2011 Zaragoza municipal election

2011 Zaragoza municipal election

←  2007 22 May 2011 2015  →
All 31 seats in the City Council of Zaragoza 16 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered	496,062 2.5%
Turnout	323,083 (65.1%) 5.0 pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Eloy Suárez Juan Alberto Belloch Juan Martín Expósito Party PP PSOE CHA Leader since 3 December 2010 27 June 1998 2011 Last election 12 seats, 33.9% 13 seats, 38.1% 3 seats, 9.6% Seats won 15 10 3 Seat change 3 3 0 Popular vote 131,350 86,395 29,402 Percentage 41.3% 27.1% 9.2% Swing 7.4 pp 11.0 pp 0.4 pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader José Miguel Alonso Rosario Santos Party IU PAR Leader since 2 December 2006 2011 Last election 1 seat, 5.3% 2 seats, 8.4% Seats won 3 0 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 25,197 14,455 Percentage 7.9% 4.5% Swing 2.6 pp 3.9 pp
Mayor before election Juan Alberto Belloch PSOE Elected mayor Juan Alberto Belloch PSOE

A municipal election was held in Zaragoza on Sunday, 22 May 2011, to elect the 9th 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 (amended for smaller municipalities in 2011): ^[7]

Population	Councillors
<100	3
101–250	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 27 May 2007, setting the date for election day on Sunday, 22 May 2011.

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 29 March 2011 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 22 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] Additionally, a balanced composition of men and women was required 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	38.1%	13		[15]
	PP	List People's Party (PP)		Eloy Suárez	Conservatism Christian democracy	33.9%	12
	CHA	List Aragonese Union (CHA)		Juan Martín Expósito	Aragonese nationalism Eco-socialism	9.6%	3
	PAR	List Aragonese Party (PAR)		Rosario Santos	Regionalism Centrism	8.4%	2
	IU	List United Left of Aragon (IU) – Communist Party of Aragon (PCE–A) – Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR) – Republican Left (IR)		José Miguel Alonso	Socialism Communism	5.3%	1
	UPyD	List Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)		Javier Puy	Social liberalism Radical centrism	Did not contest

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
2011 municipal election	22 May 2011	—	65.1	27.1 10	41.3 15	9.2 3	4.5 0	7.9 3	3.6 0	14.2
Ikerfel/Vocento [p 1]	14 May 2011	700	?	? 10/11	? 12/13	? 3/4	? 1/2	? 2	–	?
Iacom/El Periódico [p 2]	14 May 2011	?	?	32.6 11/12	38.2 13	9.9 3	8.1 2	5.8 1/2	–	5.6
TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3 [p 3]	10 May 2011	?	?	30.5 11/12	39.6 13/14	8.3 2/3	8.9 2/3	7.2 2	–	9.1
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 4] [p 5] [p 6]	25 Apr–4 May 2011	1,250	?	35.4 12/13	39.0 12/13	8.8 3	5.2 1	7.1 2	–	3.6
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 7]	24 Apr 2011	?	68.5	35.4 12	36.0 13	9.7 3	5.5 1	7.6 2	–	0.6
Sigma Dos/El Mundo [p 8]	15–18 Apr 2011	400	?	33.8 11/12	40.7 14/15	9.8 3	5.3 1	5.4 1	–	6.9
CIS [p 9] [p 10]	17 Mar–17 Apr 2011	546	?	32.5 11	35.7 12	11.1 4	8.4 3	5.5 1	1.8 0	3.2
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 11] [p 12]	20–28 Jan 2011	1,000	?	37.7 13	37.6 12	10.5 3	5.2 1	7.0 2	–	0.1
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 13] [p 14]	13 Oct 2010	?	67.5	38.1 13	32.9 11	10.5 3	8.0 2	7.4 2	–	5.2
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 15] [p 16]	5–19 Apr 2010	800	69.5	39.6 13 14	32.9 11 12	9.8 3 3	7.9 2 2	6.0 2 2	–	6.7
Noxa/PSOE [p 17] [p 18]	18–23 Feb 2010	1,000	?	39.2 13	33.1 11	8.7 2/3	8.3 2/3	6.3 1/2	3.7 0	6.1
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 19]	16–27 Nov 2009	800	?	37.5 13 14	35.5 12/13 12/13	? 3 3	? 2 2/3	5.0 0/1 0/1	–	2.0
2009 EP election	7 Jun 2009	—	46.2	42.5 (16)	40.7 (15)	3.0 (0)	–	4.2 (0)	4.3 (0)	1.8
A+M/Heraldo de Aragón [p 20]	23 Apr 2009	?	?	? 12/13	? 12/13	? 3	? 2	? 1/2	–	Tie
2008 general election	9 Mar 2008	—	76.5	46.0 (16)	36.8 (13)	6.0 (2)	3.8 (0)	3.2 (0)	1.5 (0)	9.2
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

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size							?	N	Lead
2011 municipal election	22 May 2011	—	17.4	26.5	5.9	2.9	5.1	2.3	—	34.9	9.1
Iacom/El Periódico [p 2]	14 May 2011	?	20.0	23.3	5.9	4.9	3.6	–	39.0	–	3.3
CIS [p 9]	17 Mar–17 Apr 2011	546	16.8	16.3	4.0	2.0	2.6	1.1	40.1	13.2	0.5
2009 EP election	7 Jun 2009	—	19.5	18.7	1.4	–	1.9	2.0	—	53.9	0.8
2008 general election	9 Mar 2008	—	35.0	28.1	4.6	2.9	2.4	1.1	—	23.5	6.9
2007 municipal election	27 May 2007	—	22.8	20.3	5.7	5.0	3.2	–	—	39.9	2.5

Preferred Mayor

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

Polling firm/Commissioner	Fieldwork date	Sample size							Other/ None/ Not care	?	Lead
			Belloch PSOE	Suárez PP	Expósito CHA	Blasco PAR	Alonso IU	Puy UPyD
CIS [p 9]	17 Mar–17 Apr 2011	546	23.6	14.5	1.5	0.9	1.5	1.1	6.4	50.5	9.1

Results

← Summary of the 22 May 2011 City Council of Zaragoza election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote			Seats
		Votes	%	±pp	Total	+/−
	People's Party (PP)	131,350	41.26	+7.32	15	+3
	Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)	86,395	27.14	−10.92	10	−3
	Aragonese Union (CHA)	29,402	9.24	−0.37	3	±0
	United Left of Aragon (IU)	25,197	7.92	+2.61	3	+2
	Aragonese Party (PAR)	14,455	4.54	−3.82	0	−2
	Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD)	11,401	3.58	New	0	±0
	Greens–Ecolo (V–Ecolo)1	1,577	0.50	−0.18	0	±0
	The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV)	1,505	0.47	New	0	±0
	Commitment with Aragon (CCA)	1,058	0.33	New	0	±0
	Anti-Bullfighting Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)	1,051	0.33	+0.03	0	±0
	For a Fairer World (PUM+J)	587	0.18	+0.01	0	±0
	Aragonese Land (TA)	499	0.16	New	0	±0
	Federation of Independents of Aragon (FIA)	466	0.15	New	0	±0
	Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA)	465	0.15	−0.24	0	±0
	Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)	384	0.12	New	0	±0
	Family and Life Party (PFyV)	301	0.09	−0.06	0	±0
	Humanist Party (PH)	271	0.09	+0.01	0	±0
	Spanish Alternative (AES)	235	0.07	New	0	±0
	Liberal Democratic Centre (CDL)	178	0.06	−0.11	0	±0
	The Independent Voice of Aragon (L'VIA)	158	0.05	New	0	±0
Blank ballots		11,380	3.58	+0.81
Total		318,315			31	±0
Valid votes		318,315	98.52	−0.93
Invalid votes		4,768	1.48	+0.93
Votes cast / turnout		323,083	65.13	+5.02
Abstentions		172,979	34.87	−5.02
Registered voters		496,062
Sources [16] [17] [18]
Footnotes: 1 Greens–Ecolo results are compared to The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon totals in the 2007 election.

Popular vote

PP			41.26%
PSOE			27.14%
CHA			9.24%
IU			7.92%
PAR			4.54%
UPyD			3.58%
Others			2.74%
Blank ballots			3.58%

Seats

PP			48.39%
PSOE			32.26%
CHA			9.68%
IU			9.68%

References

Opinion poll sources

1. "Sondeos municipales (Grupo Vocento)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 14 May 2011. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011.
2. "Para gobernar, Belloch no tiene otra salida que ir a un tripartito". Electómetro (in Spanish). 14 May 2011.
3. "El PP sería el partido más votado en Zaragoza". Antena 3 (in Spanish). 10 May 2011.
4. "El PP ganaría en Zaragoza, pero no lograría gobernar". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 7 May 2011.
5. "PP ganaría las elecciones municipales pero no conseguiría desbancar a Belloch de la Alcaldía, según una encuesta". 20 minutos (in Spanish). 7 May 2011.
6. "El PP ganaría en Zaragoza pero no gobernaría (Heraldo de Aragón)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 7 May 2011.
7. "El PP ganaría al PSOE, pero Belloch podría seguir si pacta con CHA e IU". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 24 April 2011.
8. "Mayoría absoluta reñida en Zaragoza (El Mundo)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 7 May 2011.
9. "Preelectoral elecciones autonómicas y municipales, 2011. Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón y Ciudad de Zaragoza (Estudio nº 2870. Marzo-Abril 2011)". CIS (in Spanish). 5 May 2011.
10. "Rajoy se vuelca a por su billete a la Moncloa". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 6 May 2011.
11. "Sondeo elecciones 2011 en Aragón". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 10 February 2011.
12. "El PSOE vence por dos centésimas al PP en Zaragoza (Heraldo de Aragón)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 7 February 2011.
13. "Belloch podría elegir socio para ser alcalde". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 13 October 2010.
14. "El PSOE mantiene su hegemonía en Zaragoza (Heraldo de Aragón)". Electómetro (in Spanish). 13 October 2010.
15. "Belloch podría repetir y mantener su juego de pactos". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 24 April 2010.
16. "El PSOE mantiene 6 puntos de ventaja al PP en Zaragoza según un sondeo publicado en el Heraldo de Aragón". Electómetro (in Spanish). 24 April 2010.
17. "Belloch ganaría de nuevo las elecciones, mientras que el PP perdería un concejal, según una encuesta". Europa Press (in Spanish). 11 April 2010.
18. "El PSOE sería el partido más votado en el Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, según un estudio de Noxa Consulting". Electómetro (in Spanish). 13 April 2010.
19. "Belloch podría repetir y optar por un pacto con PAR o CHA". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 6 December 2009.
20. "Belloch tendría problemas en Zaragoza, Ferrer en Teruel y Elboj aguantaría por los pelos la Alcaldía de Huesca". Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 23 April 2009.

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 424/2011, de 28 de marzo, por el que se convocan elecciones locales y a las Asambleas de Ceuta y Melilla para el 22 de mayo de 2011 (PDF) (Royal Decree 424/2011). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 28 March 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
13. LOREG (1985) , arts. 44 & 187.
14. LOREG (1985) , art. 44 bis.
15. "Belloch es ratificado candidato a la alcaldía de Zaragoza por unanimidad". El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 5 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
16. Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones municipales en Zaragoza (desde 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
17. "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
18. "Acuerdo de 30 de junio de 2011, 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 424/2011, de 28 de marzo, y celebradas el 22 de mayo de 2011, según los datos que figuran en las actas de proclamación remitidas por cada una de las Juntas Electorales de Zona. Provincias: Salamanca, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Segovia, Sevilla, Soria, Tarragona, Teruel, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid, Vizcaya, Zamora, Zaragoza, Ceuta y Melilla" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish) (181): 86078–86708. 29 July 2011. 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 5 March 2011]. 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 30 April 2011]. BOE-A-1985-11672. Retrieved 4 November 2025.