# 2019 Castilian-Manchegan regional election

The 2019 Castilian-Manchegan regional election was held on Sunday, 26 May 2019, to elect the 10th Cortes of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. All 33 seats in the Cortes 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.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha were the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Castilian-Manchegan 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 Castilla–La Mancha and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Additionally, Castilian-Manchegan people abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote, a system known as "begged" or expat vote (Spanish: Voto rogado).
The 33 members of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha 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 Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara and Toledo, with each being allocated an initial minimum of three seats and the remaining 18 being distributed in proportion to their populations.
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Cortes constituency was entitled the following seats:
| Seats | Constituencies |
| 9 | Toledo |
| 7 | Albacete, Ciudad Real |
| 5 | Cuenca, Guadalajara |
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

The term of the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha expired four years after the date of their previous election. Elections to the Cortes were 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 Cortes on Sunday, 26 May 2019.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha 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. 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. In the event of an investiture process failing to elect a regional president within a two-month period from the first ballot, the candidate from the party with the highest number of seats was to be deemed automatically elected.
The election to the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha were officially triggered on 2 April 2019 after the publication of the election decree in the Official Journal of Castilla–La Mancha (DOCM), scheduling for the chamber to convene on 19 June.

## Parliamentary composition

The tables below show the composition of the parliamentary groups in the Cortes at the time of dissolution.
Parliamentary composition in April 2019 :
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Legislators | Legislators |
| Groups | Groups | Parties | Parties | Seats | Total |
| | People's Parliamentary Group | | PP | 16 | 16 |
| | Socialist Parliamentary Group | | PSOE | 15 | 15 |
| | We Can Parliamentary Group | | Podemos | 2 | 2 |

## 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. |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | Francisco Núñez | Conservatism Christian democracy | 37.49% | 16 | N | |
| | PSOE | List Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | | Emiliano García-Page | Social democracy | 36.11% | 15 | Y | |
| | Podemos– IU–Equo | List We Can (Podemos) United Left of Castilla–La Mancha (IUCLM) – Communist Party of Castilla–La Mancha (PCE–CLM) – The Dawn. Marxist Organization OM (La Aurora (om)) – Republican Left (IR) – Feminist Party of Spain (PFE) Equo (Equo) | | José García Molina | Left-wing populism Direct democracy Democratic socialism | 12.85% | 2 | Y | [10] [11] |
| | Cs | List Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | | Carmen Picazo | Liberalism | 8.64% | 0 | N | |
| | Vox | List Vox (Vox) | | Daniel Arias Vegas | Right-wing populism Ultranationalism National conservatism | 0.48% | 0 | N | |

## Campaign
### Election debates

2019 Castilian-Manchegan regional election debates :
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | PP | PSOE | UP | Cs | Vox | Audience | Ref. |
| 20 May | CMM | Sonia Trigueros | P Núñez | P Page | P Molina | P Picazo | P Arias | 9.2% (68,000) | [14] [15] |

## 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; 17 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha.

### 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 | — | 69.4 | 28.5 10 | 44.1 19 | | 11.4 4 | | 7.0 0 | 6.9 0 | 15.6 |
| GfK/FORTA | 26 May 2019 | 26,000 | ? | 26.6 8/10 | 43.1 16/18 | | 10.4 3/4 | | 7.7 0/1 | 10.0 2/3 | 16.5 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 22–23 May 2019 | ? | ? | 27.3 11 | 35.6 15 | | 15.4 5 | | 8.7 1 | 9.5 1 | 8.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 21–22 May 2019 | ? | ? | 27.8 11 | 35.7 15 | | 15.1 5 | | 8.6 1 | 9.4 1 | 7.9 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 20–21 May 2019 | ? | ? | 27.6 11 | 35.4 15 | | 15.2 5 | | 8.9 1 | 9.6 1 | 7.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 19–20 May 2019 | ? | ? | 27.7 11 | 35.1 15 | | 15.6 5 | | 8.7 1 | 9.7 1 | 7.4 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 19 May 2019 | ? | ? | 28.1 11/12 | 38.4 15/16 | | ? 3/4 | | ? 1/2 | ? 1/2 | 10.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 16–19 May 2019 | ? | ? | 27.7 11 | 35.0 15 | | 15.0 5 | | 8.9 1 | 9.6 1 | 7.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 13–16 May 2019 | ? | ? | 26.9 11 | 33.7 12 | | 17.5 7 | | 9.1 2 | 9.5 1 | 6.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 10–13 May 2019 | ? | ? | 25.6 11 | 31.6 12 | | 19.8 7 | | 10.0 2 | 9.9 1 | 6.0 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 7–10 May 2019 | ? | ? | 24.5 11 | 31.0 12 | | 20.6 7 | | 10.6 2 | 10.2 1 | 6.5 |
| Numeral8 | 6–9 May 2019 | 2,000 | ? | 27.1 10/11 | 38.8 15/17 | | 13.3 3/4 | | 8.7 1/2 | 9.0 1/2 | 11.7 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 4–7 May 2019 | ? | ? | 23.9 11 | 31.0 12 | | 20.8 7 | | 10.9 2 | 10.1 1 | 7.1 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 29 Apr–4 May 2019 | ? | ? | 23.6 9 | 30.7 12 | | 20.9 7 | | 11.0 4 | 10.2 1 | 7.1 |
| April 2019 general election | 28 Apr 2019 | — | 76.6 | 22.7 8 | 32.4 13 | | 17.5 6 | | 15.3 5 | 10.2 1 | 10.7 |
| CIS | 21 Mar–23 Apr 2019 | 1,088 | ? | 29.8 11/14 | 40.3 15/18 | | 8.6 2/3 | | 6.8 0/1 | 10.9 2/3 | 10.5 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 31 Mar–7 Apr 2019 | ? | ? | 27.0 11 | 34.8 13 | | 11.8 2 | | 12.3 5 | 9.9 2 | 7.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 24–31 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 26.2 10 | 35.0 13 | | 12.2 4 | | 12.4 5 | 9.8 1 | 8.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 17–24 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 26.5 10 | 36.0 14 | | 12.0 4 | | 12.0 4 | 9.5 1 | 9.5 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 10–17 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 26.6 10 | 34.4 13 | | 11.1 3 | | 14.4 5 | 9.7 2 | 7.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 3–10 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 26.1 10 | 33.9 13 | | 11.7 3 | | 14.3 5 | 9.9 2 | 7.8 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 22 Feb–3 Mar 2019 | ? | ? | 26.3 10 | 33.7 13 | | 11.8 3 | | 14.0 5 | 9.9 2 | 7.4 |
| SW Demoscopia/PSOE | 8 Jan 2019 | 2,000 | ? | 26.3 10/11 | 40.3 16/17 | | 16.3 4/5 | | 8.5 0/1 | 8.6 1/2 | 14.0 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 14–18 May 2018 | 1,400 | 68.9 | 33.3 13/14 | 32.9 13/14 | 9.9 2 | 15.0 4/5 | 4.2 0 | – | – | 0.4 |
| SyM Consulting | 21–24 Mar 2018 | 3,200 | 73.5 | 32.2 11/14 | 35.0 13/17 | 9.5 1/2 | 14.3 3/4 | 3.4 0 | – | – | 2.8 |
| Celeste-Tel/PSOE | 1–22 Mar 2018 | 1,950 | ? | 28.6 11 | 37.2 14/17 | 9.0 1/3 | 16.8 4/6 | – | – | – | 8.6 |
| Noxa/PSOE | 22–26 May 2017 | 1,000 | ? | 34.3 | 37.9 | 9.0 | 12.5 | 2.2 | – | – | 3.6 |
| 2016 general election | 26 Jun 2016 | — | 71.8 | 42.7 16 | 27.3 9 | | 13.0 4 | | 0.2 0 | 14.7 4 | 15.4 |
| 2015 general election | 20 Dec 2015 | — | 75.3 | 38.1 14 | 28.4 11 | 13.7 4 | 13.8 4 | 3.6 0 | 0.3 0 | – | 9.7 |
| 2015 regional election | 24 May 2015 | — | 71.5 | 37.5 16 | 36.1 15 | 9.7 2 | 8.6 0 | 3.1 0 | 0.5 0 | – | 1.4 |

## Results
### Overall

← Summary of the 26 May 2019 Cortes of Castilla–La Mancha 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) | 476,469 | 44.10 | +7.99 | 19 | +4 |
| | People's Party (PP) | 308,184 | 28.53 | –8.96 | 10 | –6 |
| | Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (Cs) | 122,955 | 11.38 | +2.74 | 4 | +4 |
| | Vox (Vox) | 75,813 | 7.02 | +6.54 | 0 | ±0 |
| | United We Can–United Left–Equo CLM (Podemos–IU–Equo)$^1$ | 74,777 | 6.92 | –5.93 | 0 | –2 |
| | Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals (PACMA) | 8,662 | 0.80 | –0.01 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Castilian Party–Commoners' Land (PCAS–TC) | 1,411 | 0.13 | –0.01 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) | 1,248 | 0.12 | +0.03 | 0 | ±0 |
| | Traditions and Rural World (ANATUR–UDEC) | 1,244 | 0.12 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | For a Fairer World (PUM+J) | 728 | 0.07 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Together We Win (JG) | 149 | 0.01 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 8,754 | 0.81 | –0.94 | | |
| Total | Total | 1,080,394 | | | 33 | ±0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,080,394 | 98.95 | +1.13 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 11,506 | 1.05 | –1.13 | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 1,091,900 | 69.45 | –2.05 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 480,408 | 30.55 | +2.05 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 1,572,308 | | | | |
| Sources |||||||
| Footnotes: $^1$ United We Can–United Left–Equo CLM results are compared to the combined totals of We Can and Let's Win Castilla–La Mancha–The Greens–United Left in the 2015 election. |||||||
Popular vote
PSOE
44.10%
PP
28.53%
Cs
11.38%
Vox
7.02%
Unidas Podemos
6.92%
Others
1.24%
Blank ballots
0.81% :
Seats
PSOE
57.58%
PP
30.30%
Cs
12.12% :

### Distribution by constituency

| Constituency | PSOE | PSOE | PP | PP | Cs | Cs |
| Constituency | % | S | % | S | % | S |
| Albacete | 41.9 | 4 | 29.1 | 2 | 13.2 | 1 |
| Ciudad Real | 46.3 | 4 | 28.6 | 2 | 11.3 | 1 |
| Cuenca | 46.4 | 3 | 32.8 | 2 | 7.9 | − |
| Guadalajara | 39.6 | 3 | 24.3 | 1 | 14.4 | 1 |
| Toledo | 44.6 | 5 | 28.3 | 3 | 10.5 | 1 |
| Total | 44.1 | 19 | 28.5 | 10 | 11.4 | 4 |
| Sources |||||||

## Aftermath

Investiture Emiliano García-Page (PSOE) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 3 July 2019 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 17 out of 33 Y |
| | Yes • PSOE (19) | 19 / 33 |
| | No • PP (10) • Cs (4) | 14 / 33 |
| | Abstentions | 0 / 33 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 33 |
| Sources |||