# 2019 Canarian regional election

The 2019 Canarian regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 10th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. All 70 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in eleven other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain, as well as the 2019 European Parliament election.
The election saw the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) under Ángel Víctor Torres becoming the largest force in the islands. Together with New Canaries (NCa), the Yes We Can Canaries alliance led by Podemos and the Gomera Socialist Group (ASG), Torres was able to become regional president, sending Canarian Coalition (CCa) into opposition for the first time since 1993. Support for the People's Party (PP) shrunk, with the party obtaining its worst result since 1991.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Parliament of the Canary Islands was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Canarian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. Voting for the Parliament was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Canary Islands and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Canarians abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).
The 70 members of the Parliament of the Canary Islands were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of 15 percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Alternatively, parties could also enter the seat distribution as long as they reached four percent regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the islands of El Hierro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, La Palma, Lanzarote and Tenerife, as well as an additional constituency comprising the whole archipelago, with each being allocated a fixed number of seats:
| Seats | Constituencies |
| 15 | Gran Canaria, Tenerife |
| 9 | Regional |
| 8 | Fuerteventura$^{(+1)}$, La Palma, Lanzarote |
| 4 | La Gomera |
| 3 | El Hierro |

### Election date

The term of the Parliament of the Canary Islands expired four years after the date of its previous election, with elections to the Parliament being fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 24 May 2015, setting the election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 26 May 2019.
After legal amendments in 2018, the president was granted the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of the Canary Islands and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process and that dissolution did not occur before one year had elapsed since the previous one. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called. Any snap election held as a result of these circumstances would not alter the period to the next ordinary election, with elected deputies merely serving out what remained of their four-year terms.
The election to the Parliament of the Canary Islands was officially triggered on 2 April 2019 after the publication of the election decree in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC).

## Parties and candidates

The electoral law allowed for parties and federations registered in the interior ministry, coalitions and groupings of electors to present lists of candidates. Parties and federations intending to form a coalition 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 at least one percent of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from signing for more than one list of candidates.
Below is a list of the main parties and electoral alliances which contested the election:
| Candidacy | Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Candidate | Candidate | Ideology | Previous result | Previous result | Gov. | Ref. |
| Candidacy | Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Candidate | Candidate | Ideology | Votes (%) | Seats | Gov. | Ref. |
| | CCa–PNC | List Canarian Coalition (CCa) Canarian Nationalist Party (PNC) Independent Herrenian Group (AHI) United for Gran Canaria (UxGC) | | Fernando Clavijo | Regionalism Canarian nationalism Centrism | 21.84% | 18 | Y | [6] [7] |
| | PSOE | List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | | Ángel Víctor Torres | Social democracy | 19.89% | 15 | N | [8] [9] |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | Asier Antona | Conservatism Christian democracy | 18.59% | 12 | N | [10] [11] |
| | Podemos– SSP–Equo | List We Can (Podemos) Yes We Can (SSP) Equo (Equo) | | Noemí Santana | Left-wing populism Direct democracy Democratic socialism | 14.54% | 7 | N | [12] [13] |
| | NCa | List New Canaries (NCa) Municipal Assemblies of Fuerteventura (AMF) | | Román Rodríguez | Canarian nationalism Social democracy | 10.39% | 5 | N | |
| | Cs | List Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | | Vidina Espino | Liberalism | 5.94% | 0 | N | |
| | ASG | List Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) | | Casimiro Curbelo | Insularism Social democracy | 0.56% | 3 | N | |
| | Vox | List Vox (Vox) | | Carmelo González | Right-wing populism Ultranationalism National conservatism | 0.20% | 0 | N | |

## Campaign
### Election debates

2019 Canarian regional election debates :
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited | P Present  NI Not invited |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | CCa–PNC | PSOE | PP | USP | NCa | Cs | Audience | Ref. |
| 10 May | Cadena SER | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez | P Clavijo | P Torres | P Antona | P Santana | P Rodríguez | P Espino | — | |
| 15 May | RTVC | Roberto González Pilar Rumeu | P Clavijo | P Torres | P Antona | P Santana | P Rodríguez | NI | 6.1% (46,000) | [18] [19] |
| 23 May | RTVE | Nayra Santana | P Clavijo | P Torres | P Antona | P Santana | P Rodríguez | P Espino | N/A | |
| 24 May | COPE | Mayer Trujillo | P Clavijo | P Torres | P Antona | P Santana | P Rodríguez | P Espino | — | |

## Opinion polls

The table below lists voting intention estimates 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. When available, seat projections determined by the polling organisations are displayed below (or in place of) the percentages in a smaller font; 36 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of the Canary Islands (31 until 6 November 2018).

### Color key

Poll conducted after legal ban on opinion polls  Exit poll
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | | | | | | | | | | | | Lead |
| 2019 regional election | 26 May 2019 | — | 52.6 | 28.9 25 | 15.2 11 | 21.9 20 | 8.8 4 | 9.0 5 | 7.4 2 | | 1.0 0 | 0.7 3 | 2.5 0 | – | 7.0 |
| GfK/FORTA | 26 May 2019 | ? | ? | 29.5 23/26 | 13.8 10/12 | 19.7 16/18 | 12.4 6/7 | 7.8 4/5 | 7.9 3/4 | | – | 0.7 2/3 | ? 0 | – | 9.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 22–23 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.6 22 | 13.5 9 | 17.5 15 | 12.6 7 | 11.3 6 | 12.9 8 | | – | 0.4 3 | 3.6 0 | – | 7.1 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 21–22 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.8 23 | 13.6 9 | 17.7 15 | 12.4 7 | 11.2 6 | 12.6 8 | | – | 0.4 2 | 3.5 0 | – | 7.1 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 20–21 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.9 23 | 13.5 9 | 17.6 15 | 12.5 7 | 11.0 6 | 12.5 8 | | – | 0.4 2 | 3.6 0 | – | 7.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 19–20 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.9 24 | 13.8 10 | 17.7 15 | 12.3 7 | 10.9 4 | 12.6 8 | | – | 0.4 2 | 3.5 0 | – | 7.2 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 19 May 2019 | ? | ? | 26.2 20/24 | 13.1 9/12 | ? 12/16 | ? 6/9 | ? 4/7 | ? 6/9 | | – | ? 2/3 | ? 0 | – | ? |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 16–19 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.7 23 | 14.0 10 | 17.9 15 | 12.1 7 | 10.5 4 | 12.9 8 | | – | 0.4 3 | 3.5 0 | – | 6.8 |
| Hamalgama Métrica/La Provincia | 5–17 May 2019 | 2,400 | ? | 25.3 19/25 | 13.9 8/9 | 18.3 14/19 | 13.5 6/8 | 9.9 4/7 | 10.6 4/8 | | – | 0.3 2/3 | 4.7 0/4 | – | 7.0 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 13–16 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.8 24 | 15.1 11 | 18.6 16 | 11.1 6 | 9.7 4 | 13.5 7 | | – | 0.4 2 | 3.9 0 | – | 6.2 |
| TSA/Canarias7 | 29 Apr–14 May 2019 | 2,659 | ? | 25.7 21/27 | 11.8 7/11 | 16.7 13/18 | 13.8 7/9 | 11.1 6/9 | 10.6 7 | | – | 0.4 2/3 | 3.2 0 | – | 9.0 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 10–13 May 2019 | ? | ? | 23.7 23 | 15.2 11 | 18.3 16 | 11.2 6 | 9.0 3 | 14.4 8 | | – | 0.3 3 | 4.0 0 | – | 5.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 7–10 May 2019 | ? | ? | 23.6 22 | 14.9 11 | 18.7 16 | 11.2 6 | 8.6 3 | 14.7 9 | | – | 0.4 3 | 4.1 0 | – | 4.9 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 4–7 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.1 22 | 14.7 10 | 18.9 16 | 10.9 6 | 8.5 3 | 15.0 8 | | – | 0.4 3 | 4.5 2 | – | 5.2 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 29 Apr–4 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.3 22 | 14.3 9 | 18.3 16 | 11.0 6 | 8.8 3 | 15.3 9 | | – | 0.4 3 | 4.4 2 | – | 6.0 |
| April 2019 general election | 28 Apr 2019 | — | 62.5 | 27.8 (23) | 15.5 (13) | 13.0 (9) | | 3.4 (0) | 14.7 (9) | – | | – | 6.6 (3) | 15.7 (13) | 12.1 |
| CIS | 21 Mar–23 Apr 2019 | 924 | ? | 27.8 20/23 | 15.9 9/11 | 16.5 12/15 | 11.6 6/8 | 8.2 4/7 | 11.9 6/8 | | – | ? 2/3 | 3.6 0/1 | – | 11.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 31 Mar–7 Apr 2019 | ? | ? | 22.8 19 | 16.3 13 | 17.4 16 | | 13.3 7 | 10.0 5 | | | 0.4 3 | 6.6 2 | 8.9 5 | 5.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 24–31 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 23.0 19 | 15.9 12 | 17.3 16 | | 13.5 7 | 10.3 6 | | | 0.4 3 | 6.7 2 | 8.8 5 | 5.7 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 17–24 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 23.2 20 | 16.3 12 | 17.5 16 | | 13.4 7 | 9.9 5 | | | 0.4 3 | 6.6 2 | 8.7 5 | 5.7 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 10–17 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 22.4 19 | 16.7 13 | 18.0 16 | | 13.1 7 | 9.0 4 | | | 0.5 3 | 7.6 2 | 9.0 6 | 4.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 3–10 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 22.1 20 | 16.4 12 | 18.0 16 | | 13.1 7 | 9.3 4 | | | 0.5 3 | 7.4 2 | 9.1 6 | 4.1 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 22 Feb–3 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 21.9 20 | 16.5 12 | 17.9 16 | | 13.1 7 | 9.5 4 | | | 0.5 3 | 7.1 2 | 9.2 6 | 4.0 |
| SyM Consulting | 3–6 May 2018 | 4,400 | 55.9 | 22.3 14/17 | 7.1 6/9 | 14.8 10/13 | 12.7 6/7 | 11.4 4/5 | 18.5 11/13 | 3.1 0 | 1.6 0 | 0.6 2/3 | – | – | 3.8 |
| PSOE | 29 Apr 2018 | ? | ? | ? 10 | ? 10 | ? 13 | ? 8 | ? 6 | ? 10 | – | – | ? 3 | – | – | ? |
| TSA/Canarias7 | 28 Feb–31 Mar 2018 | 2,995 | ? | 22.6 16/17 | 15.3 7/10 | 15.8 12/14 | 11.9 6 | 13.2 6/7 | 12.6 6/7 | – | – | 0.5 3 | – | – | 6.8 |
| Hamalgama Métrica/La Provincia | 10–25 Aug 2017 | 1,980 | ? | 23.8 18/19 | 20.2 11 | 17.3 15/16 | 14.2 6 | 9.8 4 | 7.0 2 | – | – | ? 3 | – | – | 3.6 |
| 2016 general election | 26 Jun 2016 | — | 59.1 | 22.5 (15) | 34.1 (23) | 8.0 (5) | | | 12.0 (6) | – | | – | 0.1 (0) | 20.3 (11) | 11.6 |
| 2015 general election | 20 Dec 2015 | — | 60.3 | 22.0 (16) | 28.5 (19) | 8.2 (6) | 23.3 (12) | | 11.4 (7) | – | 3.1 (0) | – | 0.2 (0) | – | 6.5 |
| 2015 regional election | 24 May 2015 | — | 56.1 | 19.9 15 | 18.6 12 | 18.2 18 | 14.5 7 | 10.2 5 | 5.9 0 | 3.6 0 | 2.2 0 | 0.6 3 | 0.2 0 | – | 1.3 |

## Results
### Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 2019 Parliament of the Canary Islands election results → :
| Parties and alliances | Parties and alliances | Island constituencies | Island constituencies | Island constituencies | Regional constituency | Regional constituency | Regional constituency | Seats | Seats |
| Parties and alliances | Parties and alliances | Votes | % | ±pp | Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− |
| | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 258,255 | 28.88 | +8.99 | 264,221 | 29.53 | n/a | 25 | +10 |
| | Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party–United (CCa–PNC)$^1$ | 196,080 | 21.93 | +0.09 | 209,150 | 23.37 | n/a | 20 | +2 |
| | People's Party (PP) | 135,722 | 15.18 | –3.41 | 130,617 | 14.60 | n/a | 11 | –1 |
| | New Canaries (NCa)$^2$ | 80,891 | 9.05 | –1.34 | 82,980 | 9.27 | n/a | 5 | ±0 |
| | Yes We Can Canaries (Podemos–SSP–Equo)$^3$ | 78,532 | 8.78 | –5.76 | 76,433 | 8.54 | n/a | 4 | –3 |
| | Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | 65,854 | 7.36 | +1.42 | 62,115 | 6.94 | n/a | 2 | +2 |
| | Vox (Vox) | 22,078 | 2.47 | +2.27 | 22,178 | 2.48 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 10,029 | 1.12 | –0.11 | 12,166 | 1.36 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Canarian United Left (IUC)$^4$ | 9,115 | 1.02 | –1.18 | 8,598 | 0.96 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Gomera Socialist Group (ASG) | 6,222 | 0.70 | +0.14 | — | — | n/a | 3 | ±0 |
| | The Greens–Green Group (LV–GV) | 5,058 | 0.57 | New | 6,263 | 0.70 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Canaries Now (ANC–UP)$^5$ | 2,515 | 0.28 | –0.34 | 3,163 | 0.35 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | More for Telde (+xT) | 1,985 | 0.22 | –0.15 | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Tenerife Socialist Group (ASTf) | 1,512 | 0.17 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Santa Cruz Common Sense (SCSC) | 1,379 | 0.15 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Nivaria (Nivaria) | 1,153 | 0.13 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Communist Party of the Canarian People (PCPC) | 989 | 0.11 | –0.09 | 1,200 | 0.13 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | With You, We Are Democracy (Contigo) | 970 | 0.11 | New | 794 | 0.09 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Fuerteventura Party (PF) | 954 | 0.11 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Seniors in Action (3e en acción) | 911 | 0.10 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | United for Lanzarote (UPLanzarote) | 657 | 0.07 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 575 | 0.06 | –0.14 | 979 | 0.11 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Democratic Union of the Canary Islands (UDC) | 522 | 0.06 | New | 1,248 | 0.14 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Let's Vote Fuerteventura (Votemos) | 387 | 0.04 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Humanist Party (PH) | 337 | 0.04 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Canaries for Progress (Ci–Progreso) | 263 | 0.03 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Federation Free Socialist Party (PSLF) | 224 | 0.03 | New | — | — | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Movement for the Unity of the Canarian People (MUPC) | — | — | –0.19 | 782 | 0.09 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Union of Independent Citizens (UCIN) | — | — | New | 450 | 0.05 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| | Libertarian Party (P–LIB) | — | — | New | 436 | 0.05 | n/a | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 11,111 | 1.24 | –0.59 | 11,089 | 1.24 | n/a | | |
| Total | Total | 894,280 | | | 894,862 | | | 70 | +10 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 894,280 | 98.88 | +0.68 | 894,862 | 98.98 | n/a | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 10,089 | 1.12 | –0.68 | 9,231 | 1.02 | n/a | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 904,369 | 52.59 | –3.50 | 904,093 | 52.54 | n/a | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 815,227 | 47.41 | +3.50 | 816,631 | 47.46 | n/a | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 1,719,596 | | | 1,720,724 | | | | |
| Sources ||||||||||
| Footnotes: $^1$ Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party–United results are compared to the combined totals of Canarian Coalition–Canarian Nationalist Party and United in the 2015 election.$^2$ New Canaries results are compared to the combined totals of New Canaries and Municipal Assemblies of Fuerteventura in the 2015 election.$^3$ Yes We Can Canaries results are compared to We Can totals in the 2015 election.$^4$ Canarian United Left results are compared to Canaries Decides totals in the 2015 election.$^5$ Canaries Now results are compared to Canarian Nationalist Alternative totals in the 2015 election. ||||||||||
Popular vote (island constituencies)
PSOE
28.88%
CCa–PNC
21.93%
PP
15.18%
NCa
9.05%
SPC
8.78%
Cs
7.36%
Vox
2.47%
PACMA
1.12%
IUC
1.02%
ASG
0.70%
Others
2.28%
Blank ballots
1.24% :
Popular vote (regional constituency)
PSOE
29.53%
CCa–PNC
23.37%
PP
14.60%
NCa
9.27%
SPC
8.54%
Cs
6.94%
Vox
2.48%
PACMA
1.36%
Others
2.67%
Blank ballots
1.24% :
Seats
PSOE
35.71%
CCa–PNC
28.57%
PP
15.71%
NCa
7.04%
SPC
5.71%
ASG
4.29%
Cs
2.86% :

### Distribution by constituency

| Constituency | PSOE | PSOE | CC–PNC | CC–PNC | PP | PP | NCa | NCa | SPC | SPC | Cs | Cs | ASG | ASG |
| Constituency | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S |
| El Hierro | 31.5 | 1 | 35.4 | 1 | 18.2 | 1 | 5.0 | − | | | 3.7 | − | | |
| Fuerteventura | 26.0 | 3 | 25.1 | 3 | 13.8 | 1 | 11.2 | 1 | 7.0 | − | 5.7 | − | | |
| Gran Canaria | 28.3 | 5 | 11.7 | 2 | 16.5 | 3 | 17.7 | 3 | 8.9 | 1 | 8.9 | 1 | | |
| La Gomera | 20.7 | 1 | 9.1 | − | 4.4 | − | 4.0 | − | 6.6 | − | 1.7 | − | 52.1 | 3 |
| La Palma | 27.2 | 3 | 30.9 | 3 | 25.0 | 2 | 3.7 | − | 4.2 | − | 3.2 | − | | |
| Lanzarote | 28.4 | 3 | 32.0 | 3 | 12.7 | 1 | 5.3 | − | 8.1 | 1 | 5.6 | − | | |
| Tenerife | 30.2 | 6 | 29.2 | 5 | 13.5 | 2 | 2.0 | − | 9.6 | 1 | 7.0 | 1 | | |
| Regional | 29.5 | 3 | 23.4 | 3 | 14.6 | 1 | 9.3 | 1 | 8.5 | 1 | 6.9 | − | | |
| Total | 28.9 | 25 | 21.9 | 20 | 15.2 | 11 | 9.0 | 5 | 8.8 | 4 | 7.4 | 2 | 0.7 | 3 |

## Aftermath

Investiture Ángel Víctor Torres (PSOE) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 12 July 2019 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 36 out of 70 Y |
| | Yes • PSOE (25) • NCa (5) • Podemos–SSP–Equo (4) • ASG (3) | 37 / 70 |
| | No • CCa–PNC (20) • PP (11) • Cs (2) | 33 / 70 |
| | Abstentions | 0 / 70 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 70 |
| Sources |||