# 2003 Murcian regional election

The 2003 Murcian regional election was held on Sunday, 25 May 2003, to elect the 6th Regional Assembly of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia. All 45 seats in the Regional Assembly were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Regional Assembly of Murcia was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Murcia, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Murcian Statute of Autonomy, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president.
Voting for the Regional Assembly was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in the Region of Murcia and in full enjoyment of their political rights. The 45 members of the Regional Assembly of Murcia were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with an electoral threshold of five percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally. Seats were allocated to constituencies, which were established by law as follows:
* District One (comprising the municipalities of Lorca, Aguilas, Puerto Lumbreras, Totana, Alhama de Murcia, Librilla, Aledo and Mazarrón).
* District Two (comprising the municipalities of Cartagena, La Unión, Fuente Alamo de Murcia, Torre-Pacheco, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar and Los Alcázares).
* District Three (comprising the municipalities of Murcia, Alcantarilla, Beniel, Molina de Segura, Alguazas, Las Torres de Cotillas, Lorquí, Ceutí, Cieza, Abarán, Blanca, Archena, Ricote, Ulea, Villanueva del Río Segura, Ojós, Fortuna, Abanilla and Santomera).
* District Four (comprising the municipalities of Caravaca, Cehegín, Calasparra, Moratalla, Bullas, Pliego, Mula, Albudeite and Campos del Río).
* District Five (comprising the municipalities of Yecla and Jumilla).
Each constituency was entitled to an initial minimum of one seat, with the remaining 40 allocated among the constituencies in proportion to their populations.

### Election date

The term of the Regional Assembly of Murcia expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Regional Assembly were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 13 June 1999, setting the election date for the Regional Assembly on Sunday, 25 May 2003.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Regional Assembly of Murcia and call a snap election, provided that no motion of no confidence was in process, no nationwide election was due and some time requirements were met: namely, that dissolution did not occur either during the first legislative session or within the legislature's last year ahead of its scheduled expiry, nor before one year had elapsed since a previous dissolution under this procedure. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the Regional Assembly 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.

## 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 Region of Murcia, 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. |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | Ramón Luis Valcárcel | Conservatism Christian democracy | 52.84% | 26 | Y | |
| | PSOE | List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | | Ramón Ortiz | Social democracy | 35.91% | 18 | N | |
| | IURM | List United Left of the Region of Murcia (IURM) | | Cayetano Jaime Moltó | Socialism Communism | 7.00% | 1 | N | |

## 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; 23 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Regional Assembly of Murcia.

### Color key

Exit poll
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | | | | Lead |
| 2003 regional election | 25 May 2003 | — | 70.0 | 56.7 28 | 34.1 16 | 5.7 1 | 22.6 |
| Sigma Dos/Antena 3 | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? 24/25 | ? 18/19 | ? 2 | ? |
| Ipsos–Eco/RTVE | 25 May 2003 | ? | ? | ? 26/28 | ? 16/18 | ? 1/2 | ? |
| CIS | 22 Mar–28 Apr 2003 | 1,417 | 71.8 | 49.7 24 | 38.4 19 | 7.7 2 | 11.3 |
| CIS | 9 Sep–9 Oct 2002 | 487 | 72.9 | 51.0 | 35.0 | 5.6 | 16.0 |
| Celeste-Tel | 10–20 Jul 2000 | 977 | ? | 51.9 25 | 33.9 18 | 7.9 2 | 18.0 |
| 2000 general election | 12 Mar 2000 | — | 73.5 | 58.1 | 32.4 | 6.2 | 25.7 |
| 1999 regional election | 13 Jun 1999 | — | 67.7 | 52.8 26 | 35.9 18 | 7.0 1 | 16.9 |

## Results
### Overall

← Summary of the 25 May 2003 Regional Assembly of Murcia 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 | +/− |
| | People's Party (PP) | 367,710 | 56.66 | +3.82 | 28 | +2 |
| | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 221,392 | 34.11 | –1.80 | 16 | –2 |
| | United Left of the Region of Murcia (IURM) | 36,754 | 5.66 | –1.34 | 1 | ±0 |
| | The Greens (LV) | 10,208 | 1.57 | +0.64 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Citizens' Convergence of the South-East (CCSE) | 1,194 | 0.18 | +0.04 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Humanist Party (PH) | 1,063 | 0.16 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Family and Life Party (PFyV) | 392 | 0.06 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | National Democracy–Workers' National Party (DN–PNT)$^1$ | 239 | 0.04 | +0.01 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Democratic and Social Centre (CDS) | 136 | 0.02 | –0.28 | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 9,941 | 1.53 | +0.09 | | |
| Total | Total | 649,029 | | | 45 | ±0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 649,029 | 99.20 | –0.10 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 5,224 | 0.80 | +0.10 | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 654,253 | 69.98 | +2.32 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 280,643 | 30.02 | –2.32 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 934,896 | | | | |
| Sources |||||||
| Footnotes: $^1$ National Democracy–Workers' National Party results are compared to Workers' National Party totals in the 1999 election. |||||||
Popular vote
PP
56.66%
PSOE
34.11%
IURM
5.66%
LV
1.57%
Others
0.47%
Blank ballots
1.53% :
Seats
PP
62.22%
PSOE
35.56%
IURM
2.22% :

### Distribution by constituency

| Constituency | PP | PP | PSOE | PSOE | IURM | IURM |
| Constituency | % | S | % | S | % | S |
| One | 49.1 | 4 | 40.7 | 3 | 7.7 | − |
| Two | 58.2 | 7 | 32.0 | 3 | 5.3 | − |
| Three | 59.8 | 13 | 31.7 | 7 | 4.8 | 1 |
| Four | 50.6 | 2 | 42.1 | 2 | 5.6 | − |
| Five | 50.0 | 2 | 35.0 | 1 | 10.6 | − |
| Total | 56.7 | 28 | 34.1 | 16 | 5.7 | 1 |
| Sources |||||||

## Aftermath

Investiture Ramón Luis Valcárcel (PP) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 26 June 2003 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 23 out of 45 Y |
| | Yes • PP (28) | 28 / 45 |
| | No • IURM (1) | 1 / 45 |
| | Abstentions • PSOE (16) | 16 / 45 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 45 |
| Sources |||