# 2007 Aragonese regional election

The 2007 Aragonese regional election was held on Sunday, 27 May 2007, to elect the 7th Cortes of the autonomous community of Aragon. All 67 seats in the Cortes were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in 12 other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which had ruled Aragon since the 1999 election, saw an increase of three seats and obtained its best result since the 1983 election in terms of votes received. The People's Party (PP) also managed to slightly increase its vote share and gained one seat. On the other hand, the Aragonese Union (CHA) lost ground for the first time, losing 5 of its 9 seats and falling behind the Aragonese Party (PAR), which regained third place and increased its vote share for the first time since the 1987 election. United Left (IU) held its single seat and increased its vote share for the first time since 1995.
The PSOE and PAR renewed their coalition administration for a third consecutive time, resulting in Marcelino Iglesias being re-elected as regional President for a third term in office.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Cortes of Aragon were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Aragon, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Aragonese Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Aragon and in full enjoyment of their political rights.
The 67 members of the Cortes of Aragon were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied in each constituency. Seats were allocated to constituencies, corresponding to the provinces of Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza, with each being allocated an initial minimum of 13 seats and the remaining 28 being distributed in proportion to their populations (provided that the seat-to-population ratio in the most populated province did not exceed 2.75 times that of the least populated one).
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Cortes constituency was entitled the following seats:
| Seats | Constituencies |
| 35 | Zaragoza |
| 18 | Huesca |
| 14 | Teruel |
In smaller constituencies, the use of the electoral method resulted in an effective threshold based on the district magnitude and the distribution of votes among candidacies.

### Election date

After legal amendments in 2007, fixed-term mandates were abolished, instead allowing the term of the Cortes of Aragon to expire after an early dissolution. The election decree was required to be issued no later than the twenty-fifth day prior to the date of expiry of parliament and published on the following day in the Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 25 May 2003, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 25 May 2007. The election decree was required to be published in the BOA no later than 1 May 2007, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Cortes on Sunday, 24 June 2007.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Aragon 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 Cortes were to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.
The election to the Cortes of Aragon was officially triggered on 3 April 2007 after the publication of the election decree in the BOA, setting the election date for 27 May and scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 21 June.

## Parliamentary composition

The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the General Junta at the time of the election call.
Parliamentary composition in April 2007 :
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Legislators | Legislators |
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Seats | Total |
| | Socialist Parliamentary Group | | PSOE | 27 | 27 |
| | People's Parliamentary Group | | PP | 22 | 22 |
| | Aragonese Union Parliamentary Group | | CHA | 9 | 9 |
| | Aragonese Parliamentary Group | | PAR | 8 | 8 |
| | Mixed Parliamentary Group | | IU | 1 | 1 |

## 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 | Leading candidate | Leading candidate | Ideology | Previous result | Previous result | Gov. | Ref. |
| Candidacy | Candidacy | Parties and alliances | Leading candidate | Leading candidate | Ideology | Votes (%) | Seats | Gov. | Ref. |
| | PSOE | List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | | Marcelino Iglesias | Social democracy | 37.94% | 27 | Y | |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | Gustavo Alcalde | Conservatism Christian democracy | 30.73% | 22 | N | |
| | CHA | List Aragonese Union (CHA) | | Chesús Bernal | Aragonese nationalism Eco-socialism | 13.71% | 9 | N | |
| | PAR | List Aragonese Party (PAR) | | José Ángel Biel | Regionalism Centrism | 11.18% | 8 | Y | |
| | IU | List United Left of Aragon (IU) | | Adolfo Barrena | Socialism Communism | 3.06% | 1 | N | |

## 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; 34 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Aragon.

#### Color key

Exit poll
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | | | | | | Lead |
| 2007 regional election | 27 May 2007 | — | 66.5 | 41.1 30 | 31.1 23 | 8.1 4 | 12.1 9 | 4.1 1 | 10.0 |
| Ipsos/RTVE–FORTA | 27 May 2007 | ? | ? | ? 31/34 | ? 20/23 | ? 4/5 | ? 6/7 | ? 2/3 | ? |
| C&J/El Periódico | 20 May 2007 | ? | ? | 39.4 27 | 34.0 23 | 10.9 7 | 12.7 9 | 3.0 1 | 5.4 |
| A+M/Heraldo de Aragón | 20 May 2007 | ? | ? | 37.8 26 | 33.1 23 | 11.0 8 | 12.8 9 | 3.6 1 | 4.7 |
| Celeste-Tel/Terra | 9–15 May 2007 | ? | ? | 41.2 29/30 | 28.4 21/22 | 11.5 7 | 10.6 8 | 4.2 1 | 12.8 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 27 Apr–8 May 2007 | 850 | ? | 41.4 28/30 | 32.0 22/24 | 10.9 7 | 9.3 7 | 3.4 1 | 9.4 |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | ? | 42.0 30/31 | 27.9 21 | 11.9 6/7 | 10.7 8 | 4.3 1 | 14.1 |
| A+M/DGA | 3–11 Feb 2007 | 2,586 | 67.0 | 36.1 27 | 31.0 23 | 15.8 8 | 11.8 8 | 4.2 1 | 5.1 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 16–24 Nov 2006 | ? | ? | ? 27/29 | ? 24/26 | ? 6 | ? 7 | ? 1 | ? |
| 2004 EP election | 13 Jun 2004 | — | 47.3 | 45.8 (33) | 40.0 (30) | 6.1 (3) | 2.9 (0) | 3.1 (1) | 5.8 |
| 2004 general election | 14 Mar 2004 | — | 77.0 | 41.3 (31) | 36.5 (27) | 12.1 (6) | 4.7 (3) | 2.8 (0) | 4.8 |
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | — | 70.4 | 37.9 27 | 30.7 22 | 13.7 9 | 11.2 8 | 3.1 1 | 7.2 |

### Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | ? | N | Lead |
| 2007 regional election | 27 May 2007 | — | 27.7 | 21.0 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 2.8 | — | 32.0 | 6.7 |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 24.5 | 11.2 | 3.3 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 41.6 | 10.6 | 13.3 |
| A+M/DGA | 3–11 Feb 2007 | 2,586 | 24.2 | 16.6 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 29.6 | 11.5 | 7.6 |
| 2004 EP election | 13 Jun 2004 | — | 21.8 | 19.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 1.5 | — | 52.1 | 2.7 |
| 2004 general election | 14 Mar 2004 | — | 32.0 | 28.3 | 9.4 | 3.6 | 2.2 | — | 22.0 | 3.7 |
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | — | 26.9 | 21.8 | 9.7 | 7.9 | 2.2 | — | 28.7 | 5.1 |

### Victory preferences

The table below lists opinion polling on the victory preferences for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | Other/ None | ? | Lead |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 36.3 | 16.6 | 4.5 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 9.4 | 24.8 | 19.7 |

### Victory likelihood

The table below lists opinion polling on the perceived likelihood of victory for each party in the event of a regional election taking place.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | Other/ None | ? | Lead |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 53.7 | 8.0 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 35.2 | 45.7 |

### Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Government of Aragon.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | Other/ None/ Not care | ? | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Iglesias PSOE | Alcalde PP | Bernal CHA | Biel PAR | Barrena IU | Other/ None/ Not care | ? | Lead |
| CIS | 9 Apr–6 May 2007 | 1,538 | 37.0 | 11.4 | 3.9 | 7.2 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 37.0 | 25.6 |
| A+M/DGA | 3–11 Feb 2007 | 2,586 | 35.8 | 10.9 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 38.8 | 24.9 |

## Results
### Overall

← Summary of the 27 May 2007 Cortes of Aragon election results → :
| Parties and alliances | Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote | Seats | Seats |
| Parties and alliances | Parties and alliances | Votes | % | ±pp | Total | +/− |
| | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 276,415 | 41.14 | +3.20 | 30 | +3 |
| | People's Party (PP) | 208,642 | 31.06 | +0.33 | 23 | +1 |
| | Aragonese Party (PAR) | 81,135 | 12.08 | +0.90 | 9 | +1 |
| | Aragonese Union (CHA) | 54,752 | 8.15 | –5.56 | 4 | –5 |
| | United Left of Aragon (IU) | 27,440 | 4.08 | +1.02 | 1 | ±0 |
| | The Greens–Federation of Independents of Aragon (LV–FIA)$^1$ | 4,417 | 0.66 | +0.06 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Aragon United Citizens Party (pCUA) | 2,463 | 0.37 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 1,105 | 0.16 | –0.02 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Humanist Party (PH) | 577 | 0.09 | +0.04 | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 14,890 | 2.22 | +0.13 | | |
| Total | Total | 671,836 | | | 67 | ±0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 671,836 | 99.31 | –0.05 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 4,655 | 0.69 | +0.05 | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 676,491 | 66.51 | –3.85 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 340,594 | 33.49 | +3.85 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 1,017,085 | | | | |
| Sources |||||||
| 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
41.14%
PP
31.06%
PAR
12.08%
CHA
8.15%
IU
4.08%
Others
1.27%
Blank ballots
2.22% :
Seats
PSOE
44.78%
PP
34.33%
PAR
13.43%
CHA
5.97%
IU
1.49% :

### Distribution by constituency

| Constituency | PSOE | PSOE | PP | PP | PAR | PAR | CHA | CHA | IU | IU |
| Constituency | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S | % | S |
| Huesca | 44.3 | 9 | 29.2 | 6 | 12.7 | 2 | 7.5 | 1 | 3.1 | − |
| Teruel | 36.1 | 6 | 31.1 | 5 | 19.1 | 3 | 5.9 | − | 5.0 | − |
| Zaragoza | 41.2 | 15 | 31.5 | 12 | 10.6 | 4 | 8.7 | 3 | 4.2 | 1 |
| Total | 41.1 | 30 | 31.1 | 23 | 12.1 | 9 | 8.1 | 4 | 4.1 | 1 |
| Sources |||||||||||

## Aftermath

Investiture Marcelino Iglesias (PSOE) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 5 July 2007 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 34 out of 67 Y |
| | Yes • PSOE (30) • PAR (9) | 39 / 67 |
| | No • PP (23) • CHA (4) • IU (1) | 28 / 67 |
| | Abstentions | 0 / 67 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 67 |
| Sources |||