# 2023 Riojan regional election

The 2023 Riojan regional election was held on Sunday, 28 May 2023, to elect the 11th Parliament of the autonomous community of La Rioja. All 33 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.
The election saw the People's Party (PP) winning an absolute majority of seats which, under Gonzalo Capellán, ousted the incumbent coalition government of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos led by Concha Andreu. The election also saw the entry into parliament of far-right Vox, which secured more votes than required to reach the election threshold of five percent, whereas the Riojan Party (PR) failed to secure the threshold for the third time in a row.

## Overview
### Electoral system

The Parliament of La Rioja was the devolved, unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of La Rioja, having legislative power in regional matters as defined by the Spanish Constitution and the Riojan 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 La Rioja and in full enjoyment of their political rights. Amendments to the electoral law in 2022 abolished the "begged" or expat vote system (Spanish: Voto rogado), under which Spaniards abroad were required to apply for voting before being permitted to vote. The expat vote system was attributed responsibility for a major decrease in the turnout of Spaniards abroad during the years it had been in force.
The 33 members of the Parliament of La Rioja 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.

### Election date

The term of the Parliament of La Rioja expired four years after the date of its previous election. Elections to the Parliament were fixed for the fourth Sunday of May every four years. The previous election was held on 26 May 2019, setting the election date for the Parliament on Sunday, 28 May 2023.
The president had the prerogative to dissolve the Parliament of La Rioja 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. 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 La Rioja was officially triggered on 4 April 2023 after the publication of the election decree in the Official Gazette of La Rioja (BOR), scheduling for the chamber to convene on 22 June.

## 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 La Rioja, 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) | | Concha Andreu | Social democracy | 38.67% | 15 | Y | |
| | PP | List People's Party (PP) | | Gonzalo Capellán | Conservatism Christian democracy | 33.06% | 12 | N | [8] [9] |
| | CS | List Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (CS) | | Ángel Daniel Íñiguez | Liberalism | 11.53% | 4 | N | |
| | Podemos–IU | List We Can (Podemos) United Left (IU) – Communist Party of La Rioja (PCE–LR) – The Dawn. Marxist Organization OM (La Aurora (om)) – Republican Left (IR) | | Henar Moreno | Left-wing populism Direct democracy Democratic socialism | 6.65% | 2 | Y | |
| | PR+EV | List Riojan Party (PR+) Empty Spain (EV) | | Inmaculada Sáenz | Regionalism Progressivism | 4.61% | 0 | N | [12] [13] [14] |
| | Vox | List Vox (Vox) | | Ángel Alda | Right-wing populism Ultranationalism National conservatism | 3.87% | 0 | N | |

## Campaign
### Election debates

2023 Riojan regional election debates :
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present | P Present |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | PSOE | PP | CS | UP | PR+EV | Vox | PLRi | Audience | Ref. |
| 24 May | TVR | Carlos Santamaría | P Andreu | P Capellán | P Íñiguez | P Moreno | P Sáenz | P Alda | P Soriano | TBD | |

## 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; 17 seats were required for an absolute majority in the Parliament of La Rioja.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Turnout | | | | | | | PLRi | Lead |
| 2023 regional election | 28 May 2023 | — | 67.8 | 31.9 12 | 45.4 17 | 0.9 0 | 5.1 2 | 3.6 0 | 7.6 2 | 2.6 0 | 13.5 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 22 May 2023 | ? | ? | 33.8 12 | 43.1 15/16 | – | 5.4 1/2 | 6.0 2 | 6.7 2 | – | 9.3 |
| KeyData/Público | 18 May 2023 | ? | 69.7 | 34.8 13 | 42.5 15/16 | 2.2 0 | 5.5 2 | 4.9 0/1 | 6.5 2 | – | 7.7 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 11–17 May 2023 | 600 | ? | 37.0 14 | 39.7 15 | 2.1 0 | 5.2 1 | 5.2 1 | 6.8 2 | 3.0 0 | 2.7 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 4–10 May 2023 | 600 | ? | 37.3 14 | 39.3 15 | 2.3 0 | 5.3 1 | 5.5 1 | 6.7 2 | 3.1 0 | 2.0 |
| SW Demoscopia/Cadena SER | 24 Apr–5 May 2023 | 1,741 | ? | 39.7 | 39.9 | 1.1 | 5.5 | 3.6 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 0.2 |
| GAD3/ABC | 28 Apr–3 May 2023 | 1,004 | ? | 34.0 12/13 | 42.1 15/16 | – | 5.5 2 | 5.1 0/1 | 7.9 2/3 | – | 8.1 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 26 Apr–3 May 2023 | 600 | ? | 37.6 13 | 42.0 15 | 2.4 0 | 5.4 1 | 5.5 2 | 6.1 2 | 2.9 0 | 4.4 |
| Simple Lógica/elDiario.es | 18–26 Apr 2023 | 457 | ? | 35.6 13/14 | 41.2 14/15 | 1.4 0 | 6.8 2 | 5.4 1 | 7.1 2 | – | 5.6 |
| CIS | 10–26 Apr 2023 | 466 | ? | 36.8 13/14 | 39.2 14/15 | 2.5 0 | 9.9 2/4 | 3.6 0 | 5.6 1/2 | – | 2.4 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 19–25 Apr 2023 | 600 | ? | 36.1 13 | 40.8 15 | 2.5 0 | 5.2 1 | 5.4 2 | 5.9 2 | 3.7 0 | 4.7 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 12–18 Apr 2023 | 600 | ? | 36.2 13 | 41.6 15 | 2.5 0 | 5.4 2 | 5.3 1 | 5.9 2 | 2.9 0 | 5.4 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 5–11 Apr 2023 | 600 | ? | 36.5 13 | 41.1 15 | 2.3 0 | 6.0 2 | 5.2 1 | 6.0 2 | 2.8 0 | 4.6 |
| ElectoPanel/El Plural | 27 Mar–4 Apr 2023 | 600 | ? | 37.4 13 | 42.5 15 | 2.8 0 | 5.8 2 | 5.4 1 | 6.0 2 | – | 5.1 |
| KeyData/Público | 3 Apr 2023 | ? | 69.7 | 34.6 13 | 42.6 16 | 2.6 0 | 5.4 1 | 5.7 1 | 6.3 2 | – | 8.0 |
| Sigma Dos/PP | 14–23 Mar 2023 | 1,300 | ? | 32.8 12 | 41.6 15/16 | 2.0 0 | 5.7 2 | 5.3 1/2 | 6.9 2 | 1.5 0 | 8.8 |
| NC Report/La Razón | 27 Feb–3 Mar 2023 | ? | 66.3 | 34.3 12 | 43.3 16 | 2.5 0 | 5.3 1 | 6.6 2 | 5.9 2 | – | 9.0 |
| Sigma Dos/El Mundo | 20–26 Jan 2023 | 730 | ? | 34.2 12/13 | 41.8 15/16 | 2.8 0 | 6.1 2 | 4.3 0/1 | 7.4 2/3 | – | 7.6 |
| GAD3/PP | 19–25 Jan 2023 | 1,357 | ? | 35.4 13 | 43.3 16 | 2.8 0 | 4.7 0/1 | 5.4 1/2 | 6.3 2 | – | 7.9 |
| SW Demoscopia/PSOE | 14 Dec–12 Jan 2023 | 1,750 | ? | 41.9 | 39.3 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 5.2 | – | 2.6 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 30 Oct–13 Dec 2022 | 91 | ? | 39.8 15 | 39.5 14 | 3.0 0 | 7.2 2 | 4.3 0 | 6.2 2 | – | 0.3 |
| CIS | 17 Nov–2 Dec 2022 | 191 | ? | 44.9 14/19 | 32.7 12/15 | 0.6 0/1 | 6.3 0/4 | 0.6 0 | 5.7 0/3 | – | 12.2 |
| NueveCuatroUno | 1 May 2022 | ? | ? | 31.0 11 | 47.0 17 | 3.9 0 | 5.4 1 | 6.5 2 | 6.3 2 | – | 16.0 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 31 Jan–14 Mar 2022 | ? | ? | 40.1 14 | 34.8 13 | 2.9 0 | 8.1 3 | 4.4 0 | 8.4 3 | – | 5.3 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 2 Feb 2022 | ? | ? | 39.7 15 | 36.7 14 | 3.1 0 | 7.7 2 | 4.3 0 | 7.7 2 | – | 3.0 |
| NueveCuatroUno | 12 Dec 2021 | ? | ? | 35.8 13 | 35.3 13 | 4.0 0 | 6.6 2 | 5.1 1 | 11.6 4 | – | 0.5 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 3 Aug–12 Sep 2021 | ? | ? | 40.5 15 | 38.1 14 | 3.8 0 | 5.6 2 | 4.4 0 | 6.1 2 | – | 2.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 16 Jun–23 Jul 2021 | ? | ? | 39.8 15 | 38.9 15 | 2.9 0 | 5.1 1 | 4.6 0 | 7.3 2 | – | 0.9 |
| SyM Consulting | 22–23 Mar 2021 | 741 | 68.7 | 41.5 15/16 | 35.1 13/14 | 4.6 0 | 5.3 2 | 4.3 0 | 5.6 2 | – | 6.4 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 31 Jan 2021 | 850 | ? | 37.5 13 | 35.4 13 | 6.3 2 | 6.3 2 | 4.9 0 | 8.3 3 | – | 2.1 |
| SyM Consulting | 1–3 Jun 2020 | 793 | 69.5 | 33.5 12 | 37.1 13/14 | 5.9 2 | 7.8 2/3 | 4.2 0 | 9.1 3 | – | 3.6 |
| ElectoPanel/Electomanía | 1 Apr–15 May 2020 | ? | ? | 42.9 16 | 34.8 13 | 6.4 2 | 4.7 0 | 4.7 0 | 5.5 2 | – | 8.1 |
| NueveCuatroUno | 5–6 May 2020 | 1,375 | ? | 30.0 11 | 34.8 13 | 7.9 3 | 6.0 2 | 5.8 2 | 6.0 2 | – | 4.8 |
| November 2019 general election | 10 Nov 2019 | — | 67.0 | 34.9 (12) | 34.2 (12) | 7.1 (2) | 9.9 (3) | – | 11.5 (4) | – | 0.7 |
| 2019 regional election | 26 May 2019 | — | 65.9 | 38.7 15 | 33.1 12 | 11.5 4 | 6.6 2 | 4.6 0 | 3.9 0 | – | 5.6 |

### Voting preferences

The table below lists raw, unweighted voting preferences.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | | ? | N | Lead |
| 2023 regional election | 28 May 2023 | — | 22.8 | 32.4 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 2.6 | 5.4 | — | 27.5 | 9.6 |
| SW Demoscopia/Cadena SER | 24 Apr–5 May 2023 | 1,741 | 27.6 | 27.8 | 0.8 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 4.1 | 20.4 | 10.0 | 0.2 |
| CIS | 10–26 Apr 2023 | 466 | 26.5 | 26.2 | 1.3 | 5.9 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 25.1 | 4.4 | 0.3 |
| SW Demoscopia/PSOE | 14 Dec–12 Jan 2023 | 1,750 | 30.4 | 28.5 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 23.9 | 3.5 | 1.9 |
| CIS | 17 Nov–2 Dec 2022 | 191 | 26.0 | 21.5 | 0.5 | 3.8 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 32.5 | 5.9 | 4.5 |
| November 2019 general election | 10 Nov 2019 | — | 24.5 | 24.0 | 5.0 | 6.9 | – | 8.0 | — | 28.7 | 0.5 |
| 2019 regional election | 26 May 2019 | — | 26.9 | 23.0 | 8.0 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 2.7 | — | 29.7 | 3.9 |

### Preferred President

The table below lists opinion polling on leader preferences to become president of La Rioja.
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | | | | | | | | | Other/ None/ Not care | ? | Lead |
| Polling firm/Commissioner | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Andreu PSOE | Capellán PP | León CS | Íñiguez CS | Moreno UP | Pérez UP | Sáenz PR+EV | Alda Vox | Other/ None/ Not care | ? | Lead |
| SW Demoscopia/Cadena SER | 24 Apr–5 May 2023 | 1,741 | 29.4 | 28.5 | – | 1.0 | 4.0 | – | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 26.5 | 0.9 |
| SW Demoscopia/PSOE | 14 Dec–12 Jan 2023 | 1,750 | 31.3 | 26.5 | 0.4 | – | 2.6 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 9.1 | 25.3 | 4.8 |

## Results

← Summary of the 28 May 2023 Parliament of La Rioja 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) | 76,205 | 45.38 | +12.32 | 17 | +5 |
| | Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 53,562 | 31.90 | –6.77 | 12 | –3 |
| | Vox (Vox) | 12,773 | 7.61 | +3.74 | 2 | +2 |
| | We Can–United Left (Podemos–IU) | 8,543 | 5.09 | –1.56 | 2 | ±0 |
| | Riojan Party+Empty Spain (PR+EV) | 6,016 | 3.58 | –1.03 | 0 | ±0 |
| | For La Rioja (PLRi) | 4,349 | 2.59 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Citizens–Party of the Citizenry (CS) | 1,473 | 0.88 | –10.65 | 0 | –4 |
| | Animalist Party with the Environment (PACMA)$^1$ | 1,065 | 0.63 | –0.03 | 0 | ±0 |
| | VINEA La Rioja (VINEA) | 954 | 0.57 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| | Blank Seats to Leave Empty Seats (EB) | 619 | 0.37 | New | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank ballots | Blank ballots | 2,360 | 1.41 | +0.46 | | |
| Total | Total | 167,919 | | | 33 | ±0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 167,919 | 98.32 | –0.67 | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 2,860 | 1.68 | +0.67 | | |
| Votes cast / turnout | Votes cast / turnout | 170,779 | 67.79 | +1.85 | | |
| Abstentions | Abstentions | 81,140 | 32.21 | –1.85 | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 251,919 | | | | |
| Sources |||||||
| Footnotes: $^1$ Animalist Party with the Environment results are compared to Animalist Party Against Mistreatment of Animals totals in the 2019 election. |||||||
Popular vote
PP
45.38%
PSOE
31.90%
Vox
7.61%
Podemos–IU
5.09%
PR+EV
3.58%
PLRi
2.59%
Others
2.45%
Blank ballots
1.41% :
Seats
PP
51.51%
PSOE
36.36%
Vox
6.06%
Podemos–IU
6.06% :

## Aftermath

Investiture Gonzalo Capellán (PP) :
| Ballot → | Ballot → | 28 June 2023 |
| Required majority → | Required majority → | 17 out of 33 Y |
| | Yes • PP (17) | 17 / 33 |
| | No • PSOE (12) • Vox (2) • Podemos–IU (2) | 16 / 33 |
| | Abstentions | 0 / 33 |
| | Absentees | 0 / 33 |
| Sources |||