2019 Valencia City Council election

Last updated
2019 Valencia City Council election
Flag of the Valencian Community (2x3).svg
  2015 26 May 2019 2023  

All 33 seats in the City Council of Valencia
17 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Registered586,624 Increase2.svg 0.7%
Turnout389,057 (66.3%)
Decrease2.svg 5.8 pp
 First partySecond partyThird party
  (Joan Ribo) Acte Central Valencia 2019 (47615023012) (cropped bis).jpg Maria Jose Catala (2011) (cropped).jpg Sandra Gomez en 2017 (cropped).jpg
Leader Joan Ribó María José Catalá Sandra Gómez
Party Compromís PP PSPV–PSOE
Leader since7 May 201012 January 201914 October 2018
Last election9 seats, 23.3%10 seats, 25.8%5 seats, 14.0%
Seats won1087
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1Decrease2.svg 2Increase2.svg 2
Popular vote106,43084,49174,848
Percentage27.4%21.8%19.3%
SwingIncrease2.svg 4.1 pp Decrease2.svg 4.0 pp Increase2.svg 5.3 pp

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  FGG.retrato.200300 (cropped).JPG Portrait placeholder.svg (Maria Oliver) Sera per diners Como aportar a VLCencomu Maria Oliver (cropped bis).jpg
Leader Fernando Giner José Gosálbez María Oliver
Party Cs Vox Podem–EUPV
Leader since28 March 201521 April 201927 November 2018
Last election6 seats, 15.4%0 seats, 0.8%3 seats, 14.5% [a]
Seats won620
Seat changeSteady2.svg 0Increase2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 3
Popular vote68,29328,13916,176
Percentage17.6%7.3%4.2%
SwingIncrease2.svg 2.2 pp Increase2.svg 6.5 pp Decrease2.svg 10.3 pp

Mayor before election

Joan Ribó
Compromís

Elected mayor

Joan Ribó
Compromís

A municipal election was held in Valencia on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 11th City Council of the municipality. All 33 seats in the City Council were up for election. It was held concurrently with regional elections in twelve autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 2019 European Parliament election.

Contents

The election saw the Coalició Compromís of incumbent mayor Joan Ribó score its first electoral win in the city in history, with the opposition People's Party (PP) under former regional minister María José Catalá scoring its worst result since 1987. This was also the first election since 1987 without the presence of Rita Barberá, the former PP mayor between 1991 and 2015 who had died in November 2016. The Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE) recovered somewhat and clung into third place with 19.3% and 7 councillors. The election also resulted in a stagnation for the liberal Citizens (Cs), the entry of the far-right Vox party for the first time and the Unidas Podemos alliance—comprising both Podemos and United Left of the Valencian Country (EUPV)—not reaching the minimum five percent threshold to be entitled to seat allocation.

With the left-from-centre parties—Compromís and PSOE—securing an overall majority of seats against the combined PP–Cs–Vox bloc, Ribó was able to be re-elected for a second term in office as city mayor.

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]

PopulationCouncillors
<1003
101–2505
251–1,0007
1,001–2,0009
2,001–5,00011
5,001–10,00013
10,001–20,00017
20,001–50,00021
50,001–100,00025
>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 24 May 2015, setting the date for election day on Sunday, 26 May 2019.

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 2 April 2019 with the publication of the corresponding decree in the BOE, setting election day for 26 May. [12]

Outgoing council

The table below shows the composition of the political groups in the local assembly at the time of the election call. [13] [14]

Council composition in April 2019
GroupsPartiesCouncillors
SeatsTotal
People's Municipal Group PP 1010
Commitment to Valencia Municipal Group Compromís 99
Citizens Municipal Group Cs 55
Socialist Municipal Group PSPV–PSOE 55
Valencia in Common Municipal Group Podemos 33
Non-Inscrits INDEP 1 [b] 1

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. [16] 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. [17]

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

CandidacyParties and
alliances
Leading candidateIdeologyPrevious resultGov.Ref.
Vote %Seats
PP
List
Maria Jose Catala (2011) (cropped).jpg María José Catalá Conservatism
Christian democracy
25.8%10Dark Red x.svg [18]
Compromís (Joan Ribo) Acte Central Valencia 2019 (47615023012) (cropped bis).jpg Joan Ribó Valencianism
Progressivism
Green politics
23.3%9Check-green.svg [19]
[20]
Cs FGG.retrato.200300 (cropped).JPG Fernando Giner Liberalism 15.4%6Dark Red x.svg [21]
PSPV–PSOE Sandra Gomez en 2017 (cropped).jpg Sandra Gómez Social democracy 14.0%5Check-green.svg [22]
[23]
[24]
Podem–EUPV (Maria Oliver) Sera per diners Como aportar a VLCencomu Maria Oliver (cropped bis).jpg María Oliver Left-wing populism
Direct democracy
Democratic socialism

14.5%
[a]
3Check-green.svg [25]
Vox
List
Portrait placeholder.svg José Gosálbez Right-wing populism
Ultranationalism
National conservatism
0.8%0Dark Red x.svg [26]

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:

  Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls

Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.

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.

Preferred Mayor

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

Results

Summary of the 26 May 2019 City Council of Valencia election results
ValenciaCouncilDiagram2019.svg
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%±pp Total+/−
Commitment to Valencia: Municipal Commitment (Compromís Municipal)106,43027.44+4.1410+1
People's Party (PP)84,49121.78−3.998−2
Socialist Party of the Valencian Country (PSPV–PSOE)74,84819.30+5.307+2
Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs)68,29317.61+2.206±0
Vox (Vox)28,1397.25+6.452+2
United We Can–United Left (PodemEUPV)116,1764.17−10.360−3
Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA)3,2090.83−0.250±0
We Are Valencian in Movement (UiG–Som–CUIDES)1,3980.36−0.350±0
Forward–The Eco-pacifist Greens (Avant)6870.18+0.050±0
With You, We Are Democracy (Contigo)5130.13New0±0
Democratic People (Poble)3550.09−0.600±0
Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE)2760.07−0.040±0
Republican Left of the Valencian Country–Municipal Agreement (ERPV–AM)2700.07New0±0
For a Fairer World (PUM+J)1840.05New0±0
At Once Valencian Community (aUna CV)1640.04New0±0
Acting With You–Party for the Society (ACPS)1570.04New0±0
Blank Seats (EB)1350.03−0.160±0
Spanish Phalanx of the CNSO (FE–JONS)1260.03New0±0
Valencian Democrats (DV)1180.03New0±0
Libertarian Party (P–LIB)1150.03−0.020±0
Centered Progressives Coalition (UPyDCCD)21100.03−1.350±0
Let's Go (VMS)900.02New0±0
Republican Alternative (ALTER)630.02New0±0
Blank ballots1,5260.39−0.71
Total387,87333±0
Valid votes387,87399.70+0.52
Invalid votes1,1840.30−0.52
Votes cast / turnout389,05766.32−5.80
Abstentions197,56733.68+5.80
Registered voters586,624
Sources [13] [28] [29]
Footnotes:
Popular vote
Compromís
27.44%
PP
21.78%
PSPV–PSOE
19.30%
Cs
17.61%
Vox
7.25%
Podem–EUPV
4.17%
Others
2.05%
Blank ballots
0.39%
Seats
Compromís
30.30%
PP
24.24%
PSPV–PSOE
21.21%
Cs
18.18%
Vox
6.06%

Aftermath

Investiture
Ballot →15 June 2019
Required majority →17 out of 33
17 / 33
Yes check.svg
8 / 33
X mark.svg
  • Cs (6)
6 / 33
X mark.svg
José Gosálbez (Vox)
2 / 33
X mark.svg
Blank ballots
0 / 33
Absentees
0 / 33
Sources [13] [30]

Notes

References

Opinion poll sources
  1. "Ajustada victoria de la izquierda en el Ayuntamiento de València con ventaja mínima de Compromís sobre el PSOE, según el sondeo en exclusiva de SyM Consulting". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 26 May 2019.
  2. "#emojiPanel Ayto Valencia (24M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 24 May 2019.
  3. "#emojiPanel Ayto Valencia (22M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 23 May 2019.
  4. "#emojiPanel Ayto de Valencia (22M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 22 May 2019.
  5. "#emojiPanel Ayto Valencia (21M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 21 May 2019.
  6. "Encuesta GIPEyOP: Europeas y Locales 2019". GIPEyOP (in Spanish). 20 May 2019.
  7. "El PSOE se reforzaría en Valencia, Zaragoza y Sevilla pese al auge de Cs y la irrupción de Vox". Público (in Spanish). 20 May 2019.
  8. "#emojiPanel Ayuntamiento de Valencia (20M)". Electomanía (in Spanish). 20 May 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Compromís y PSOE podrían gobernar solos". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 18 May 2019.
  10. "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (19M): la izquierda consolida su dominio. Lucha PSOE-Compromis por la alcaldía". Electomanía (in Spanish). 19 May 2019.
  11. "Compromís y PSOE podrían gobernar solos". El Mundo (in Spanish). 18 May 2019.
  12. "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (16M): Compromís sube, deshace el empate y alcanza la absoluta con PSOE y Vlc En Comú". Electomanía (in Spanish). 16 May 2019.
  13. "El PSOE logra el 'sorpasso' a Compromís y podrían gobernar sin Podemos". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 18 May 2019.
  14. "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (13M): mascletá electoral con cuatro empatados en la primera plaza". Electomanía (in Spanish). 13 May 2019.
  15. "La izquierda revalidará la alcaldía de Valencia con un pulso entre Ribó y Gómez". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 12 May 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 "Holgada mayoría de la izquierda en València con el PSOE como más votado". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). 19 May 2019.
  17. "La izquierda podría repetir gobierno en Valencia". El País (in Spanish). 19 May 2019.
  18. "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (10M): Compromis, PSOE, Cs y PP siguen empatados". Electomanía (in Spanish). 10 May 2019.
  19. "Sondeo: empate técnico entre PSPV y Compromís por el Ayuntamiento de València". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). 11 May 2019.
  20. "#electoPanel Ayto Valencia (7M): Cuádruple empate a concejales Compromis-Cs-PSOE-PP". Electomanía (in Spanish). 7 May 2019.
  21. 1 2 "Estimaciones de voto en Comunidades Autónomas y grandes ciudades (Estudio nº 3245. Marzo-abril 2019)". CIS (in Spanish). 9 May 2019.
  22. "Macrobarómetro de abril 2019. Preelectoral elecciones al Parlamento Europeo, autonómicas y municipales 2019. Ficha técnica (Estudio nº 3245. Marzo-abril 2019)". CIS (in Spanish). 9 May 2019.
  23. "ElectoPanel municipal (12A): muchas ciudades pendientes de un concejal". Electomanía (in Spanish). 12 April 2019.
  24. "ElectoPanel municipales (4A): Madrid en Pie no consigue entrar en el Ayuntamiento". Electomanía (in Spanish). 4 April 2019.
  25. "ElectoPanel Municipales (28M). Mayorías ajustadas en varias ciudades". Electomanía (in Spanish). 28 March 2019.
  26. "ElectoPanel para municipales (21M): situación estable en la última semana". Electomanía (in Spanish). 21 March 2019.
  27. "Especial Valencia: la izquierda en apuros para mantener la alcaldía". Electomanía (in Spanish). 19 March 2019.
  28. "ElectoPanel grandes áreas metropolitanas 14M: la izquierda resiste en Valencia, Madrid se le escapa a Carmena". Electomanía (in Spanish). 14 March 2019.
  29. "ElectoPanel municipal: distintas mayorías posibles y mucha igualdad en varias ciudades". Electomanía (in Spanish). 7 March 2019.
  30. "Las derechas suman mayoría absoluta y Vox supera ya a Ciudadanos en València según el sondeo de El Periódico de Aquí". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 8 March 2019.
  31. "Sondeo: empate en València con Català (PP) y Gómez (PSPV) como alcaldables". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). 22 January 2019.
  32. 1 2 "Un sondeo de Compromís garantiza a Ribó la alcaldía de Valencia con Cs por encima del PP". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 24 January 2019.
  33. "PP y Ciudadanos rozarían la mayoría absoluta en València y Vox lograría 3 ediles". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 3 January 2019.
  34. "Sondeo València: El PSOE arrasa y es la fuerza más votada y Vox, a las puertas de lograr representación". El Periódico de Aquí (in Spanish). 2 November 2018.
  35. 1 2 "Baròmetre municipal d'opinió ciutadana. Maig 2018" (PDF). City Council of Valencia (in Catalan). 29 May 2018.
  36. "VALENCIA. Elecciones municipales. Encuesta Sonmerca para el Ayuntamiento de Valencia. Mayo 2018". Electográfica (in Spanish). 29 May 2018.
  37. "Cs sobrepasa al PP y alcanza a Compromís en número de concejales". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 13 May 2018.
  38. "Ribó sería hoy el más votado pero perdería la Alcaldía por la suma de PP y Ciudadanos". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 18 February 2018.
  39. "Ribó y sus socios mantienen apoyos tras dos años de gestión". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 14 May 2017.
  40. "Baròmetre municipal d'opinió ciutadana. Març 2017" (PDF). City Council of Valencia (in Catalan). 11 April 2017.
Other
  1. Constitution (1978) , art. 140.
  2. 1 2 3 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 209/2019, de 1 de abril, por el que se convocan elecciones locales y a las Asambleas de Ceuta y Melilla para el 26 de mayo de 2019 (PDF) (Royal Decree 209/2019). Official State Gazette (in Spanish). 1 April 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Lozano, Carles. "Eleccions municipals a València (des de 1979)". Historia Electoral.com (in Catalan). Retrieved 4 November 2025.
  14. "Organización municipal. Pleno del Ayuntamiento. Los grupos políticos municipales. Corporación 2015-2019". City Council of Valencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  15. Navarro Castelló, Carlos (30 November 2018). "Ciudadanos suspende de militancia a la concejala de València María Dolores Jiménez". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  16. LOREG (1985) , arts. 44 & 187.
  17. LOREG (1985) , art. 44 bis.
  18. "María José Catalá será la candidata del PP a la alcaldía de Valencia". El Confidencial (in Spanish). EFE. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  19. Toledo, Cristóbal (1 October 2018). "Las primarias de Compromís, una carrera para elegir al relevo de Ribó". El Mundo (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  20. Navarro Castelló, Carlos (14 February 2019). "Ribó presenta su candidatura a la alcaldía de València por Compromís para reeditar el bloque de izquierdas". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  21. Gozalbo, Marta (9 March 2019). "Fernando Giner, candidato oficial de Ciudadanos a la Alcaldía de València". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  22. Romero, Víctor (4 February 2018). "Sandra Gómez gana las primarias del PSOE en Valencia y asesta una derrota a Ábalos". El Confidencial (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  23. "Sandra Gómez presenta 158 avales para ser candidata del PSPV a la Alcaldía de València en 2019". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). Valencia. Europa Press. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  24. "Sandra Gómez, arropada por Sánchez en su proclamación". Levante-EMV (in Spanish). EFE. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  25. Plaza, Pablo (27 November 2018). "María Oliver barre en las primarias y será la candidata de Podem a la Alcaldía de València". Valencia Plaza (in Spanish). Valencia. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  26. "El abogado de Vox José Gosálbez, candidato a la Alcaldía de Valencia". El Mundo (in Spanish). Valencia. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  27. "VALENCIA. Elecciones municipales. Encuesta SigmaDos para Las Provincias. Abril 2018". Electográfica (in Spanish). 13 May 2018.
  28. "Elecciones celebradas. Resultados electorales" (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior . Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  29. "Resolución de 17 de septiembre de 2019, de la Presidencia de la Junta Electoral Central, por la que se procede a la publicación del resumen de los resultados de las elecciones locales convocadas por Real Decreto 209/2019, de 1 de abril, y celebradas el 26 de mayo de 2019, según los datos que figuran en las actas de proclamación remitidas por cada una de las Juntas Electorales de Zona. Provincias: Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid, Zamora, Zaragoza, Ceuta y Melilla" (PDF). Official State Gazette (in Spanish) (235): 107354–107854. 30 September 2019. ISSN   0212-033X . Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  30. Guadalajara, Mar (15 June 2019). "Joan Ribó, alcalde de Valencia". Las Provincias. Valencia. Retrieved 9 November 2025.

Bibliography