	New	0	±0
	Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL)	525	0.17	New	0	±0
	For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	521	0.17	New	0	±0
	Family and Life Party (PFyV)	455	0.15	−0.07	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	241	0.08	+0.01	0	±0
Blank ballots		8,415	2.77	+0.25
Total		304,045			31	±0
Valid votes		304,045	99.45	+0.01
Invalid votes		1,677	0.55	−0.01
Votes cast / turnout		305,722	60.11	−6.08
Abstentions		202,921	39.89	+6.08
Registered voters		508,643
Sources [21] [22] [23]
Footnotes: 1 The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon results are compared to The Greens–SOS Nature totals in the 2003 election.

Popular vote

PSOE			38.06%
PP			33.94%
CHA			9.61%
PAR			8.36%
IU			5.31%
Others			1.95%
Blank ballots			2.77%

Seats

PSOE			41.94%
PP			38.71%
CHA			9.68%
PAR			6.45%
IU			3.23%

Notes

1. Undecided and/or abstentionists excluded.

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "El PSOE de Belloch mantendría su mayoría en Zaragoza". Cadena SER (in Spanish). 18 May 2007.
2. "Informe Zaragoza. Mayo 2007". Opina (in Spanish). 18 May 2007.
3. "Belloch podrá repetir y escoger socio de gobierno entre CHA o PAR". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 20 May 2007.
4. "Sigma Dos: Los ayuntamientos de las grandes ciudades no cambiarían de manos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 14 May 2007.
5. "Elecciones 27-M / Sondeo El Mundo-Sigma Dos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 12 May 2007.
6. "El PP supera en intención de voto al PSOE en Zaragoza, según un sondeo". ABC (in Spanish). 13 October 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. "Los partidos aragoneses calientan motores a seis meses de las elecciones" (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 19 November 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
16. "Buesa liderará la lista del PP en Zaragoza". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 8 July 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
17. Mendal, Héctor (19 July 2006). "El Partido Popular propone a Domingo Buesa como candidato al Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza". Aragón Digital (in Spanish). Zaragoza. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
18. "La ejecutiva de CHA propone a Gaspar para la Alcaldía de Zaragoza". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 1 November 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
19. "Biel quiere ser alcalde de Zaragoza". 20 minutos (in Spanish). Zaragoza. 27 October 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
20. Abadía Jiménez, María (2 December 2006). "Adolfo Barrena y José Manuel Alonso serán los candidatos de IU a las Cortes y al Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza". Aragón Digital (in Spanish). Zaragoza. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
21. Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones municipales en Zaragoza (desde 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
22. "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
23. "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.

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.