# 2011 Navarrese regional election

The 2011 Navarrese regional election was held on Sunday, 22 May 2011, to elect the 8th Parliament of the Chartered Community of Navarre. All 50 seats in the Parliament were up for election. The election was held simultaneously with regional elections in twelve other autonomous communities and local elections all throughout Spain.
The election was the first since 1987 to see the People's Party (PP) fielding a separate list to that of the Navarrese People's Union (UPN), with the latter having served as the PP's sister party in Navarre since their 1991 agreement. The breakup of this alliance followed a dispute in October 2008 over a parliamentary vote in the Congress of Deputies, in which UPN chose not to support a PP's amendment to the 2009 budget of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government. Concurrently, incumbent president Miguel Sanz had announced his intention not to run for a fifth term in office, being replaced as UPN leader and candidate by mayor of Pamplona Yolanda Barcina.
The election saw UPN remaining the first political party of Navarre, albeit with a diminished result, scoring 34.5% and 19 seats. The Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE) obtained the worst result of its history up until that point, but recovered the second place it had lost in 2007 to Nafarroa Bai (NaBai), which suffered from the abertzale left's legalization by the Constitutional Court of Spain under the Bildu umbrella and an internal split which saw Basque Solidarity (EA) and Assembly (Batzarre) leaving the alliance. Both UPN and the PSN formed a coalition government, electing Barcina as president.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Parliament of Navarre was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the Chartered Community of Navarre, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Reintegration and Enhancement of the Foral Regime of Navarre Law, as well as the ability to vote confidence in or withdraw it from a regional president. Voting was on the basis of universal suffrage, which comprised all nationals over 18 years of age, registered in Navarre and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to the electoral law in 2011 required for Navarrese people abroad to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).
The 50 members of the Parliament of Navarre were elected using the D'Hondt method and a closed list proportional representation, with a threshold of three percent of valid votes—which included blank ballots—being applied regionally.

### Election date

After legal amendments in 2010, fixed-term mandates were abolished, instead allowing the term of the Parliament of Navarre 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 Navarre (BON), with election day taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication. The previous election was held on 27 May 2007, which meant that the legislature's term would have expired on 27 May 2011. The election decree was required to be published no later than 3 May 2011, with the election taking place on the fifty-fourth day from publication, setting the latest possible election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 26 June 2011.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of Navarre 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 three-month period from the election date, the Parliament was to be automatically dissolved and a fresh election called.

## Parliamentary composition

The Parliament of Navarre was officially dissolved on 29 March 2011, after the publication of the dissolution decree in the Official Gazette of Navarre. The table below shows the composition of the parliamentary groups in the Parliament at the time of dissolution.
Parliamentary composition in March 2011 :
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Legislators | Legislators |
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Seats | Total |
| | Navarrese People's Union Parliamentary Group | | UPN | 22 | 22 |
| | Navarre Yes Parliamentary Group | | Aralar | 5 | 12 |
| | Navarre Yes Parliamentary Group | | EA | 4 | 12 |
| | Navarre Yes Parliamentary Group | | EAJ/PNV | 1 | 12 |
| | Navarre Yes Parliamentary Group | | Batzarre | 1 | 12 |
| | Navarre Yes Parliamentary Group | | INDEP | 1 | 12 |
| | Socialists of the Parliament of Navarre Parliamentary Group | | PSN–PSOE | 12 | 12 |
| | Mixed Group | | CDN | 2 | 4 |
| | Mixed Group | | IU | 2 | 4 |

## 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 Navarre, 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. |
| | UPN | List Navarrese People's Union (UPN) | | Yolanda Barcina | Conservatism Christian democracy Regionalism | 42.19% | 22 | Y | [8] [9] |
| | NaBai 2011 | List Aralar (Aralar) Basque Nationalist Party (EAJ/PNV) | | Patxi Zabaleta | Basque nationalism Progressivism | 23.62% | 12 | N | [10] [11] |
| | PSN–PSOE | List Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE) | | Roberto Jiménez | Social democracy | 22.49% | 12 | N | |
| | CDN | List Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN) | | José Andrés Burguete | Christian democracy Regionalism | 4.37% | 2 | N | |
| | I–E (n) | List United Left of Navarre (IUN/NEB) – Communist Party of the Basque Country (PCE/EPK) – Revolutionary Workers' Party (POR) – Republican Left (IR) Assembly (Batzarre) | | José Miguel Nuin | Socialism Communism | 4.35% | 2 | N | |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | Santiago Cervera | Conservatism Christian democracy | New party | New party | N | [12] [13] [14] |
| | Bildu–EA/ AE–EA–A | List Basque Solidarity (EA) Alternative (Alternatiba) Citizens' Time (HG) | | Maiorga Ramírez | Basque independence Abertzale left Socialism | New party | New party | N | [15] [16] |

## 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; 26 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of Navarre.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | | | | CDN | | | | Bildu | Lead |
| 2011 regional election | 22 May 2011 | — | 67.4 | 34.5 19 | 15.4 8 | 15.9 9 | 1.4 0 | 5.7 3 | 7.3 4 | 0.7 0 | 13.3 7 | 18.6 |
| Gizaker/Grupo Noticias | 14 May 2011 | ? | 79.7 | 30.6 16/17 | 17.0 9/10 | 17.9 9/10 | 3.0 0/1 | 5.2 2/3 | 10.0 5 | – | 13.2 6 | 11.7 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 10–12 May 2011 | 400 | ? | 35.3 19/20 | 19.3 10 | 17.8 9/10 | – | 4.0 2 | 11.4 6 | – | 5.4 3 | 16.0 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 3–10 May 2011 | ? | ? | 30.2 18/19 | 19.7 10/11 | 16.9 8/9 | – | ? 2/3 | 17.0 9/10 | – | ? 2 | 10.5 |
| CIES/Diario de Navarra | 26 Apr–6 May 2011 | 1,500 | 68.2 | 35.8 19/20 | 17.3 9/10 | 19.3 10/11 | 2.4 0 | 5.1 2 | 8.7 4/5 | 0.8 0 | 9.2 4/5 | 16.5 |
| TNS Demoscopia/Antena 3 | 5 May 2011 | ? | ? | 33.2 18/19 | 21.5 11/12 | 17.5 9/10 | 3.0 0/1 | 5.2 2/3 | 13.8 7/8 | – | – | 11.7 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 25 Apr 2011 | ? | ? | 31.5 18/20 | ? 10 | ? 9/10 | – | – | 17.8 9/10 | – | – | ? |
| Celeste-Tel/Terra | 13–20 Apr 2011 | 400 | ? | 33.5 17 | 17.6 10 | 17.8 10 | – | 5.1 2 | 9.1 5 | – | 11.8 6 | 15.7 |
| CIS | 17 Mar–17 Apr 2011 | 790 | ? | 29.0 16/17 | 20.7 11/12 | 19.3 11 | 2.6 0 | 7.3 4 | 11.3 6 | 1.1 0 | 3.9 0/2 | 8.3 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 12–15 Apr 2011 | 400 | ? | 32.7 18 | 22.0 12 | 21.5 11/12 | – | 4.3 2 | 12.6 6/7 | – | – | 10.7 |
| Ikerfel/Vocento | 11–13 Apr 2011 | 1,200 | ? | 25.7 14 | 21.1 11 | 21.8 12 | – | 5.2 2 | 13.2 7 | – | 7.8 4 | 3.9 |
| Gizaker/Grupo Noticias | 4–6 Apr 2011 | ? | 75 | 31.6 17 | 15.7 8/9 | 19.9 10/11 | 2.9 0/1 | 4.2 2/3 | 10.1 5 | – | 14.2 6/7 | 11.7 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 23–28 Dec 2010 | 400 | ? | 32.8 18 | 19.6 10/11 | 19.4 10/11 | – | 3.9 2 | 16.4 9 | – | – | 13.2 |
| Ikerfel/Parliament of Navarre | 19–26 Oct 2010 | 1,500 | 69.9 | 34.0 17/18 | 24.1 12/13 | 23.8 12/13 | 1.1 0 | 4.0 2 | 11.0 5 | 0.5 0 | – | 9.9 |
| CIES/UPN | 19 Oct 2010 | ? | ? | ? 18 | ? 12/14 | ? 10/11 | ? 0 | ? 2 | ? 4/5 | – | ? 0/3 | ? |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 24–26 May 2010 | 400 | ? | 26.5 13/14 | 21.5 11/12 | 22.2 11/12 | – | 4.0 2 | 21.6 11/12 | – | – | 4.3 |
| CIES/Parliament of Navarre | 19–27 Oct 2009 | 1,500 | 64.0 | 34.4 18 | 24.2 13 | 23.5 12 | 2.4 0 | 4.3 2 | 9.2 5 | 1.1 0 | – | 10.2 |
| UPN | 30 Sep 2009 | ? | ? | ? 16/17 | ? 14 | ? 12 | ? 0 | ? 1/2 | ? 6/7 | – | – | ? |
| 2009 EP election | 7 Jun 2009 | — | 42.7 | – | 8.8 (5) | 31.5 (17) | – | 3.3 (1) | 37.8 (21) | 2.1 (0) | 11.4 (6) | 6.3 |
| CIES/Diario de Navarra | 13–19 Nov 2008 | 900 | 68 | 32.8 17 | 24.2 12 | 24.9 13 | 3.1 1 | 4.6 2 | 9.5 5 | – | – | 7.9 |
| 2008 general election | 9 Mar 2008 | — | 72.1 | 39.2 (21) | 18.4 (10) | 34.8 (18) | – | 3.3 (1) | | 0.8 (0) | – | 4.4 |
| 2007 regional election | 27 May 2007 | — | 73.8 | 42.2 22 | 23.6 12 | 22.5 12 | 4.4 2 | 4.3 2 | | – | – | 18.6 |

### Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | CDN | | | | Bildu | ? | N | Lead |
| 2011 regional election | 22 May 2011 | — | 23.8 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 0.5 | 9.1 | — | 30.3 | 12.9 |
| Gizaker/Grupo Noticias | 14 May 2011 | ? | 19.9 | 13.1 | 11.5 | – | – | 5.0 | – | 10.2 | – | – | 6.8 |
| CIS | 17 Mar–17 Apr 2011 | 790 | 14.1 | 8.9 | 9.9 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 36.3 | 15.2 | 4.2 |
| Ikerfel/Parliament of Navarre | 19–26 Oct 2010 | 1,500 | 16.7 | 13.7 | 13.4 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 5.3 | 0.3 | – | 27.1 | 12.7 | 3.0 |
| CIES/Parliament of Navarre | 19–27 Oct 2009 | 1,500 | 18.8 | 14.1 | 14.2 | 1.0 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 0.3 | – | 23.9 | 15.3 | 4.6 |
| 2009 EP election | 7 Jun 2009 | — | – | 3.8 | 13.5 | – | 1.4 | 16.4 | 0.9 | 5.0 | — | 56.4 | 2.9 |
| 2008 general election | 9 Mar 2008 | — | 28.6 | 13.5 | 25.2 | – | 2.4 | | 0.6 | – | — | 26.7 | 3.4 |
| 2007 regional election | 27 May 2007 | — | 30.1 | 16.9 | 16.0 | 3.1 | 3.1 | | – | – | — | 24.6 | 13.2 |

### 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 | | | | CDN | | | | Bildu | Other/ None | ? | Lead |
| CIS | 17 Mar–17 Apr 2011 | 790 | 21.3 | 13.3 | 12.2 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 5.2 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 14.0 | 26.9 | 8.0 |

### 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 | | | | CDN | | | | Bildu | Other/ None | ? | Lead |
| CIS | 17 Mar–17 Apr 2011 | 790 | 56.3 | 2.2 | 5.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 8.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 25.8 | 47.6 |

### Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of the Government of Navarre.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | | Other/ None/ Not care | ? | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Barcina UPN | Zabaleta NaBai | Jiménez PSN | Burguete CDN | Nuin I–E (n) | Cervera PP | Other/ None/ Not care | ? | Lead |
| CIS | 17 Mar–17 Apr 2011 | 790 | 26.7 | 12.8 | 10.9 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 11.0 | 33.4 | 13.9 |

## Results

← Summary of the 22 May 2011 Parliament of Navarre 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 | +/− |
| | Navarrese People's Union (UPN) | 111,474 | 34.48 | –7.70 | 19 | –3 |
| | Socialist Party of Navarre (PSN–PSOE) | 51,238 | 15.85 | –6.64 | 9 | –3 |
| | Navarre Yes 2011 (NaBai 2011) | 49,827 | 15.41 | –8.21 | 8 | –4 |
| | Gather–Basque Solidarity–Alternative (Bildu–EA/AE–EA–Alternatiba) | 42,916 | 13.28 | New | 7 | +7 |
| | People's Party (PP) | 23,551 | 7.29 | New | 4 | +4 |
| | Left (I–E (n))$^1$ | 18,457 | 5.71 | +1.36 | 3 | +1 |
| | Convergence of Democrats of Navarre (CDN) | 4,654 | 1.44 | –2.93 | 0 | –2 |
| | Greens of Navarre (VN–NB) | 4,235 | 1.31 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Navarrese Cannabis Representation (RCN/NOK) | 3,166 | 0.98 | –0.45 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD) | 2,212 | 0.68 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Initiative for Navarre (IxN) | 1,332 | 0.41 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Internationalist Solidarity and Self-Management (SAIn) | 1,054 | 0.33 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Navarrese and Spanish Right (DNE) | 977 | 0.30 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 8,161 | 2.52 | +1.14 | | |
| Total | Total | 323,254 | | | 50 | ±0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 323,254 | 98.77 | +4.03 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 4,027 | 1.23 | –4.03 | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 327,281 | 67.43 | –6.36 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 158,105 | 32.57 | +6.36 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 485,386 | | | | |
| Sources |||||||
| Footnotes: $^1$ Left results are compared to United Left of Navarre totals in the 2007 election. |||||||
Popular vote
UPN
34.48%
PSN–PSOE
15.85%
NaBai 2011
15.41%
Bildu
13.28%
PP
7.29%
I–E (n)
5.71%
CDN
1.44%
VN–NB
1.31%
Others
2.70%
Blank ballots
2.52% :
Seats
UPN
38.00%
PSN–PSOE
18.00%
NaBai 2011
16.00%
Bildu
14.00%
PP
8.00%
I–E (n)
6.00% :

## Aftermath
### Government formation

After legal amendments in 2010, investiture processes to elect the president of the Government of Navarre required for an absolute majority—more than half the votes cast—to be obtained in the first ballot. If unsuccessful, a new ballot would be held 24 hours later requiring only of a simple majority—more affirmative than negative votes—to succeed. If such majorities were not achieved, successive candidate proposals would be processed under the same procedure. In the event of the investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a three-month period from the election date, the Parliament would be automatically dissolved and a snap election called.
Investiture Yolanda Barcina (UPN) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 23 June 2011 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 26 out of 50 Y |
| | Yes • UPN (19) • PSN (9) | 28 / 50 |
| | No • NaBai (8) • Bildu (7) • PP (4) • I–E (n) (3) | 22 / 50 |
| | Abstentions | 0 / 50 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 50 |
| Sources |||

### 2013 motion of no confidence

Motion of no confidence Juan Carlos Longás (NaBai) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 18 April 2013 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 26 out of 50 N |
| | Yes • Bildu (7) • Aralar–NaBai (6) • I–E (n) (3) • GBai (2) | 18 / 50 |
| | No • UPN (19) • PP (4) | 23 / 50 |
| | Abstentions • PSN (9) | 9 / 50 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 50 |
| Sources |||